Emma Bunton is an English singer-songwriter, actress, and media personality born on January 21, 1976. She became famous in the 1990s as part of the Spice Girls where she was known as Baby Spice because she was the youngest member. The Spice Girls are the best-selling female group ever having sold over 100 million records worldwide.
When the Spice Girls took a break Bunton launched her solo career with her first album “A Girl Like Me” in 2001. It debuted at number four on the UK Albums Chart and earned a gold certification from the British Phonographic Industry for selling over 100000 copies. The album included hit singles like “What Took You So Long?”, “What I Am” and “Take My Breath Away”.
Her second album “Free Me” released in 2004 featured the hit song “Free Me” and other top ten hits like “Maybe” and “I’ll Be There”. In 2006, her third album “Life in Mono” produced the successful single “Downtown”. In 2007, Bunton rejoined the Spice Girls for an international tour and a greatest hits album. She released her fourth studio album “My Happy Place” in 2019 and reunited with the Spice Girls for a UK and Ireland tour.
Aside from her music career, Emma Bunton had a recurring role on the BBC comedy series “Absolutely Fabulous” from 2003 to 2012. She also participated in the fourth series of the BBC dance show “Strictly Come Dancing” in 2006. Bunton has been a judge on several TV talent shows such as “Dancing on Ice” (2010-2011), “Your Face Sounds Familiar” (2013), and “Boy Band” (2017). From 2013 to 2018 she co-hosted the Heart Breakfast radio show in London with Jamie Theakston. Currently, she hosts her show on Heart Radio on Sunday evenings.
| Full Name | Emma Lee Bunton |
| Date of Birth | January 21, 1976 |
| Place of Birth | Finchley, London, England |
| Occupation | Singer, Songwriter, Actress |
| Height | 5 feet 2 inches (157 cm) |
| Spouse | Jade Jones (married since 2007) |
| Children | Beau Lee Jones, Tate Lee Jones |
| Net Worth | $30 million |
Emma Bunton’s Early Life and Education
Emma Lee Bunton was born on January 21, 1976, in Finchley Barnet London. Her parents Pauline and Trevor Bunton separated when she was 11 years old and she stayed with her mother. She has a younger brother named Paul James.
Bunton mentioned in a TV interview on This Morning in August 2016 that her mother’s family comes from County Wexford Ireland. She attended St Theresa’s Roman Catholic Primary School in Finchley.
She went on to study at the Sylvia Young Theatre School. While there she became friends with Keeley Hawes and they lived and traveled together for six months.
Emma Bunton had a brief role in the BBC soap opera EastEnders in 1992 as a mugger. In 1993 she appeared in the ITV police drama The Bill and had a small part as a prostitute in the BBC drama series To Play the King. Additionally, she appeared in a 2000 public information film by the British government promoting firework safety.
Music Career
In 1994, four women Melanie Chisholm, Melanie Brown, Geri Halliwell, and Victoria Adams responded to an ad in a magazine called The Stage. About 400 women showed up at Dance Works studios in response to the ad. Eventually, Halliwell, Chisholm, Adams, and Brown were picked to form a group. They originally had another member Michelle Stephenson who didn’t stay committed and was replaced by Abigail Kis later known as Emma Bunton. The group felt uncertain because they didn’t have a formal agreement with their management Heart Management and they were unhappy with the direction they were being pushed towards.
In October 1994, armed with demo recordings and dance routines the group started meeting with management companies. They convinced Bob Herbert to organize a showcase for them in December 1994 at Nomis Studios in London. This event was attended by music industry professionals who reacted very positively. This led the Herberts who were managing them to quickly work on a formal contract.
Encouraged by the positive response all five members postponed signing contracts on legal advice including from Victoria Adams’ father. In March 1995 due to disagreements with Heart Management over their creative input, they parted ways. At that time Emma Bunton was the youngest member of the group.
