73 Facts About Mel B

Mel B rose to fame in the mid 1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Scary Spice.

Mel B debuted as a solo artist in 1998 with the release of "I Want You Back" which peaked atop the UK Singles Chart.

Mel B released "For Once in My Life" in 2013, her first single in eight years; it peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart.

Since 2007, Mel B has established herself as a television personality and talent show judge.

Mel B participated on the fifth season of the American dance competition series Dancing with the Stars, finishing in second place with her professional partner, Maksim Chmerkovskiy.

Between 2011 and 2016, Mel B served as a guest and main judge on the Australia and UK shows of The X Factor.

Mel B has judged on America's Got Talent, The Voice Kids Australia, The Masked Singer Australia, Queen of the Universe, and America's Got Talent: Fantasy League.

Mel B was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to charitable causes.

Mel B's father was from Saint Kitts and Nevis and her mother is English.

Mel B studied performing arts at Intake High School in Rodley, Leeds before entering the entertainment industry.

Mel B debuted as a solo artist in September 1998 with the release of "I Want You Back".

In 1999, Mel B began recording her debut album, working with producers Sisqo, Teddy Riley, and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the latter of whom she was working with on the Spice Girls' third album, Forever.

Mel B hosted the MOBO Awards on two occasions, in 1998 with Bill Bellamy and in 1999 with Wyclef Jean, and took part in the BBC-funded short film Fish.

Mel B hosted a number of TV shows such as This Is My Moment for ITV1 and shot a documentary called Voodoo Princess for Channel 4.

Mel B took part in smaller projects as a presenter such as Top of the Pops, Party in the Park for The Prince's Trust and The All Star Animal Awards.

Mel B appeared as herself in an advert for the Yorkshire tourist board in a series which included contributions from other Yorkshire-born celebrities, and in the film Happy Birthday Oscar Wilde.

The media criticised Mel B for using her child in the music video and single artwork, labeling her "Desperate Spice" and insinuating that she was exploiting her child as a marketing tool.

Mel B acted in a long run of shows as part of the cast for The Vagina Monologues.

Mel B was in the movie The Seat Filler, co-produced by Will Smith and starring Destiny's Child star Kelly Rowland.

Mel B said that she was working on acoustic music in contrast with her previous releases.

In 2006, Mel B appeared in the short film Love Thy Neighbor.

In September 2007, Mel B joined the fifth season of the US television dance competition, Dancing with the Stars with her partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy.

In September 2009, Mel B appeared for a week of shows as a visiting panellist on ITV1's daily lunchtime show Loose Women.

From June through August 2010, Mel B hosted the Oxygen weight loss show Dance Your Ass Off.

In November 2010, the console game Get Fit with Mel B was released in North America and Europe.

Mel B served as a celebrity mentor on the second season of the Australia show of The X Factor during the quarter-final of the live shows in 2010.

Mel B was featured as a judge for the third series of the Australia show of The X Factor, which premiered in August 2011.

Mel B appeared alongside Ronan Keating, Guy Sebastian, and Natalie Bassingthwaighte.

Mel B returned for the fourth series of The X Factor Australia and mentored the Boys category.

Mel B's act Jason Owen reached the final, but finished in second place after losing out to Samantha Jade, mentored by Guy Sebastian.

In June 2012, Mel B appeared as a guest judge for the Manchester auditions of The X Factor UK.

In July 2012, Mel B reunited with the Spice Girls for a one-off performance at the 2012 Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony in London, performing their hits "Wannabe" and "Spice Up Your Life".

However, Seven, the Australian TV network that airs The X Factor Australia, filed suit to prevent Mel B from appearing on Australia's Got Talent and any rival networks.

The judge ruled that Mel B was still under contract with Seven until January 2014, which prevented her from appearing on a program aired by another network until after that date.

Mel B had a small part in the final episode of the ITV2 drama series Secret Diary of a Call Girl.

That month, Mel B released her first single in eight years, "For Once in My Life".

