Wiki & Biography : Victoria Beckham – Businesswoman

Victoria Beckham is one of the five members of the world-renowned English girl group, the Spice Girls. From being the Posh Spice of the group, she is now a big shot in the business industry. She is also a fashion designer and a model who is married to the famous professional football player David Beckham. After her group disbanded, she released her own hits which included Out of Your Mind, among others. She has also released documentaries about herself, entitled Victoria Beckham – A Mile In Their Shoes and Victoria’s Secrets. She has been an active public interest since 1994 until this day.

Her talent for fashion and design became her new occupation, therefore, releasing her self-named label and the Diffusion line. She was also invited to be a guest judge in multiple fashion-related competitions namely Project Runway, Germany’s Next Top Model, and American Idol. Because of her celebrity status and high net worth, Victoria has faced kidnapping and murder threats. The threats were not solely just for her but also included her child Brooklyn. Charges were filed against the alleged suspects but all charges were dropped.

Early Life

She was born Victoria Caroline Adams on April 17, 1974, in Princess Alexandra Hospital. Although born in Essex, United Kingdom, Victoria was raised in Goffs Oak, Hertfordshire. As young as six years old, she had her decision to have a musical career set in stone after watching Fame, a musical film in 1980. She studied at Jason Theatre School and later at Laine Theatre Arts in 1991. She also attended St. Mary’s High School.

She used to be a member of the Persuasion band. She was the only girl and together they produced songs, including Be the One. Aside from this, she also worked other jobs including being a promo model for Daily Mirror and at a department store’s perfume counter.

Adams Family

Victoria grew up in an above average-income family. Their wealth comes mostly from their electronics wholesale business. Growing up, Victoria was embarrassed by their family’s net worth. In fact, she would ask her father not to drop her off using their Rolls Royce car in order to not gain attention from her schoolmates. However, she would wear and carry Gucci bags to school.

She is the first born of Jacqueline Doreen Cannon and Anthony William Adams. Her mom used to work as an insurance clerk and hairdresser while her father was an electronics engineer who later on opened his own business. Her mother fondly calls her “fat puppy” which added to the reasons why she became weight conscious since when was still young.

Louise Adams is the younger sister of Victoria and Christian Adams is her younger brother. The three of them grew up with their parents in comfort.

Relationships in the Past

Mark Woods

Before meeting David Beckham, her husband, she was first engaged to Mark Woods, an alarm engineer. They first got together in 1991 and were together for two years before their engagement in 1993. However, just a year later, the two had split up. They were together for a total of 3 years before their separation in 1994.

Corey Haim

Her next relationship was with Corey Haim in 1995. He confirmed the relationship in a television interview saying “I absolutely did date Victoria Beckham, yes.” Meanwhile, Victoria has confirmed their year-long relationship in her autobiography Learning To Fly. They both met in a studio in London and Corey says he just had to “hang out with her” reasoning that it was his “obligation as a man to do that.”

They dated from 1995 to 1996. Corey died on March 10, 2010, due to natural causes, although there are speculations of accidental drug overdose. Although he and Victoria haven’t communicated for a long time, she was still shocked of his death, nevertheless.

Stuart Bilton

Following her relationship with Corey Haim, Victoria then dated Stuart Bilton in 1996. They dated for a year before they broke up in 1997.

Marriage and Kids

Victoria is currently married to the former captain of Paris Saint-Germain, David Beckham. During their time of dating, he was still with the England football team. The two describe their story as love at first sight. In a couple of interviews, Victoria would narrate how she knew that David was the one for her when she met him. Multiple times, David recounts that his wife had chosen him out of a sticker book while he, on the other hand, had chosen her when she saw the group on television.

David said that “For the first three months it was amazing because no one found out about us being together.” The two had successfully kept their relationship a secret until they announced their engagement. He proposed to her on January 25, 1998, with a 3-carat marquise-cut from Boodle and Dunthrope. To match Victoria’s engagement ring, David also got himself a matching 96-diamond studded ring. The two rings totaled 200,000 Pounds.