The group then connected with Simon Fuller from 19 Entertainment and officially signed with him in March 1995. During that summer they met with record labels in London and Los Angeles alongside Fuller eventually signing with Virgin Records in September 1995. From then until mid-1996 they wrote and recorded songs for their first album while touring extensively on the west coast of the USA where they had a publishing deal.
On July 8, 1996, the Spice Girls released their first single “Wannabe” in the UK. Before its release, its music video was previewed on The Box channel. “Wannabe” became a huge success topping charts in 35 countries including the UK and the US and became the best-selling single ever by an all-female group. They followed this with nine more number-one hits from their albums Spice Spiceworld and Forever. Each member also gained a nickname from the media with Emma Bunton being called “Baby Spice.”
They continued to release successful singles like “Say You’ll Be There”, “2 Become 1”, and “Who Do You Think You Are” from Spice “Spice Up Your Life”, “Too Much” and others from Spiceworld. In 1999, Bunton released her debut solo single a cover of “What I Am.” After their third album Forever in 2000 the Spice Girls stopped recording together to focus on their solo careers.
From 2001 to 2005 Emma Bunton released her solo albums starting with “A Girl Like Me” in April 2001 which debuted at number four on the UK Albums Chart. Her first single “What Took You So Long?” went to number one in the UK. Despite a strong start, the album’s sales declined quickly. She followed this with singles like “Take My Breath Away” and “We’re Not Gonna Sleep Tonight.” In 2004, she released her second album “Free Me which drew” inspiration from Motown and the 1960s. It included hits like the title track and “Maybe” both of which did well on charts. In 2005, Bunton appeared in the Bollywood film “Chocolate: Deep Dark Secrets”.
In October 2006, Emma Bunton joined the BBC show Strictly Come Dancing partnered with Darren Bennett. She made it to the semi-finals and finished third. Shortly after on 13 November 2006, she released a charity single for BBC Children in Need covering Petula Clark’s song “Downtown”. It reached number three on the UK Singles Chart.
Following this she launched her third album “Life in Mono” which explored 1960s pop styles particularly French and British influences. Despite this, the album only reached number 65 on the UK charts. The second single “All I Need to Know” released in February 2007 did not perform well entering the charts at number 60 marking Bunton’s lowest-charting solo single.
In 2007, the Spice Girls reunited for a final tour “The Return of the Spice Girls” earned each member around £10 million. They also released a Greatest Hits album and starred in a documentary film about the tour. Around this time plans began for a Spice Girls-inspired musical called Viva Forever which premiered in London’s West End in December 2012 but closed after receiving negative reviews.
Emma Bunton and the Spice Girls reunited briefly in 2012 for the Olympics closing ceremony performing a medley of their hits. Bunton also collaborated with Melanie C on her album and was recognized as Foxy Bingo’s Celebrity Mum of the Year in 2013.
She continued to be active in music releasing new singles and eventually signing with BMG Rights Management for a new album My Happy Place in 2019. The album featured original songs and covers and was her first Top 20 album in over a decade.
In addition to her music career, Emma Bunton voiced Mama Bear in the UK version of the animated film “Smallfoot” in 2018. She also performed a special Christmas show at the Royal Albert Hall in London in 2019 featuring guests like Will Young and Matt Goss and supporting the Chickenshed Theater company.
Net Worth
Emma Bunton has an estimated net worth of $30 Million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. The main source of Emma Bunton’s net worth is her career in music and entertainment. This includes earnings from her time as a member of the Spice Girls, solo music ventures, and various television appearances.
Personal life
In 1997, Emma Bunton dated British singer Lee Brennan. That same year there were rumors about her dating American actor Leonardo DiCaprio. In 1998 she started a relationship with British singer Jade Jones from the group Damage but they broke up in May 1999.
From September 1999 to September 2000 Bunton dated England footballer Rio Ferdinand introduced to her by friends David and Victoria Beckham. She got back together with Jade Jones from November 2000 to March 2002. In 2003, there were brief rumors about her and American singer Justin Timberlake.
