''OK!'' is a British weekly magazine that primarily specialises in royal and celebrity news. Originally launched as a monthly magazine, its first issue was published in April 1993. In September 2004, ''OK''! launched in Australia as a monthly title – the magazine went weekly in October 2006. In 2005, an American version was launched, followed by an Indian edition in May 2006, a Spanish-language version in Mexico in 2006, a Bulgarian-language version in 2007 and a Spanish edition in 2008.

OK! global distribution

OK! USA

In 2011, American Media Inc. bought OK! USA from

Northern & Shell Northern & Shell (holding company name Northern and Shell Network Ltd) is a British publishing group, founded in December 1974 and owned since then by Richard Desmond. Formerly a publisher of pornographic magazines including '' Penthouse'' and '' ...

. In 2017, former editor James Heidenry stepped down, and was replaced by James Robertson. The Chief Content Editor of American Media,

Dylan Howard Dylan Howard (born 19 January 1982) is an entertainment journalist and media executive. He is best known for his work as editor-in-chief of the '' National Enquirer'' tabloid between 2014 and 2020, a period in which he oversaw a number of scan ...

, oversees the publication.

Other locations

''OK!'' is the world's biggest celebrity

lifestyle magazine Lifestyle journalism is the field of journalism that provides news and opinion, often in an entertaining tone, regarding goods and services used by readers in their everyday life. Lifestyle journalism covers travel, fashion, fitness, leisure, food ...

, with more than 30 million readers worldwide, and now appears in 20 countries (

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

(readership of 158th as of June 2018),

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, the UK, the US,

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

). ''OK!'' Australian edition was published by Bauer Media Australia and New Zealand. In July 2020, Bauer Media's Australian and New Zealand operations were acquired by the

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

investment firm Mercury Capital, which cancelled the magazine due to declining advertising revenue and travel restrictions caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Weddings

''OK!'' is best known for its coverage of celebrity nuptials. In 2000, ''OK!'' had exclusive rights to publish photographs of the wedding of

Catherine Zeta-Jones Catherine Zeta-Jones (; born 25 September 1969) is a Welsh actress. Recognised for her versatility, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Tony Award. In 2010, she was appointed Comm ...

and

Michael Douglas Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the ...

, but its rival '' Hello!'' magazine published pictures as well, and ''OK!'' sued. It was awarded £1,033,156 in an initial judgment, but lost it on appeal. In October 2005, three celebrity weddings took place on the same day: those of Katie Price and

Peter Andre Peter Andre (born Peter James Andrea; 27 February 1973) is a British-Australian singer, songwriter, and media personality. Born in England to Cypriot parents and raised in Australia, Andre achieved success in the mid-1990s as a singer, topping ...

, Kate Garraway and

Derek Draper Derek William Draper (15 August 1967 – 3 January 2024) was an English political lobbyist and psychotherapist. As a political advisor, he was involved in two political scandals: " Lobbygate" in 1998, and another in 2009 while he was edito ...

, and Samia Ghadie and property developer Matthew Smith. ''OK!'' covered them all over separate issues. The biggest wedding of the three (Price and Andre) was covered over two bumper issues. The same happened for the wedding of Ashley and

Cheryl Cole Cheryl Ann Tweedy (born 30 June 1983) is an English singer and television personality. She rose to fame as a member of Girls Aloud, a Pop music, pop girl group created through ITV (TV network), ITV's reality competition show ''Popstars: The R ...

, as well as

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera ( , ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. Recognized as Cultural impact of Christina Aguilera, an influential figure in music and having received Public imag ...

's. ''OK!'' devoted an issue to photos of

Tony Parker William Anthony Parker Jr. (born 17 May 1982) is a French-American former professional basketball player and majority owner of ASVEL Basket, LDLC ASVEL of the LNB Élite and the EuroLeague. The son of a basketball pro, Parker started his career ...

and

Eva Longoria Eva Jacqueline Longoria Bastón ( Longoria; born March 15, 1975) is an American actress, producer, director, and businesswoman. After several guest roles on television, she became recognized for her portrayal of Isabella Braña on the CBS day ...

's wedding. Other weddings covered by ''OK!'' include: * Natasha Hamilton and Riad Erraji (November 2007) * Kerry Katona and Mark Croft (February 2007) * Holly Willoughby and Dan Baldwin (August 2007) *

Steven Gerrard Steven George Gerrard MBE (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and a former player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time and one of Liverpool's greatest ever players,Alex Curran (June 2007) *

John Terry John George Terry (born 7 December 1980) is an English professional Coach (association football), football coach and former Association football, player who played as a centre-back. He was previously captain of Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, the En ...

and Toni Poole (June 2007) *

Kym Marsh Kimberley Gail Marsh (previously Ryder, Lomas and Ratcliff; born 13 June 1976) is an English actress, television presenter and singer. In 2001, she won a place in the band Hear'Say as a result of appearing on the reality television series ''Pop ...

and Jack Ryder (August 2002) * Melanie Brown and Jimmy Gulzar (September 1998) *

Wayne Rooney Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who was most recently the head coach of EFL Championship club Plymouth Argyle F.C., Pl ...

and Coleen McLoughlin (June 2008) *Jack Tweed and

Jade Goody Jade Cerisa Lorraine Goody (5 June 1981 – 22 March 2009) was an English media personality. She was a contestant on the Big Brother (British TV series) series 3, third series of the Channel 4 reality show ''Big Brother (British TV series) ...

