Billie Piper, the star of Doctor Who, has had a turbulent and dramatic life off the screen, including teen pop success followed by death threats and two content marriages.
It’s fair to say that Billie Piper’s path to becoming a critically acclaimed actress has been rocky, and her relationship hasn’t been easy either. But she’s also amassed an impressive net worth and has welcomed three children.
The 42-year-old Swindon native first gained notoriety as a mid-teens pop sensation almost 30 years ago. In the 2005 Doctor Who reboot, Rose Tyler replaced her as the actor, and she quickly reinvented herself. Surprising critics and viewers with her screen talent, she continues to do so today.
And now, 20 years later, we are once more shocked by her. Billie, who is believed to be the new doctor, was revealed in this series finale. It’s a stunning return to the series that first made her acting name.
But off screen, Billie has endured some tough times. Here, the Mirror looks back at her life so far, from her difficult teenage years, popstar fame, turbulent romances and impressive net worth…
READ MORE: David Tennant’s wife breaks silence on Billie Piper’s bombshell Doctor Who news
Amy Wineh’s classmates in school
Billie’s gifts were evident at a young age, and at 12 years old she made the move from Swindon to London to attend the prestigious Sylvia Young Theatre School. The school, which aims to develop future talent, has produced many household names, including Amy Winehouse, Billie’s childhood friend.
Billie provided some insight into what Amy really was like as a young girl in a recent episode of Jessie Ware’s Table Manners podcast. Remembering her as ‘ super clever, super bright’, Billie revealed: “She was always cheeky. You know, she was that way all her life. I adored the abstract work she would produce.
Sadly, Amy’s differences didn’t always go down well with her fellow pupils, and Billie remembers the iconic singer being badly bullied. She continued: “She got bullied quite a lot at school because she was doing her own thing, and she liked to push buttons, and do weird stuff. And I had a lot of space for that, but not many of the girls did. It wasn’t the easiest ride.”
Teenage fame struggles
With her infectiously catchy 1998 anthem “Because We Want To,” Billie soared to fame at the age of 15. She became the youngest artist to debut at number one in the UK Chart with the hit, and singles ‘ Honey to The Bee ‘ and ‘ Girlfriend ‘ followed.
Although many teens from the 1990s would have been envious, having a singles chart success at such a young age had its challenges.
She discussed the absurdity of overnight fame while recalling how strange it must have felt to relocate to her own flat before her 16th birthday in a 2021 episode of Desert Island Discs. Speaking of her regrets, Billie told Lauren Laverne: “At the time, it felt really exciting and liberating and satisfied me with this quest to be a grown-up. Sometimes it felt particularly lonely and desperate.
At a very young age, I was seeing and experiencing a lot of life. Now, when I look back at it now that I have my own children, it seems unbelievably unsafe and plays in unhealthily to my parenting. “
Death threats
In addition to her younger years as a star, Billie went through a terrible campaign of harassment. In 2001, a woman penned abuse-laden messages which she then read down the phone to Billie’s record company, Blackfriars Crown Court was told in 2001.
She warned of decapitation, dismemberment, burning, flogging, and shooting and called the teenage chart-topper a “whore.” The woman allegedly started getting hurt because she believed the performer had given her a “dirty look” while watching a TV show she was an audience member.
Boyband heartache
When Ritchie and Ritchie Neville were just teenagers thrust into the spotlight with their respective pop careers, Billie and Ritchie met as teenagers. They were love’s young dream until Ritchie broke Billie’s heart when he cheated.
Ritchie expressed regret over his country-wide betrayal of a Russian beauty while on a country-wide tour, which led to the sale of her story to a British newspaper in 2000.
Speaking on the BBC documentary Boybands Forever he said: “It massively hurt somebody that I loved. I regret any pain I caused but equally I was 19 you know? I made a mistake. It ended a relationship.”
Wild age gap marriage
When she was only 18 years old when she and Chris Evans first married, just five months after their first date, Billie was only 18 years old. Given that Chris was 16 years her senior, the age gap romance raised eyebrows at the time, but Billie looks back on their time together as a period of fun and healing.
Opening up with her former Doctor Who co-star on David Tennant Does A Podcast With…, Billie reflected: “I went and got completely hammered for three years with Chris Evans. So much fun – just living very hard. But with a lot of love and a big dose of curiosity and just, yeah – amazing time.
“It’s funny because everyone saw that time in my life as being so awfully irresponsible, making me look like a *** and putting on weight. That stage of my life was very significant to me. I needed that. The best way for me to heal was to not appear perfect every day in a tabloid.
I can tell you that I was completely unhappy, starving, and dark inside every time I saw a picture of me looking flawlessly groomed and manicured within an inch of my life. And I haven’t brushed my hair since! “
We had an absolutely fantastic time together, she continued. You’re learning a lot, but I suppose that’s how it feels during your uni years. It was an incredible time and, not to undermine our relationship because we also had a very loving relationship. We had a very loving and caring relationship, not just “oh, we’re going out and getting f*****.”
Their tumultuous marriage ended in 2004 amid rumors of “screaming rows,” but Billie and Chris are still reportedly close friends today.
Kids and splits
Billie and Lewis actor turned right-wing activist Laurence Fox tied the knot a year later when they first met in 2006 and first met in 2006. They went on to welcome two sons, Winston and Eugene before calling time on their marriage in 2016.
In a recent interview with British Vogue the mother-of-two said of her controversial ex: “I’ve had to make some choices and a divorce speaks for itself. Or at least it should.” Laurence is often in the spotlight for his much-criticised views.
She continued in the interview, “I close everything down and follow a very strict routine with the kids so that there is consistency.”
They are close to me. That’s all I can do. It’s really, really difficult for me to stop people from telling me things. Everyone wants to talk about it, but I don’t read it. Sometimes I have to say to people, ‘ Please don’t bring this to me, now or ever'”.
She and Johnny Lloyd, the former Tribes frontman, had a relationship, and they welcomed their daughter Tallulah in 2019. After eight years together, they split in 2023, citing that their ‘ relationship ran its course’.
Billie discussed the challenges of juggling motherhood and a hectic career in a candid conversation that aired on Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place podcast in 2021. According to Billie, “Striking a balance is impossible, and once you let go and accept that, there are useful changes… I cry at the end of every day and spend an hour in bed saying, ‘ I’ll be better tomorrow, I swear. Everything will improve tomorrow as I read my parenting manual tonight.
In an open letter to Tallulah that was published in Stylist, Billie reflected on how terrified of having a daughter she didn’t want to be before she realized how excited she would be by her arrival.
She wrote: “You have restored – without knowing it – all my faith in strong female energy. I want to take pleasure in your beauty and learn from you. You are a different person from a single woman. And from listing all of my anxieties above (there are many and I promise to always work on myself), I’m at my most calm and able around you. You possess strength.
a large net worth
After her time on Doctor Who in 2005, Billie picked up leading roles in Secret Diary of a Call Girl and I Hate Suzie, which she co-created alongside playwright Lucy Prebble, as well as starring in the Netflix drama, Scoop.
Not to mention her impressive stage career, which included receiving the Laurence Olivier Award and the Best Theatre Actress for Great Britain in 2014, among other honors, for her lead role in Yerma in 2017.
Following her impressive career, she has amassed an impressive net worth. According to Celebrity Net Worth, the actress is thought to have a net worth of $12 million (roughly $ 9 million).
READ MORE: Chelsea Flower Show sees a ‘bouquet’ of Boden’s bright and bold must-have pieces for spring
Source: Mirror
Leave a Reply