Sophie Monk

Sophie Monk
Monk in April 2011
Background information
Birth name	Sophie Charlene Akland Monk
Born	(1979-12-14) 14 December 1979 England, UK
Origin	Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Genres	Pop, dance
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, actress, model
Years active	1999–present
Labels	Warner Music (2000–2004)
Associated acts	Bardot, Benji Madden
Website	Official website

Sophie Charlene Akland Monk (born 14 December 1979) is a London-born Australian singer, model and actress. Monk was a member of the girl group Bardot and released a solo album called Calendar Girl. She appeared in films such as Date Movie, Click, and Spring Breakdown.

Early life

Monk was born in England, but her parents moved to Australia's Gold Coast in Queensland. She also spent time at A. B. Paterson College and MacGregor State High School, where she was a School Captain in her senior year (graduating in 1997) and was enlisted in the school's CAD (Centre of Artistic Development) Program.

Music

Bardot

Main article: Bardot (band)

Monk's professional music career began in 1999 when she responded to an advertisement at the recommendation of her mother which requested girls with vocal and dance experience. The advertisement was for an Australian reality television series, Popstars, a TV talent show which aimed to create a successful new girl group. In one audition, she performed a rendition of Marilyn Monroe's famous "Happy Birthday, Mr. President", working on her previous experience as a Monroe impersonator at Warner Bros. Movie World. After numerous rounds of singing and dancing workshops, Monk was selected as a member of the group, which was named Bardot.

Bardot became the first Australian act to debut at the No. 1 position with both its debut single, "Poison", and self-titled debut album. Further singles "I Should've Never Let You Go" and "These Days" followed and in August, the group embarked on its first national tour. Bardot performed at the 2000 ARIA Awards at which they were nominated in three categories. In July 2001, the group released "ASAP", the first single from their second album. Bardot now had more control over their music and image. The single peaked Top 5, as did follow-up single, "I Need Somebody", their most successful single since "Poison". The second album, Play It Like That debuted at No. 16, achieving gold status. Monk co-wrote the album track "Feel Right" with bandmate Sally Polihronas. In 2002, final single, "Love Will Find A Way" completed Bardot's string of consecutive Top 20 hits and the group embarked on its second national tour. In May, the group disbanded.

Solo album

In 2002, Monk signed a recording contract with Warner Music Australia and started working on a solo album.^{[citation needed]} The first single "Inside Outside" was released in October 2002 and was produced by Grammy Award winning music producer Rob Davis. Monk performed the song at the 2002 The Footy Show Grand Finale to promote the single. The track peaked at No. 5 on the ARIA Singles Chart and went on to sell over 35,000 copies worldwide. Her next single, "Get the Music On", peaked at No. 10 on the ARIA Singles Chart. On 5 May 2003 Monk released her debut album Calendar Girl which peaked at No. 35 on the ARIA Albums Chart. The album received mixed reviews from critics with Monk co-writing four of the albums tracks. Following the release of the album Monk released her third and final single, "One Breath Away", which peaked at No. 23 on the ARIA Singles Chart. In 2004 Monk parted ways with Warner Music.

In June 2007, Monk recorded a cover of "Push It" by Hip-Hop trio Salt-n-Pepa. The cover was recorded to promote Biofit Bra by Pleasure State which she is a spokeswoman for and was produced by her then boyfriend Benji Madden.^{[citation needed]} Monk performed the song at a Biofit Bra launch in Catalina, Rose Bay. A promotional video was filmed and premiered as part of the add campaign.^{[citation needed]}

Acting

In 2004, Monk made her acting debut in a bit role on the Nine Network made-for-television film The Mystery of Natalie Wood portraying the role of Marilyn Monroe. That same year Monk appeared in the music video Always by Punk Rock band Blink-182. Monk has had small roles in films such as Click, Murder World and Spring Break '83.

