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| Cheryl Ann Tweedy (born June 30, 1983 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne) is an English singer and member of the group Girls Aloud. Throughout her childhood Cheryl Ann Tweedy performed in a large number of modelling and fashion shows. She entered ballroom competitions, sang, acted and won a ballet competition. She won the following competitions as a child: Boots bonniest baby, Mothercare Happy Faces Portrait competition, Best Looking Girl of Newcastle, The Evening Chronicle 'Little Miss & Mister' and Most attractive girl at the Metro Centre. Cheryl appeared in two British Gas adverts, an SCS advert, and an Eldon Square Christmas advert with younger brother Garry. Cheryl was working as a waitress when she entered the UK talent-search show Popstars The Rivals. In the final show she received the most votes in the poll to choose the girls for the all-female group Girls Aloud, and was thus the first to be picked for the group. On January 11 2003 Tweedy was involved in an altercation with a nightclub toilet attendant, Sophie Amogbokpa, in the Drink nightclub in Guildford, England. Tweedy was subsequently charged with racially aggravated assault and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. During her trial Tweedy claimed she acted in self defence (claiming she had been punched first) and denied using racially abusive language. The jury found her guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, but cleared her of racially aggravated assault. The judge sentenced her to 120 hours of community service and ordered to pay her victim £500 in compensation, as well as £3000 prosecution costs. Critics claimed that the sentence imposed was too lenient for what she had done. Some also believed that Tweedy's record company were planning to drop her if the sentence was harsher. Tweedy faced criticism not only for the initial incident, but also for her subsequent public statements apologising to her fans, record company and bandmates but selfishly not to Mrs Amogbokpa herself. Mrs Amogbokpa then attempted to launch a civil court action against Tweedy, however this never materialised. Tweedy admitted she had acted incorrectly and claimed to regret the incident, which took place under the influence of alcohol. She was angered by claims she was racist, citing her friendship with Javine Hylton on Popstars as apparent evidence she was not. |
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