Victoria recalls David’s proposal in an interview: “We were in a hotel up north and he got down on one knee and he proposed. He asked my dad before he did that, which was great and very appropriate.” They were branded as “Posh and Becks” by the media and were the center of the public eye.

Before both Victoria and David tied the knot, they welcomed their son on March 04, 1999 at Portland Hospital in London. They named their first child Brooklyn Joseph. He was 7 lbs at birth and were given birth through an emergency cesarean. The pregnancy came as a surprise to her. She had Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) which is the abnormal balance of a woman’s hormones that often led to slim chances of getting pregnant. After giving birth, Victoria lost a significant amount of weight which was criticized by the public. Despite eating normally, Victoria still lost weight.

Four months after her birth to Brooklyn, Victoria and David got married at the Luttrellstown Castle in Ireland on July 04, 1999. She and David had sold the exclusive rights to their wedding coverage to OK Magazine and were said to have gained a hefty amount of 2.2 million Pounds. This is still a big amount to cover their total wedding expenses which was estimated to be at 550,000 pounds.

The couple reportedly were seated on gold thrones, dressed up as royalty. At their wedding reception, their wedding cake was said to have a nude sculpture of both Victoria and David. The Spice Girls songs also played throughout the party in an 18-piece orchestra rendition. The best man of their wedding was Gary Neville, another footballer who was with David when he claimed that he would marry Victoria when he saw her on TV. Their four-month old son, at that time, was the ring bearer.

Years later, the couple welcomed more children into their lives. Romeo James was born on September 01, 2002 in London, Cruz David was born on February 20, 2005, in Madrid, and their only daughter and the youngest Beckham Harper Seven was born on July 10, 2011, in Los Angeles. Legendary music icon Elton John and his partner David Furnish are the godparents of their sons while Elizabeth Hurley is the godmother.

In multiple accounts, David was rumored to have extramarital affairs with different women. Regardless, Victoria stood by his side. They had renewed their wedding vows in 2017 after 18 years of marriage.

Personal Life

As a teenager, Victoria described herself as not popular to boys. That is why she agreed to have her first date in McDonald’s after being asked by a boy from school. She was almost Lara Croft of Tomb Raider but lost the role to Angelina Jolie.

Victoria and her kids faced kidnapping threats in January 2000 when an informant disclosed a kidnapping plan. It is said that she and her son Brooklyn are to be captured and kept in a secret house in London for a ransom of 5 million Pounds. A death threat followed that in March 2000. During the rehearsal, a red laser appeared on her chest that resulted in her being taken immediately away from the stage. During the investigation, an open fire door was seen to be forcefully opened fueling speculations that an assassin could really have been in position beforehand.

It wasn’t until in November 2002 that the suspected people for the kidnapping plan were arrested. There were four men and a woman but all charges against them were dropped after the court ruled out that the witness was unreliable. 

Spice Girls and Solo Music Career

She first auditioned for The Stage in March 1994 for an advertisement. Later that year, she joined Geri Halliwell, Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm, and Emma Bunton and they formed The Spice Girls. She, however, was credited with her maiden name. They released their song Wannabe that topped the UK and US Music Charts. The rest of their singles also stayed on top of the charts. She received the nickname “Posh Spice” while she was still in the group. They were branded as the “best-selling female group of all time” with over 80 million worldwide records. After receiving her first paycheck from Spice Girls, she immediately spent it on a pair of Patrick Cox shoes.

During the long hiatus of Spice Girls, Victoria went on to with solo career. She released Out of Your Mind on August 14, 2000. Her first solo album was on October 01, 2001 and her second album was released on February 11, 2002. After her contract with Virgin Records ended, she has decided not to renew. However, rampant rumors spread that she along with her fellow Spice Girls were dropped by the label which was quickly denied by their publicists. She signed with Telstar Records in 2002 and had recorded unreleased albums and songs but was later on dropped by the label after it went bankrupt. From then on, she closed the chapter on her music career and pursued her passion for fashion.