In 2005, Monk relocated to Los Angeles, California to pursue a career in acting. Monk quickly landed her break-out role in the spoof comedy film Date Movie. In July 2007, Monk made her American television debut in the HBO Comedy series Entourage. That same year she appeared in the dark comedy Sex and Death 101.

Monk starred in the Warner Premiere comedy film Spring Breakdown alongside Parker Posey and Amy Poehler. Filming took place in South Padre in 2006. Monk portrayed the role of the films antagonist a bimbo sorority girl named Mason. The film underwent a long post-production period suffering distribution problems. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to negative reviews. The film was released straight-to-DVD in June 2009.

In August 2008, Monk was offered $1 million to pose for Playboy, which she declined.

In September 2008, Dark Castle Entertainment announced Monk was cast in the slasher horror film The Hills Run Red. Filming began at the start of 2009 in Sofia, Bulgaria and premiered at UK Frightfest. The film was released straight-to-DVD in September 2009 to mixed reviews from critics with some praising Monk's performance. In September 2008, Monk announced she was developing her own reality television series titled Bigger Than Paris. Monk filmed the pilot in January 2010 in Los Angeles, California. The pilot was not picked up.

In April 2010, Nine Network announced Monk would be a special guest presenter on the travel television program Getaway. Following her first appearance Nine announced Monk would continue appearing on the series in a recurring form from then on. As part of her role Monk has visited Hawaii, Las Vegas, Mexico.

In May 2012, Monk was announced to be one of the celebrities to have signed up for the FOX dating-show The Choice. The series is a spin-off to The Voice (TV series) and sees celebrity judges sitting with their backs turned to a pool of "sexy singles" hoping to score a date with a celebrity. Celebrities such as Carmen Electra, Joe Jonas and Pauly D have appeared in the show. The series premiered on 7 June 2012.

Personal life

Monk started dating Benji Madden in 2006, but in January 2008, media outlets reported that the couple had split up. Monk had returned to Australia alone, almost a year to the day since Madden proposed. On 12 February 2008, it was announced by Monk's Sydney agent, Yoon Kim, that "Sophie and Benji have officially split. The decision was mutual and they remain amicable."

In February 2010, Monk was photographed in a wheelchair following a car crash in Los Angeles.

On 25 January 2011, Monk announced her engagement to boyfriend Jimmy Esebag, chairman of America's Licensing Holding Group. She announced the news on radio during the Kyle and Jackie O show on 104.1 Today FM while temporarily filling in as host for Jackie O. Sophie was placed 96th place for 2011 Maxim's hot 100.

On 7 March 2011, Monk announced on Chelsea Lately that she had separated from Esebag and was single. In 2013, Sophie revealed that she definitely is dating avatar actor 'Sam Worthington' via the Australian radio show ' Fifi and Jules' which Sophie is filling in for co host Fifi Box.

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
2004	The Mystery of Natalie Wood	Marilyn Monroe	TV movie
2005	Pool Guys	Janet	TV movie
2005	London	Lauren
2006	Date Movie	Andy
2006	Click	Stacey
2008	Sex and Death 101	Cynthia Rose
2009	Spring Breakdown	Mason
2009	The Hills Run Red	Alexa
2010	Spring Break '83	Brittany
2010	Murder World	Brooke
2010	The Legend of Awesomest Maximus	Princess Ellen
2010	Hard Breakers	Lindsay Greene
2011	Dorfman	Vronka

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	Popstars	Herself / Contestant	Series One Winner
2007	Entourage	Juliette	1 episode: The Day Fuckers
2010	Getaway	Herself / Reporter	6 episodes
2011	Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation	Herself / Contestant	1 episode
2012	The Choice	Herself / Contestant	1 episode
2013	Live From Mt Richmore	Herself / Host	TBA

Music video

Year	Music Video	Artist
2004	"Always"	Blink-182

External links

• sophiemonk.com.au
• sophie-monk.net
• Sophie Monk at the Internet Movie Database
• Hardbreakers official site