Gemma Collins

Gemma Clare Collins (born 31 January 1981) is an English media personality and businesswoman. In 2011, she began appearing on the ITVBe reality series The Only Way Is Essex. Following a brief appearance on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (2014), Collins has appeared in various television shows including Celebrity Big Brother (2016), Celebs Go Dating (2018), and Dancing on Ice (2019). In 2019, she began starring in her own reality series and hosting a podcast on BBC Sounds.

Collins was born on 31 January 1981 in Romford, London, and attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School. She also attended Frances Bardsley Academy. Before her career in television, she was a used car sales person.

2011–2017: The Only Way Is Essex and Celebrity Big Brother

In 2011, Julie Childs, mother of Collins' friend Amy, informed producers of the ITV2 reality series The Only Way Is Essex about Collins, who was a used car sales woman at the time. They went to Collins' house and then filmed her and her friends for two weeks. After going back to work selling cars for a week, she was cast in the programme and began appearing in The Only Way Is Essex from its second series in 2011; her first ever scene was selling a car to Kirk Norcross. While appearing on the programme, Collins opened her own self-titled clothes boutique. Her mother Joan joined in the fifth series in April 2012.

In June 2013, Collins released her debut autobiography Basically: My Real Life as an Essex Girl, which became a bestseller in its first week of release. In November 2014, she took part in the fourteenth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! on ITV. After she refused to parachute into the jungle along with her cast mates, she withdrew after spending 72 hours in the jungle, allegedly due to health issues.

On 5 January 2016, she entered the Celebrity Big Brother house to participate in the seventeenth series. On 2 February 2016, she became the seventh housemate to be evicted, having received the fewest votes to be saved, spending a total of 29 days in the house. In 2017, she returned to Big Brother, as a special guest for a shopping task, alongside fellow ex-contestants Marnie Simpson and Nicola McLean.

In October 2017, Collins presented the BBC Radio 1 Teen Award for Best TV Show to Love Island, and after announcing the winner, she fell through the opening in the stage. The clip later went viral on social media. In an interview with Irish News, Collins said "the seriousness of it is, it could have been really fatal". After the video's widespread attention, further videos of Collins were used as memes, including scenes from her appearances on The Only Way Is Essex and Celebrity Big Brother.

2018–present: Dancing on Ice and Diva

In 2018, Collins appeared on Celebrity 100% Hotter, as well as the fourth series of Celebs Go Dating. Collins also appeared in Gemma Collins: Diva España, a one-off reality television special aired on 29 August 2018. Collins also took part in Celebrity MasterChef, and guest starred in a promotional advert for Netflix's Orange Is the New Black. In 2018, she released her second book, titled The GC: How to Be a Diva, in which she provides advice and self help for women to gain confidence. In an interview on Loose Women, she admitted to using a ghostwriter. Collins then collaborated with fashion website Boohoo.com on a collection of swimwear for plus-sized women in 2018.

In 2019, Collins took part in the eleventh series of Dancing on Ice, alongside professional partner Matt Evers. While competing in the series, Collins had an on-screen argument with judge Jason Gardiner, who made comments about her weight and lack of commitment to the series. Collins was the fifth celebrity to be eliminated in Week 6, after a skate-off against Ryan Sidebottom. In April 2019, Collins began filming for her own reality series, Gemma Collins: Diva Forever. The series premiered on 7 August 2019 on ITVBe. The pilot episode premiered to a total of 673,038 viewers, and was the most watched episode on ITVBe in that week. Diva Forever was subsequently renewed by ITV for a second series, but due to the effects of the 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic, production was suspended. As a result, Collins filmed a new reality series, Gemma Collins: Diva on Lockdown, from her home in Brentwood. In August 2019, Collins began hosting a podcast on BBC Sounds, titled The Gemma Collins Podcast. In September 2019, Collins released her debut perfume, Diva Pink.