After years of not being involved in the music industry, she along with the ladies of Spice Girls reunited once more in 2007. They had their reunion tour and released their Greatest Hits album in November of 2007. Victoria had to dye her hair brown for the tour. During this time, an official film about the tour was made and titled Spice Girls: Giving You Everything. After their tour, Viva Forever: The Musical was made in honor of Victoria and the rest of the Spice Girls. Their last performance was at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing which became the most tweeted moment of the Olympics closing ceremony.

Life in Fashion and Design

In 2000, she appeared as a guest for Maria Grachvogel at the London Fashion Week. This gig started Victoria’s modeling career. After that, she has appeared and walked the runway for different fashion events. She became the British Ambassador for Dolce and Gabbana and was the face of Rocawear in 2003. She also designed jeans for the Rock Republic. Her rise to fame in the fashion industry continued when she took part at the Milan Fashion Week for Roberto Cavalli. In an interview, she disclosed that she had liked to collect vintage Gucci and Carrera sunglasses.

She launched her own denim line, dvb Style in September 2006. Following that is her launch of her official website. The following year, she launched her dvb Denim collection along with her eye wear collection at Saks Fifth Avenue. Throughout her fashion career, she had posed for various magazines including Vogue for different countries.

Business Venture and Other Work

In 2008, Victoria launched her self-titled fashion label. It became a constant at the New York Fashion Week. Her products were appreciated and supported by many that gave her the leverage of winning the 2011 Designer Brand of the Year at the British Fashion Awards. Her brilliant work was highly regarded to during the New York Fashion Week in September 2012. With her husband, she has three family businesses, with Beckham Ventures earning most among the three.

She is a huge supporter of the Save the Children Foundation and the Elton John AIDS Foundation. She also supports PETA’s campaign against using animal fur in clothes. She has been listed for numerous times to be a part of the most powerful women whether in the UK or in Britain. Victoria also is a spokesperson for Ban Bossy, a self-censorship campaign. In 2017, she was appointed as one of the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) under the civil division for her services in the fashion industry. Her husband was also an appointee in 2003.

Victoria also appeared in television shows such as her official documentaries. The documentaries not only focused on her but also included details about her family with David as well. In one of the videos, it covered the preparation and the party itself of the 2006 World Cup that were done by Victoria and her husband. Their 600 guests were served with a menu that was prepared by the famous British chef Gordon Ramsay. She also starred in a reality TV series that showed her preparation for the Beckham’s move to the US. Aside from those, she also made a short appearance in an episode of Ugly Betty. She would have also been in Sex and the City: The Movie but she turned down the role for her Spice Girls rehearsal.

She released her first book, Learning to Fly on September 13, 2001, and her second book That Extra Half an Inch: Hair, Heels and Everything in Between on October 27, 2006. Her books were an autobiography and a fashion advice book, respectively. In there, she disclosed how she suffered an eating disorder due to her weight consciousness and what her life was since childhood up to her marriage to David. Meanwhile, in her second book, she discussed tips and ideas for beauty, fashion, and style in general.

Net Worth and Properties

Together with David, Victoria owned and sold multiple houses through the years. Their first home was in Manchester that was bought by David for 150,000 Pounds and sold for 190,000 Pounds. They then acquired an Alderley Edge penthouse in Manchester still and sold it for 600,000 Pounds. In 2002, the couple stayed in a converted barn that had five bedrooms, an indoor pool, and a gym that they later on sold for 1.75 million Pounds. Their most famous property is their Sawbridgeworth home which was nicknamed as the “Beckingham Palace.”

They owned the seven-bedroom home for about two decades. The size of the place reaches about 24 acres of land. They sold it in 2014 to insurance mogul Neil Utley for 11.5 million dollars. Along with the house were an Aston Martin and two Jaguars, all previously owned by Victoria and David. Now, they own a holiday home which is a six-bedroom French Villa which is still on listing for 2.4 million Pounds, another six-bedroom pad in Los Angeles which has an estimated value of 24 million Pounds, and an eight-bedroom family home in Holland Park, London which has an estimated value of 25.2 million Pounds.

With all these, along with other properties plus their own businesses and income sources, Victoria and David have a joint net worth of 508 million Pounds or about $662 million. However, Victoria’s contribution on their total net worth is estimated to be only at 229 million pounds or $300 million.