Geel
Geel () is a city located in the Belgian province of Antwerp, which acquired city status in the 1980s. It comprises Central-Geel which is constituted of 4 old parishes a/o towns: Sint-Amand, Sint-Dimpna, Holven and Elsum. Further on around the cen ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
) is a Belgian singer, actress and host. She was a member of the successful girl group K3.
Early life
Aerts was born in
Geel
Geel () is a city located in the Belgian province of Antwerp, which acquired city status in the 1980s. It comprises Central-Geel which is constituted of 4 old parishes a/o towns: Sint-Amand, Sint-Dimpna, Holven and Elsum. Further on around the cen ...
, Belgium, on 18 June 1978. She has been involved in singing and music since a young age. Between 1992 and 1995 she gained experience as a member of the group ''Wonderful Game'' and became known for her two participations in the Flemish version of the ''
Soundmixshow
''Soundmixshow'' is a Dutch talent show which was a live-vocals version of the '' Playback Show''. It aired from 17 November 1985 to 27 April 2002 and was hosted by Henny Huisman. The format has since been sold to other countries,Middle of the Road.
Career
From 1998 to 2009 Aerts was a member of the successful girl group K3. Originally thought as the Flemish version of the Spice Girls, the group eventually became famous for their songs for children. Because K3 was originally envisioned as the Flemish version of the Spice Girls, the group was made up of all females in their twenties: Aerts,
Karen Damen
Karen Franciska Maria Louisa Damen ; (born 28 October 1974 in Wilrijk) is a Belgian singer, actress, host and one of the first members of girl group K3. She acted in a few movies and hosted a few programs.
Discography
:Studio albums (as a m ...
, and
Kristel Verbeke
Kristel Philemon Charlotte Verbeke (born 10 December 1975 in Hamme) is a Flemish singer, actress, host and one of the first members of the girl group K3. After leaving K3 in 2015, she became the group's manager, remaining in this position unt ...
.
K3 achieved success after the release of "Heyah Mama", and in 2002 their manager sold the band to
Studio 100
Studio 100 is a Belgian production company with four television channels, four animation studios and 8 theme parks around the world. The headquarters of the group is based in Schelle, with offices in Breda, Munich, Paris, New York, Sydney and Lo ...
. The production company made the group an even bigger success, with merchandising, film, TV series and books also being released.
In 2009 Aerts decided to stop being a member of K3 and to start her solo career. Her first song, titled "Zumba Yade", was made in cooperation with
Unicef
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...
. The single reached the top 3 of the
Dutch Single Top 100
The Dutch Single Top 100 or Single Top 100 is a Dutch chart, based on official physical single sales, legal downloads and since July 2013 streaming and composed by Dutch Charts. It is one of the three official charts, the other two being the Dutc ...
in July 2009 and the top 20 of the
Ultratop 50
Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organization of ...
in Flanders. She sold more than 10,000 CDs in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
and the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. In November 2009, Aerts released her debut solo album ''Kathleen in symfonie''. The album contained twelve songs, including a duet with
Danny de Munk
Dennis "Danny" de Munk (born 19 February 1970 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch actor, singer, musical actor and former child star.
Career
De Munk started acting at the age of 13 as the leading role in the film Ciske de Rat (Ciske the Rat), directed by ...
. Aerts ensured that part of the proceedings from the album went to Unicef. This decision ensued from her experience in South Africa.
In 2010 she became a member of the . The same year she also decided to go back to children's music, releasing a song titled "Boerderij blues" (en. Farm blues). She released three other songs for children. In 2007 a
wax figure
A wax sculpture is a depiction made using a waxy substance. Often these are effigies, usually of a notable individual, but there are also death masks and scenes with many figures, mostly in relief.
The properties of beeswax make it an excell ...
of Kathleen Aerts was unveiled in the
Madame Tussauds
Madame Tussauds (, ) is a wax museum founded in 1835 by French wax sculptor Marie Tussaud in London, spawning similar museums in major cities around the world. While it used to be spelled as "Madame Tussaud's"; the apostrophe is no longer us ...
in Amsterdam together with those of the other two original K3 members.
In 2016, Aerts released "Die roos", an adaptation of Ann Christy's hit "De roos", her first single in
Afrikaans
Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...
. A year later she recorded the single "Afrika", also in Afrikaans, which was also part of the soundtrack of the film '' F.C. De Kampioenen 3: Forever'' (2007). In September 2017, she published her third book: ''Lilly en Max in de wereld van oma''.
In 2020, Aerts participated as Mermaid in the television show ''
The Masked Singer
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'', in which judges must guess the identity of the masked participant. Here she was reunited after a long time with
Karen Damen
Karen Franciska Maria Louisa Damen ; (born 28 October 1974 in Wilrijk) is a Belgian singer, actress, host and one of the first members of girl group K3. She acted in a few movies and hosted a few programs.
Discography
:Studio albums (as a m ...
, who sat on the jury of the program and correctly guessed the masked mermaid was Aerts.
Personal life
Kathleen Aerts married Steven van Hoof, a police officer, in 2010. Their first child, a boy, was born on 26 January 2011. Their second boy was born in December 2013. In 2015, she moved with her husband, sons and mother to
Paarl
Paarl (; Afrikaans: ; derived from ''Parel'', meaning "pearl" in Dutch) is a town with 112,045 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the third-oldest city and European settlement in the Republic of South Africa (after ...
, South Africa.
Books
* 2009: ''Mijn leven als K1'' (Author: Kathleen Aerts, , published by Kwagga in Dutch)
* 2015: ''Voor altijd mijn mama. Leven met jongdementie'' (Author: Kathleen Aerts, , published by Lannoo in Dutch)
* 2017: ''Lilly en Max in de wereld van Oma'' (Author: Kathleen Aerts, , published by Lannoo in Dutch)
Musicals
* 1998: Sneeuwwitje (as Sneeuwwitje, en. "
Snow White
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as Ta ...
")
* 2002: Doornroosje (as one of the good "
fairies
A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, o ...
", en.
Sleeping Beauty
''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...
)
* 2003: De drie biggetjes (as Knorri, one of the "
Three little pigs
"The Three Little Pigs" is a fable about three pigs who build three houses of different materials. A Big Bad Wolf blows down the first two pigs' houses which made of straw and sticks respectively, but is unable to destroy the third pig's house t ...
")
* 2005: De kleine zeemeermin (as The "
Little Mermaid
"The Little Mermaid" ( da, Den lille havfrue) is a literary fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The story follows the journey of a young mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea as a mermaid to gain a h ...
")
* 2007: De drie biggetjes (as Knorri, one of the "
Three little pigs
"The Three Little Pigs" is a fable about three pigs who build three houses of different materials. A Big Bad Wolf blows down the first two pigs' houses which made of straw and sticks respectively, but is unable to destroy the third pig's house t ...