(February 2009) *

Patsy Kensit Patricia Jude Francis Kensit (born 4 March 1968) is an English actress and singer. Beginning her career as a child actor, Kensit gained attention when she acted in a string of commercials for Birds Eye frozen peas. She went on to appear in films ...

and

Jeremy Healy Jeremy Healy (born Jeremiah Healy, 18 January 1962) is an English DJ and singer. He is a former member of 1980s pop group Haysi Fantayzee. Career Healy was born in Woolwich, South London. In the 1980s, with Paul Caplin and Kate Garner, h ...

(April 2009) *

Kian Egan Kian John Francis Egan (born 29 April 1980) is an Irish pop singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as a member of the pop group Westlife. Westlife have released twelve albums, embarked on thirteen world tours, and won numerous award ...

and Jodi Albert (May 2009) * Samantha Janus and Mark Womack (May 2009) *

Hilary Duff Hilary Erhard Duff (born September 28, 1987) is an American actress, singer, author and businesswoman. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Hilary Duff, various accolades, including a World Music Awards, World Mus ...

and

Mike Comrie Michael William Comrie (born September 11, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey Center (ice hockey), player. During his 13-year National Hockey League (NHL) career he played with the Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, Arizona Co ...

(August 2010) *

Prince William William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his p ...

and

Kate Middleton Catherine, Princess of Wales (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; 9 January 1982), is a member of the British royal family. She is married to William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne. Born in Reading, Catherine grew u ...

( April 2011) *

Tom Fletcher Thomas Michael Fletcher (born 17 July 1985) is an English musician, composer, author and vlogger. He is one of the lead vocalists and rhythm guitarist of British pop rock band McFly, in addition to being the group's founder. In his 20-year ca ...

and Giovanna Falcone (May 2012) * Victoria Adams and

David Beckham Sir David Robert Joseph Beckham ( ; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Primarily a right winger and known for his range of passing, cross ...

(July 1999)

Controversies

Prior to

's cancer-related death in March 2009, ''OK!'' sparked controversy by publishing an "Official Tribute Issue" with the front-page captions "In Loving Memory" and "1981–2009," even though Goody was still alive when the issue went to press. In June 2009, ''OK!'' ran another tribute issue, this time for

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

. The publication had paid a reported $500,000 for images of Jackson's body being retrieved after his death. The cover photo showed a deceased Jackson on a stretcher, in a neck brace and with an oxygen mask. "It’s a photo that captures the surprise and the upset and the moment of this breaking news story," Sarah Ivens, the magazine's editorial director, said. "I hope the cover will provoke readers." In 2010, the magazine faced more criticism after running a cover story on

Kourtney Kardashian Kourtney Kardashian Barker (born Kourtney Mary Kardashian, April 18, 1979) is an American media personality and socialite. In 2007, she and her family began starring in the reality television series ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians''. Its suc ...

's pregnancy. It published a cover photo of Kardashian holding her son, Mason, and claimed to feature an exclusive interview revealing the secrets to her weight loss. Kardashian tweeted in response, "One of those weeklies got it wrong again…they didn't have an exclusive with me. And I gained 40 pounds 8 kgwhile pregs, not 26 2 kg��But thanks!" She also alleged that the body on the cover was not hers, and that ''OK!'' had Photoshopped her face onto someone else's body. ''OK!'' was criticised again in July 2013 when it published an issue featuring

on the same day she left the hospital after giving birth to Prince George. The front cover of the 30 July issue advertised "Kate's Post-Baby Weight Loss Regime" icand an "exclusive interview" with Middleton's trainer, who claimed that " ate'sstomach will shrink straight back" to its previous size. On

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

the English TV presenter Katy Hill tweeted a photo of her own postnatal body and urged fellow mothers to boycott the magazine. Hill gained support from other women who believed that the story had been posted too soon after Middleton gave birth and felt that ''OK!'' was "pressuring new moms to instantly lose the baby weight." The magazine's parent company,

, later issued an apology in a statement published in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'': "Kate is one of the great beauties of our age and ''OK!'' readers love her. Like the rest of the world, we were very moved by her radiance as she and William introduced the Prince of Cambridge to the world. We would not dream of being critical of her appearance. If that was misunderstood on our cover it was not intended."

Other media

'' OK! TV'' was an early-evening magazine program broadcast on Channel 5 as a brand extension of OK! Magazine. It replaced '' Live from Studio Five'' in February 2011 and was presented by Jenny Frost and

Jeff Brazier Jeffrey Carl Brazier (born Jeffrey Carl Smith; 27 May 1979) is an English television presenter. He rose to fame after appearing on the third series of '' Shipwrecked'' (2001), before going on to present television shows including '' Finders Keep ...

, who replaced Kate Walsh and Matt Johnson in August 2011. An American version of ''OK! TV'' aired from 2013 to 2016. ''OK! Insider'' is a weekly video podcast about the current issue of the magazine. It is written and presented by Layla Anna-Lee and Lizzie Cundy and produced by Simon Withington and is available on the OK! UK website.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1993 establishments in the United Kingdom Celebrity magazines published in the United Kingdom Entertainment magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1993 Mercury Capital News magazines published in the United Kingdom Northern & Shell Reach plc Weekly magazines published in the United Kingdom