Lauren Charlotte Harries (born James Charles Harries; 6 March 1978) is an English media personality. As a child she was known for her knowledge of

antique An antique ( la, antiquus; 'old', 'ancient') is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely ...

s, appearing on numerous television shows including ''

Wogan ''Wogan'' is a British television talk show which was broadcast on BBC1 from 1982 until 1992, presented by Terry Wogan. It was usually broadcast live from the BBC Television Theatre in Shepherd's Bush, London, until 1991. It was then broadcast ...

'' and '' After Dark''. In later life, she has been known for her appearances on television series such as '' Celebrity Big Brother'', ''

Big Brother's Bit on the Side This is a complete list of shows about and relating to ''Big Brother UK'' and ''Celebrity Big Brother''. The civilian edition ran from 2000 to 2018 and the celebrity edition ran from 2001 to 2018. ''Big Brother'' ''Big Brother'' was a daily sho ...

'', '' This Morning'' and ''

Naked Attraction ''Naked Attraction'' is a British television dating game show, broadcast on Channel 4. A clothed person is faced with six naked people who are initially hidden in booths. Their bodies and faces are gradually revealed through successive round ...

''.

Early life

Lauren Charlotte Harries was born James Charles Harries on 6 March 1978 in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

, England. Harries' father, Mark Harries, worked in the hotel business and catering trade. The family moved to

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

when Harries was still a baby. From the age of five, she enjoyed art and antiques, and had an apparent ability to spot bargains at local

jumble sale A jumble sale (UK), bring and buy sale (Australia) or rummage sale (U.S and Canada) is an event at which second hand goods are sold, usually by an institution such as a local Boys' Brigade Company, Scout group, Girlguiding group or church, ...

s and second-hand shops.

Career

Harries began making television appearances in August 1988 on

Terry Wogan Sir Michael Terence Wogan (; 3 August 1938 – 31 January 2016) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in the UK for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in December 2009, his BBC Radio 2 week ...

's chat show, ''

.'' The then ten-year-old demonstrated a good knowledge of antiques. At 13, she wrote an antique guide, ''Rags to Riches''. In 2004, after Harries had undergone gender reassignment,

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

broadcast a documentary ''Little Lady Fauntleroy'' made by actor Keith Allen in which Allen interviewed the Harries family. Allen's documentary showed that the Harries family was not all they seemed; The counsellor who looked after Lauren during her sex change operation was called Lesley Stewart. And Lesley Stewart turns out to be the "business name" of Kaye Harries, Lauren's own mother. Plus it turns out that all their qualifications, doctorates in metaphysics and counselling degrees, were issued by the Cardiff College of Humanistic Studies which, happily, is located at Tudor Cottage, their own house. They've certified themselves. The documentary was released on DVD on 4 July 2005. In October 2006, Harries appeared in the Channel 5 television series ''

Trust Me – I'm a Beauty Therapist ''Trust Me – I'm a Beauty Therapist'' is a reality television show broadcast on Five in which eight British celebrities trained to become beauticians in a South Wales beauty salon. They had to perform such tasks as, cutting hair, giving massage ...

'', which was filmed on location in a beauty therapist's in

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the C ...

, Wales. In November 2008, Harries was featured as a cover girl in the specialist lifestyle magazine ''Transliving''. In August 2013, Harries became a housemate on the twelfth series of '' Celebrity Big Brother''. She finished in third place. In September 2013, she appeared on ''

Celebrity Juice ''Celebrity Juice'' is a British television comedy panel game on ITV2, broadcast since 24 September 2008. The show is written and presented by Leigh Francis in the role of his alter ego Keith Lemon, and its current team captains Laura Whitmore ...

''. Her debut single "I Am a Woman" was released in January 2015. Harries released a follow-up single, " Upadoo" in May 2018. In August 2019, Harries made an appearance on the

dating series ''

'', becoming the first celebrity to appear on the series.

Personal life

Harries' schooling suffered from the heightened publicity. By the age of 14, Harries suffered depression and

agoraphobia Agoraphobia is a mental and behavioral disorder, specifically an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives their environment to be unsafe with no easy way to escape. These situations can i ...

, which led to a nervous breakdown and suicide attempt. Media opportunities and resulting business reduced as Harries grew up. In the recession of the early 1990s, the family's businesses failed. One family shop was destroyed by fire, and her father was convicted of insurance fraud. Harries sold some of her collections to assist in the support of the family. Harries then took three GCSEs after home tutoring. As a child, Harries had been taken by her family to see a doctor because she displayed feminine mannerisms. Later, Harries decided to transition from male to female, change her name to Lauren Charlotte, and investigated gender reassignment surgery, which was carried out in 2001. Funding for this was generated from publicity arranged by Max Clifford. On 8 July 2005, a group of five to seven men attacked Harries, her father and her brother in the family home. One 17-year-old boy was later fined and given a supervision order for his role in the incident.

Filmography

References

External links

* – official site * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Harries, Lauren Living people English Buddhists LGBT Buddhists Welsh LGBT entertainers Mass media people from Cardiff LGBT media personalities Transgender women British media personalities 1978 births