Jordan (model)

Jordan (born May 22, 1978), is the public name and image of Katie Price, who was born Katie Infield. Jordan is a British glamour model, perhaps most famous for her large, surgically enhanced breasts and the reports of her personal life in British tabloid newspapers.

She was born in Brighton. When she was four, her father left home. After a while her mother, Amy, remarried to Paul Price, and Katie Infield changed her name to Katie Price. An excellent swimmer, gymnast, and horsewoman, she took up glamour modelling as a "Page 3" girl in The Sun, a popular tabloid newspaper in the United Kingdom. It was at this time that she began to use the name Jordan.

In 1998, Jordan tried out for a part on the television series Baywatch, but did not get the part. In July 1998, Jordan received her first breast augmentation, thus forcing her "retirement" from Page 3 of the Sun, which had recently decided that its "natural beauty" policy required it to stay "silicone-free". Thus began a series of operations to enhance her figure.

Jordan appeared in six volumes of Playboy's Book of Lingerie from 1997 to 1999. In 2002, Jordan was shooting a cover to run in Playboy and Hugh Hefner invited her to spend three weeks at his mansion. She appeared at a number of promotional events for the similarly named Jordan Grand Prix Formula One team during this time, during a period when they were heavily promoting themselves to the youth market.

Jordan's private life and wild behavior and outrageous antics have been extensively detailed by the paparazzi, much of it at European nightclubs. She has had a number of well-publicised relationships. One of her first public relationships was with the pop singer Dane Bowers, of the boy band Another Level, but they ended their relationship while she was pregnant by him, and she had an abortion.

In the June 7, 2001 British General Election, Jordan ran as a candidate in Manchester, England (using her real name) under a slogan of "For a Bigger and Betta Future". As a part of her election campaign—which was intended to bring a little fun into a dull election—she promised free breast implants, increases on nudist beaches, and a ban on parking tickets. In the end, Jordan won 713 votes or 1.8% of the vote.

On May 27, 2002, she gave birth to a baby boy she named Harvey after her grandfather. Harvey's father was the Manchester United footballer Dwight Yorke, although again the relationship broke up before the child was born. Jordan has said she intended to have the birth shown live over the Internet, but changed her mind later and decided to keep it private. Harvey was born at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, his birth being induced when he was two weeks overdue. He was found to be blind, having a condition known as septo-optic dysplasia, meaning that his optic nerve hadn't developed correctly. Media coverage speculated that Jordan's alcohol consumption while pregnant might been the cause, but doctors said that it was almost certainly caused by a genetic disorder. His condition is thought to be incurable.

That same year, Jordan was treated for cancer. She had a leiomyosarcoma on her finger, this being a rare form of malignant tumour which attacks smooth muscle tissue and can spread around the body. She had it removed at the nearby Nuffield Hospital.

Jordan began 2004 by appearing on the reality TV series I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!, flirting in the jungle with singer Peter Andre, which seemed to have resurrected both of their careers.

In May 2004, writing as Katie Price, she published her autobiography, Being Jordan to surprisingly good reviews.

In February 2005 Jordan announced that she was 5 months pregnant with Peter Andre's child. They plan to marry in September.

Under the name Katie Price, Jordan was one the acts competing for the right to represent the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, to be held in Ukraine. On 5 March 2005, singing a song titled "Not Just Anybody", she came in second place in the pre-selection show Making Your Mind Up, behind Javine. The other contestants were the 1996 UK entrant Gina G, as well as Andy Scott-Lee, and the group Tricolore. It is rumoured within industry circles that the vocal tracks for "Not Just Anybody" were in fact sung by Rachel Stevens.

Jordan gave birth by Caesarean section to her second child, a 5lb 13oz boy, on 13 June 2005.

Katie Price claims that she will be retiring her Jordan image.

See also

• Her appearances in Playboy Special Editions

External links

• The official Jordan fan club's website (http://www.jordanfanclub.co.uk/)
• Template:Imdb name
• Jordan: Fronting up (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/uk/2000/newsmakers/2166948.stm) - BBC News article, dated Friday, August 2, 2002
• 'Don't blame parents for baby's blindness' (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2174170.stm) - BBC News article, dated Monday, August 5, 2002
• Jordan treated for cancer (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2185943.stm) - BBC News article, dated Sunday, August 11, 2002
• Jordan's 2001 election result (http://newssearch.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/vote2001/results_constituencies/constituencies/551.stm) - BBC
• News article on her pregnancy (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/4300033.stm) - BBC News article, dated 26th February 2005
• News article on the birth of Jordan's second child (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4089302.stm)- BBC News article, dated 13th June 2005