Amy Willerton

Amy Willerton (born in Bristol in 18 August 1992) is a British television presenter, model and beauty pageant titleholder. She is best known for her work with ITV Network and winning the title of Miss Universe Great Britain and representing the UK at the Miss Universe 2013 pageant.^[1] She got her big modelling break when she was discovered by none other than Katie Price .She competed on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here in 2013 and finished in 5th place. In 2015 she came fourteenth in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women just behind Kim Kardashian.

Early life

Willerton was born in Bristol, England to parents Bruce and Sarah alongside siblings Erin Willerton^[2] and Ross Willerton who is severely disabled.^[3] The family communicates with Ross using Makaton sign language.^[4] She is a direct descendant of the Catholic Church cardinal Thomas Wolsey.

She attended Cotham School before completing her A levels at North Bristol Post 16 Centre. Amy was due to study Media at University in Cardiff before deferring to pursue her modelling career.^[5]

Modelling career

Willerton began her modelling career at the age of 15,^[6] after being scouted by Kate Marshall of Room 3 model agency whilst out shopping with her sister.^[7] Appearing on catwalks around the world for brands such as Karen Millen and Guess^[8] and winning campaigns such as the face of Sure^[9] and the body of Slendertone.^[10]

Willerton is often compared to supermodel Cindy Crawford.^[11] She appeared on FHM's 100 Sexiest 2014 and 2015 list at number 22 then 14, and has appeared on the cover of FHM Magazine twice.^[12] She signed with top London agency Models 1 in 2014.^[13] In 2016, she signed with One Management^[14] in New York.

Pageants

Miss Bristol 2010, Miss Bath 2011, Miss London 2012

At age 17, Willerton won Miss Bristol.^[15] She went on to win Miss Bath in 2011 and Miss London in 2012.^[16] At the Miss England contest in 2012, Willerton reached the top five.

Miss Asia Pacific World 2011

In 2011, Willerton caused controversy at the Miss Asia Pacific World pageant, held in South Korea, while representing the United Kingdom. Willerton, as well as a number of other contestants demanded answers from organisers after discovering that some contestants had been offered automatic top-ranking placements in exchange for sex, by organisers. ^[17]

The events were filmed by Willerton and other contestants (which were later uploaded to YouTube under the title Confessions of a Beauty Queen and spread throughout the pageant industry). Subsequently, she and the representatives from Guyana and Costa Rica fled their hotel to the airport, where the pageant organisers had tried to keep them there against their will and had followed them to the airport to stop them escaping. Despite the organisers denying all accusations^[18][19] the pageant has continued to cause controversy with subsequent winners also fleeing the country and making similar claims of indecency. ^[20][21]

Miss Universe 2013

On 8 June 2013, Willerton was crowned Miss Universe Great Britain in Birmingham and was quickly tipped as a potential winner of Miss Universe by international media and pageant forums. On 9 November 2013, Willerton participated at the Miss Universe contest in Moscow, Russia. Where she became the first woman competing as Miss Great Britain to place in the semifinals, eventually finishing in the Top 10. Previous British contestants have placed as 1st Runner-up at Miss Universe, competing as Miss England, Miss Scotland and Miss Wales respectively. Willerton is the first UK contestant in thirty years to reach the top ten at Miss Universe, the previous woman to achieve this being Karen Moore, who as Miss England, reached the top five in 1983.

Television career

Willerton began her broadcasting career covering events for Fashion TV as a teenager.^[22] Previously, Willerton was scouted whilst on tour with comedian Russell Brand^[23] for the modelling reality show Signed by Katie Price on Sky Living.^[24] winning the competition against runner up Rylan Clark.

Less than 24 hours after landing into London from filming the Miss Universe pageant in Moscow, Willerton flew to Australia to compete on ITV's I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! and placed fifth.^[25]

After competing in I'm a Celebrity, Willerton became a household name in Britain.^[26] She appeared on This Morning, Good Morning Britain, Big Brother's Bit On The Side, The Chase, Mastermind and Lorraine. In 2015, she appeared on Get Your Act Together, which involved her joining and performing with the Moscow State Circus.^[27]

Willerton based herself in the USA in 2016, and began hosting for Fuse TV Network alongside DJ Skee.^[28] She then was selected to host Dance On Network show 'Every Single Step' working with industry legends Nigel Lythgoe and Brian Friedman the show's close similarity to So You Think You Can Dance caused many comparisons between Amy and fellow British Presenter Cat Deeley. ^[29]

Philanthropy and other ventures

Willerton's charitable work has focussed on helping the disabled. She organised her first event, Bristol Rockstyle for the Variety Club children's charity as a teenager.^[30] In 2014 she ran the London Marathon to raise money for The Chickenshed Theatre School.^[31] In 2016, she hosted an Oscars viewing party for the Children Uniting Nations charity.^[32]

In 2015, Willerton began writing for the Huffington Post.^[33] She was a speaker at the Oxford Union debating society at Oxford University.^[34] In summer 2016 Willerton sailed across the Atlantic from New York to London as part of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.^[35]

References

External links

• Missuniversegb.co.uk
• (http://www.amywillerton.com)