Kim Wilde

Personal Info

Known For Actor

Gender Female

Birthday 1960-11-18 (63 years old)

Place of Birth Chiswick, England, UK

Kim Wilde

Biography

Kim Wilde (born Kim Smith, 18 November 1960) is an English pop singer, DJ and television presenter. She first saw success in 1981 with her debut single "Kids in America", which peaked at No. 2 in the UK. In 1983, she received the Brit Award for Best British Female solo artist. In 1986, she had a UK No. 2 hit with a reworked version of the Supremes' song "You Keep Me Hangin' On", which also topped the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1987. Between 1981 and 1996, she had 25 singles that charted within the Top 50 of the UK Singles Chart. Her other hits include "Chequered Love" (1981), "You Came" (1988), and "Never Trust a Stranger" (1988). In 2003, she collaborated with Nena on the song "Anyplace, Anywhere, Anytime", which topped the Dutch and Austrian charts. She holds the record for being the most-charted British female solo act of the 1980s, with seventeen UK Top 40 hit singles. Starting in 1998, while still active in music, she has branched into an alternative career as a landscape gardener, which has included presenting gardening shows on the BBC and Channel 4. In 2005, she won a Gold award for her courtyard garden at the Royal Horticultural Society's Chelsea Flower Show. The eldest child of 1950s rock and roller Marty Wilde (birth name Reginald Smith) and Joyce Baker, who had been a member of the singing and dancing group the Vernons Girls, Kim Smith was born in the West London suburb of Chiswick and attended Oakfield Preparatory School, in the Southeast London area of Dulwich. When she was nine, the family moved to Hertfordshire, where she was educated at Tewin and later Presdales School. In 1980, at age 20, she completed a foundation course at St Albans College of Art & Design. As Kim Wilde, she was signed to RAK Records by Mickie Most. Wilde's father Marty and brother, Ricky, were responsible for writing virtually all of her material in the early-to-mid 1980s. Key influences on the songwriting process included Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), Ultravox, John Foxx, Gary Numan, Skids, Sex Pistols, the Clash, Kraftwerk and the Stranglers. Wilde released her debut single "Kids in America" in January 1981. An instant success, it reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart and scaled the Top 5 in other countries such as Germany, France and Australia. Although it achieved only moderate success in the US, peaking at No. 25 when released in 1982, it is often regarded today as Wilde's signature song. Her debut studio album Kim Wilde (1981) repeated the success of the single, spawning two further hits in "Chequered Love" (Top 5 in the UK, France, Australia and Germany) and the UK-only single "Water on Glass" (UK No. 11). ... Source: Article "Kim Wilde" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Known For

Actor

2022
Il était une fois Champs-Élysées

as Self (archive footage)

2012
2011
Celebrity Antiques Road Trip

as Self - Participant

2010
2007
Countdown - The Wonder Years 2

as Self (archive footage)

2003
2003
ZIBB

as Self

2002
Greatest Hits of the 70's & 80's

as Self (archive footage)

2001
Star Academy

as Self

1999
Loose Women

as Self

1999
Volle Kanne

as Self

1999
TV Total

as Self

1998
1998
1997
Leute heute

as Self

1994
1993
GMTV

as Self

1987
Na siehste!

as Self

1987
Going Live!

as Self

1986
1986
Ambitions

as Self

1986
1984
Musik Convoy

as Self

1982
1982
Wogan

as Self

1982
Na sowas!

as Self

1982
1972
Musikladen

as Self

1971
Disco

as Self

1957
1948
Bambi Awards

as Self