Paula Hamilton

Early life

Hamilton's father died before her birth, and after her birth her mother moved to South Africa, where she was brought up by her mother and stepfather.

The family moved to Hertfordshire when she was eight years old. Hamilton has four half-siblings. Aged 11, she learned that her real father was not Ian Gunner Hamilton, but family friend John Johnston.

Hamilton is dyslexic, and didn't learn to read and write until she was 11. For several years she attended Burnham Secondary Modern School near Slough under the name Paula Sherrin. Hamilton attended the Licensed Victuallers' School, then in Slough, along with Nicholas and Simon Cowell, who both attended for one year.

Career

At the age of 17, after appearing in pornographic poses and after several rejections as a model, she moved to Tokyo, Japan and worked for 18 months. She then established herself in Australia and Germany, before moving to Italy.

Returning to the UK, she was discovered by photographer David Bailey, and as a result became the main model of the Queen's couturier Sir Hardy Amies. During a tough interview with top Italian photographer Fabrizio Ferrei, Hamilton was told her hair was too long for the job. She promptly cut her hair, got the job, and went on to learn the tricks of the trade at Ferrei's side.

Hamilton reached the zenith of her modelling career at the age of 26, when she appeared in an iconic 1987 television advert for the Volkswagen Golf. Changes starred Hamilton, made up to resemble Diana, Princess of Wales. She is seen leaving her husband, posting her wedding ring back through the letterbox, throwing her pearl necklace, throwing her brooch towards a cat and ditching her fur coat – but keeping the car keys. "If only everything in life was as reliable as a Volkswagen" ran the tagline. The advert began a new era in car advertising.

In the early 1990s, Hamilton participated in a television programme Back to the Present hosted by Eamonn Holmes and Esther McVey, where celebrities are regressed to 'uncover' their past lives. Hamilton, whilst being regressed, revealed that in a former life, she had been a male servant named Ashley Brown who emigrated from London to Dublin.

Paula also acted, appearing in feature films such as Mad Dogs and Englishmen (1995) and Monk Dawson (1998). In 1996, she featured in the music video accompanying the British boyband Take That's single "How Deep Is Your Love". The single reached number one on the UK singles chart. In the same year, she also published her autobiography, "Instructions Not Included".

In 2000, after the death of her friend Paula Yates from a drugs overdose, she left the UK and emigrated to New Zealand's south island, and started studying business at Christchurch Polytechnic. Having checked herself into Christchurch-based alcohol treatment clinic The Deanery, she later ended up as a media celebrity after leading a campaign to close the clinic down after it revealed private details of her admission and treatment. After her second arrest and conviction for drink driving, she returned to the UK after five years.

In 2006, it was announced that Hamilton, at the age of 45, had been re-signed by the leading agency Models 1, who hoped to capitalise on the popularity of more mature models, led by Twiggy and her successful advertising campaign for Marks & Spencer. Hamilton is now signed to London-based Mandpmodels.

Hamilton was a mentor and judge on the second and third series of Britain's Next Top Model on Living TV, presented by model Lisa Snowdon. It was revealed in late December 2007 that Hamilton was to be replaced by Icelandic model Huggy Ragnarsson for cycle 4.

In May 2011, Hamilton starred in the second series of Channel 4's Celebrity Five Go To... in which the celebrities visited South Africa.

On 3 January 2013, Hamilton was revealed as a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother 11, becoming the third celebrity to enter the house on the night, and sent straight to the basement. She was later the first celebrity to evicted from the Big Brother house on Day 7, losing to Heidi & Spencer and Frankie Dettori.

Personal life

She went into rehab in her twenties having become addicted to cocaine, having been introduced to the drug by her agent. She was clean of drugs for seven years before becoming an alcoholic. She claims to have been sober since 2006, but was convicted of drunk driving again in November 2012 after crashing her car through her neighbour's conservatory in Farnham Common, Buckinghamshire.

Hamilton married a cameraman in 1987 but the marriage did not last long. She then had a relationship with British Army Officer Sebastian Rhodes-Stampa in her twenties. After they broke up, Hamilton attempted suicide trying to hang herself from a chandelier. She was later linked to Lord Ashcroft, and was once engaged to film-maker Henry Cole. In the mid-2000s, she dated former England cricketer, Ed Giddins.

Hamilton received therapy in 2006, and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. It was revealed in 2007 that Hamilton was in fact suffering from a combination of dyslexia, developmental coordination disorder and Asperger syndrome.

In February 2013, Hamilton was found guilty of assaulting a police officer with a sunflower, and was fined £400.