In 2004, Emma Bunton reunited with Jade Jones after their previous breakup. On 26 January 2007, she announced she was pregnant. Their first child was born on 10, August 2007 and their second child arrived on 6, May 2011.
Bunton and Jones got engaged on 21 January 2011, but Bunton mentioned they didn’t feel the need for a formal wedding ceremony to validate their relationship. Despite this, they eventually married on 13, July 2021.
In 1999, Emma Bunton moved to a £1.6 million penthouse in Hampstead London. In 2003, she had some issues with neighbors who complained about her late-night parties. By 2006, Bunton and Jones had moved to a mansion in Barnet London.
Bunton has been open about her struggles with endometriosis. She’s also the godmother to Geri Halliwell’s daughter, Bluebell Madonna Halliwell born in 2006. Bunton is a supporter of the Tottenham Hotspur football club.
Philanthropy
Emma Bunton contributed to Nordoff-Robbins’ charity campaign which focuses on providing therapy for children facing psychological physical or developmental challenges. She also played a role in launching the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children’s campaign against child abuse in April 1999 alongside Tony Blair and Prince Andrew.
Additionally, she appeared in a government safety campaign to raise awareness about the dangers of handling fireworks featured in TV commercials.
In 2000, Emma Bunton supported the charity Children Nationwide aiming to fund research into childhood diseases. The following year she generously donated £500000 to charities supporting performing arts and music. In 2006, she served as an ambassador for BBC’s Children in Need and released the charity single “Downtown” with proceeds benefiting the campaign.
In 2010, she showed her support for the World Children’s Champions initiative. In 2011, Bunton became an ambassador for Heart’s Have a Heart campaign aimed at aiding homeless individuals.
In 2013, Emma Bunton backed UNICEF’s Every Parent’s Dream campaign which raised funds for vaccines against maternal and newborn tetanus. In 2014 Bunton became a UNICEF ambassador and traveled to Africa to assist in humanitarian efforts to eliminate tetanus.
In April 2015, she collaborated with Specsavers in Bishop’s Stortford to launch a contest where each entry contributed £1 to the anti-bullying charity Kidscape supporting vulnerable children.
Other ventures
In early 2009 and again in mid-2009, Emma Bunton appeared as a guest host on Heart London’s Heart Breakfast show with Jamie Theakston and Harriet Scott. Later that year she started hosting her own pre-recorded Saturday afternoon radio show from 4 to 7 pm on Heart. She filled in for Harriet Scott during maternity leave from October to December 2011 and then became co-host of Heart Breakfast with Jamie Theakston from January 2013 until December 2018.
Emma Bunton won “Radio Presenter of the Year” and “Digital Radio Programme” awards at the TRIC Awards in March 2017 for her work on Heart London. In January 2018, she began hosting a new Sunday night show from 7 to 10 pm which premiered on January 14.
In 2018, Bunton left Heart London Breakfast to focus on the 2019 Spice Girls Tour. She continues to host the Sunday Evening Heart Show Hearts Feel Good Weekend.
On television Emma Bunton has appeared in commercials for Tesco and had a cameo on the Australian soap Neighbours. She also co-presented Richard & Judy in 2008 and assisted Dannii Minogue on The X Factor UK in 2008. Bunton joined Loose Women in December 2008 and appeared in a UK National Television campaign in February 2010. She was a judge on Dancing on Ice from January 2010 to December 2011 and hosted Don’t Stop Believing on Channel 5 in 2010.
In 2012, Emma Bunton returned as a client on Absolutely Fabulous and made a cameo in Keith Lemon: The Film. She judged Your Face Sounds Familiar in 2013 and assisted Mel B on The X Factor in 2014. Bunton also appeared in the Spanish comedy film Cómo sobrevivir a una despedida in 2015 and co-presented Too Much TV on BBC Two in 2016. She voiced Muhimu in a UK episode of The Lion Guard.
In 2017, Bunton was a judge on Boy Band alongside Nick Carter, Rita Ora, and Timbaland. In the fashion world, Bunton collaborated with Argos in 2011 to launch childrenswear lines.
