Jessica Cunningham
Jessica Cunningham | |
|---|---|
| Born | 25 March 1987 (age 37)[1] Dronfield, Derbyshire, England |
| Occupation(s) | Businesswoman, actress, TV personality, model |
| Children | 3 |
Jessica Cunningham is a businesswoman, actress, model and TV personality. She is best known for appearing in The Apprentice in 2016. She is owner of an online fashion company Prodigal Fox and the Operations Director for a PR and marketing agency. She also appeared on Celebrity Big Brother 19.
Early life
Cunningham was born in Dronfield, Derbyshire, England. She was raised in Burnley. Her parents ran a second hand store. They sent Cunningham to private Westholme School in Blackburn although she later switched to a state school, St Wilfrid's CE Academy in Blackburn.[2][3]
Cunningham worked as a stripper and pole dancer in clubs across north England. It has been said she would earn between £40 and £300 a night, and sometimes up to £1,000 a day.[4] She has said her parents are ashamed of her but she didn't think there was "anything wrong with it".[citation needed]
Career
Cunningham ran a fashion business Famous Frocks with her ex-partner, which failed and shut down in 2015. She posed for Loaded as a model when she was 21.[5] She left her role as director at a marketing firm to focus on her fashion business ProdigalFox, and be a contestant on The Apprentice.[3]
The Apprentice
Cunningham came to public attention when she participated in the twelfth series of Alan Sugar's The Apprentice at the age of 29. She stated she intended to participate with her "positive, helpful attitude",[6] and described herself as a "dreamer"[7] and a "female Jim Carrey."[8] She was described as one of the "key entertainers" of the series.[9] She was noted for becoming emotional and breaking down in tears on the show, and at one point had to be comforted by Alan Sugar's assistant Karren Brady.[10] On this, she said "Every one is capable of having a little cry under stressful and frustrating situations, and that is just how some people including myself deal with emotion."[11]
Cunningham was knocked out of the competition in the interview round, in the second last week of the show, after her business plan was not deemed satisfactory.[citation needed]
Acting
Cunningham made her acting debut in the negatively received[12] horror film Lock In, later renamed Clown Kill, which was released in January 2014 and is due for re-release under its new name in early 2017.[13] The film had a £148,000 budget. Jessica played the main character, Jenny, an "ambitious, feisty advertising executive" who is kidnapped and taunted. The plot followed Jenny having her drink spiked in a bar, and suffering a sexual assault by a clown. After taking six months off work, she spends the night in the office block and is joined by the same clown who raped her.[14][15]
Cunningham, whose acting was praised by the director and her co-stars, was six months pregnant while filming the rape sequence, and a nude shower scene. For the film, Cunningham had to perform scenes where she is tied up and gagged.
Celebrity Big Brother 19
Cunningham entered the reality TV show Celebrity Big Brother 19 in January 2017.
Personal life
Cunningham has three daughters with her former partner, Alistair Eccles. She lives in Dronfield, Derbyshire. She has spoken of her difficulty of working while being a mother.[16]
She was forced to deny that she had had an off-screen romance with her Apprentice co-star Courtney Wood, which Wood also denied.[17] It was said the two contestants were "found in bed kissing".[18] She said of the rumours "Oh, don’t believe everything you read in the papers unless it comes from the horse’s mouth! No, we’re just good friends."[19]
References
- ^ "Prodigal Fox Ltd". BizDb. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
- ^ "YOU'RE FIRED! We speak to former Blackburn student Jessica Cunningham after her Apprentice exit..." Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- ^ a b "'I'm in it to win it!' - could Lord Sugar's next business partner be former Blackburn pupil Jessica Cunningham?". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- ^ "The Apprentice's Jessica Cunningham used to earn £1000 a day as a stripper". Yahoo News. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- ^ "The Apprentice's Jessica Cunningham Tells All About THAT loaded shoot". Loaded. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- ^ "Doncaster's Pocket Rocket takes on the best and the brashest to be Lord Sugar's Apprentice". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- ^ "Meet the 18 brash business men and women hoping to win the UK's 'The Apprentice'". Business Insider UK. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- ^ "Who is Jessica Cunningham? The Apprentice 2016 candidate guide". RadioTimes. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- ^ "The Apprentice beauty Jessica Cunningham on 'amazing' Lord Sugar and why he fired her". International Business Times. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- ^ "'The Apprentice's Jessica Cunningham NOT Fired Despite Task Meltdown". Huffington Post. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- ^ "Is showing emotion a sign of weakness?". Prodigal Fox. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- ^ "Lock In Movie Review". Horror Talk. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- ^ "Clown Kill Cast". Official film website. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- ^ "Apprentice candidate Jessica Cunningham was raped by a CLOWN in horror film". News Ody. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- ^ "Ex-stripper Apprentice candidate Jessica Cunningham once starred in a low-budget horror film in which she was raped by a CLOWN". World Breaking News. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- ^ "The Apprentice's Jessica Cunningham and Grainne McCoy reveal struggle of being working mums as they reach show's semi-final". Scottish Sun. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
- ^ "The Apprentice finalist Courtney Wood reveals what was REALLY going on with Jessica Cunningham". Digital Spy. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- ^ "Two pairs of The Apprentice contestants 'found in bed kissing'". Metro. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- ^ "The Apprentice star Jessica Cunningham denies fling with Courtney Wood". Metro. Retrieved 18 December 2016.