Jane Anne McDonald (born 4 April 1963) is an English singer, songwriter and television presenter. Born and raised in

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

, McDonald spent much of her early career performing in local clubs and pubs before landing work as a singer on

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours k ...

s. McDonald became known to the public in 1998 following her appearance on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

show '' The Cruise''. The same year, she released her self-titled debut album ''Jane McDonald'' (1998), which topped the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

and remained there for 3 weeks. The singer has had a total of four top 10 albums in the UK in addition to performing in live concerts and her tours at venues across the UK, including the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

and the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...

, as well as at the

MGM Grand Las Vegas The MGM Grand Las Vegas is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by MGM Resorts International. The resort was developed by Kirk Kerkorian through his company, MGM Grand ...

. In 2015, McDonald performed the role of

Grizabella Grizabella the Glamour Cat is a main character in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical ''Cats''. Lonely and decrepit, Grizabella seeks acceptance from the other Jellicle cats but is initially ostracised. She sings the most famous song from the music ...

in the musical ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

''. McDonald has also co-presented a number of

daytime television Daytime is a block of television programming taking place during the late-morning and afternoon on weekdays. Daytime programming is typically scheduled to air between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., following the early morning ...

shows, including ''

Loose Women ''Loose Women'' (known as ''Live Talk'' from 2000 to 2001) is a British talk show that broadcasts on ITV weekdays from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. The show focuses on a panel of four female presenters who interview celebrities, talk about aspects of ...

'' between 2004 and 2014, and the ITV programme '' Star Treatment'' (2013). Her TV travel show ''Cruising with Jane McDonald'', which debuted in 2017 on Channel 5, has spawned eight series and earned her a

British Academy Television Award The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards, are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in 1 ...

. She has also presented her own shows ''Jane & Friends'', ''Holidaying with Jane McDonald'' and ''Jane McDonald: My Yorkshire'' on Channel 5.

Early life

McDonald was born in

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

Career

After appearing on

Chris Terrill Chris Terrill (born 1952) is a British anthropologist, adventurer, broadcaster, author and film-maker. Biography Born in Brighton, Sussex, in 1952, Terrill attended Brighton College 1965–1970, and then went to Durham University, where he ga ...

docusoap Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

'' The Cruise'', she was taken on by independent record label Focus Music International to make a covers album and a Christmas single. The self-titled album '' Jane McDonald'' spent three weeks at number one on the

, while the single "Cruise into Christmas" (a medley of Christmas classics) reached the top 10 of the UK singles chart. Following her number one success on an independent label, McDonald signed a recording contract with

UMTV Universal Music On Demand (UMOD) is a London-based record label owned by Universal Music Group, formed in 1998 as Universal Music TV (UMTV). UMOD specialises in producing compilation albums and occasional single releases. It was founded whe ...

(Universal's catalogue and compilations division), and appeared as a guest presenter on

's National Lottery. Beginning in 2004, McDonald was a regular presenter on the ITV daytime television programme ''

'', appearing on the show three times a week. It was confirmed on 16 July 2010 that McDonald would depart ''Loose Women'' in the summer, for at least a year to concentrate on her music career and to tour Australia and New Zealand. Although an Australian tour never developed into anything official, she proceeded to tour the United Kingdom in 2011. She returned in 2012 before leaving the series permanently in January 2014 to focus on her music career. In 2017 she released her self penned album Hold the Covers Back. She has since made many guest appearances. She continues to tour the UK with her solo shows & has introduced Christmas themed arena shows into her work schedule. ''Cruising with Jane McDonald'' won the 2018

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to f ...

for Best Feature, making it the first win for a Channel 5 show. On 1 June 2023, McDonald was announced as Phillip Schofield's replacement as the host of the 2023 British Soap Awards.

Personal life

McDonald spent most of her early and adult life living with her mother, whom she regarded as her "best friend". They shared a bungalow near Newmillerdam in

, until Jean died in 2018. In 1998, McDonald married Henrik Brixen, a ship's plumbing engineer, from Denmark, who later became her manager. Their relationship was detailed in a special edition of ''The Cruise'', called ''The Cruise Special: Jane Ties the Knot'', which was broadcast on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

on 10 July 1998. Brixen later admitted that he did not understand the music industry. The couple divorced in 2003. In 2008, McDonald was reunited with musician Eddie Rothe, whom she briefly dated at seventeen, in 1980. He was a drummer and member of

The Searchers ''The Searchers'' is a 1956 American epic Western film directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May. It is set during the Texas–Indian wars, and stars John Wayne as a middle-aged Civil War v ...

. They became engaged on 24 December 2008 after Rothe proposed. Rothe died of lung cancer on 26 March 2021.

Discography

Albums

Compilation albums

Live albums

Extended plays

Singles

DVDs

* ''Jane McDonald in Concert'' (1999) * ''Jane McDonald Live in Las Vegas'' (2001) * ''Being Jane'' (filmed 2005) * ''The Very Best of Loose Women'' (2008) * ''Late Night with the Loose Women'' (2009) * ''Jane McDonald – Live at the London Palladium'' (18 October 2010) * ''Jane McDonald – A Live Christmas Concert Special'' (15 November 2019) (No. 2 in the DVD music charts)

Books

* ''Jane McDonald – Follow Your Dreams'',

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

(2000) * ''Jane McDonald – Riding the Waves: My Story'', autobiography, Virgin Books (2019) * ''Jane McDonald – Let The Light In'',

Ebury Publishing Ebury Publishing is a division of Penguin Random House, and is a publisher of general non-fiction books in the UK. Ebury was founded in 1961 as a division of Nat Mags and was originally located on Ebury Street in London. It was sold to Cent ...

(2024)

Awards

In 2011, Wakefield Council awarded her a star in the form of a pavement plaque for outstanding achievement from an entertainer. In 2018, McDonald was awarded a

for her television series ''Cruising with Jane McDonald''.

Notes

References

External links

Official website

Profile at ITV.com
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Jane 1963 births Living people English television presenters Television personalities from West Yorkshire English women pop singers People from Wakefield 20th-century English women singers 21st-century English women singers