On 20 February 2013, NBC announced that Mel B would be a judge on America's Got Talent to replace Sharon Osbourne for its eighth season, alongside Howie Mandel, Howard Stern, Heidi Klum, and later Simon Cowell in 2016.

Mel B judged seasons 8 through 13, and the first season of America's Got Talent: The Champions before her departure was announced in February 2019.

In early 2014, Mel B become a coach on the Australia show of The Voice Kids, alongside singers Joel Madden and Delta Goodrem.

Later that year, Mel B was a permanent judge for the eleventh series of The X Factor UK when she replaced Nicole Scherzinger.

In December 2014, Mel B missed The X Factor UK Saturday final due to illness and did not return for the twelfth series, and was replaced by Rita Ora In the same year, Mel B became a guest co-host on the Breakfast program of Sydney radio station 2Day FM, alongside Jules Lund, Merrick Watts and Sophie Monk.

In January 2016, Mel B began presenting Lip Sync Battle UK alongside Professor Green.

Later that year, Mel B guest judged the thirteenth series of The X Factor UK at the London auditions.

Mel B confirmed her return to The X Factor Australia after a three-year absence to replace Minogue.

In late 2017, Mel B had a cameo appearance in the music video for "Spice Girl" by Amine.

On 5 November 2018, Mel B announced the Spice Girls reunion tour on her Instagram profile.

In 2021, Mel B appeared on the second series of The Masked Singer as "Seahorse" and finished in 11th place.

Mel B later appeared on the panel of the fourth season of the Australian version of The Masked Singer.

Mel B returned to the panel for a fifth season in the second half of 2023.

Mel B was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to charitable causes and vulnerable women.

Mel B was appointed as a tourism ambassador from the United Kingdom to Nevis in 2022.

In November 2022, Mel B presented the BBC documentary Trailblazers: A Rocky Mountain Road Trip alongside Ruby Wax and Emily Atack.

In 2023 Mel B appeared as a guest star in the French version of The Masked Singer and covered Katy Perry's "Roar".

In June 2023, Mel B announced that she would appear as a judge on the second season of the Paramount+ reality series Queen of the Universe.

In 2024, Mel B returned to America's Got Talent to judge on the spinoff, America's Got Talent: Fantasy League.

In 2025, Mel B was a contestant on Netflix's reality competition television series, Celebrity Bear Hunt.

From 1996 to 1997, Mel B dated the Icelandic businessman Fjolnir Thorgeirsson.

In March 1998, Mel B began a relationship with the Dutch dancer Jimmy Gulzar while on the Spiceworld Tour.

Mel B changed her stage name to Melanie G while they were married.

Mel B filed for divorce in 2000, and the divorce was finalised later that year.

Gulzar was prosecuted for threatening Mel B and attacking her sister, Danielle.

From 2000 to 2002, Mel B was in a relationship with actor Max Beesley.

Mel B became the subject of tabloid stories during her relationship with the Hollywood actor Eddie Murphy, who is the biological father of Mel B's second child, Angel Iris Murphy Brown, born 3 April 2007.

Murphy told a journalist that the parentage of Mel B's then-unborn baby could not be proven until a paternity test was performed.

Murphy admitted paternity and indicated that he and Mel B had reached a paternity settlement of $7 million.

In February 2007, Mel B began dating the film producer Stephen Belafonte.

On 1 September 2011, Mel B gave birth to her third daughter, Madison Brown Belafonte.

Mel B filed for divorce in March 2017, and accused Belafonte of emotional and physical abuse.

Mel B cited her divorce from Belafonte and her father's death as her reasons for seeking treatment for PTSD.

In December 2018, Mel B collapsed, breaking several of her ribs and suffering a serious cut to her hand, for which she underwent emergency surgery.

In 2019, Mel B revealed she has been diagnosed with anxiety, dyspraxia, dyslexia, and ADHD.

In October 2022, Mel B announced she was engaged to Rory McPhee.

In July 2024, Mel B was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Leeds Beckett University for her career and work for the charity Women's Aid.