Nell McAndrew
Encyclopedia
Nell McAndrew is an English
glamour model.
in the Daily Star. She shot to fame as the Lara Croft
model for the video game Tomb Raider
between 1998 and 1999. McAndrew was fired from her stint as Croft in 1999 after posing nude for the cover of Playboy
, the first British woman to do so. This was partly due to the fact Playboy printed references to Lara Croft and Tomb Raider on the cover, which were removed when Eidos
, the maker of the game, threatened a lawsuit.
She has since enjoyed a successful career as a glamour model, appearing in FHM, Maxim, and Loaded many times. She has appeared in fitness magazines, including Shape and Personal Trainer. McAndrew has released many popular calendars.
McAndrew, affectionately referred to as a Forces Sweetheart
, has visited the UK Armed Forces at bases all over the world.
She has had a television
career as a presenter on Racing Rivals, Born to Fight, It's a Knockout
and The Big Breakfast
. She has been a contestant on the reality TV show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! Celebrities under Pressure, Family Fortunes and Dancing On Ice
.
Her first fitness video, Peak Energy (2002), became a best seller. It was followed up by Maximum Impact in December 2003 and Ultimate Challenge, Ultimate Results in December 2004.
In 2003 she was voted the Yorkshire Woman of the Year and won Rear of the Year
in 2005.
She has been part of a number of PR campaigns for Yorkshire Water, including a digital version of herself in their Sewer Raider item on the company website.
She is currently fronting an advertising campaign for Activia Yoghurt, and for 2009 had her hair cut very short, returning to the look she had at the start of her modeling career.
In January 2009, Nell helped Benenden Healthcare Society
, a mutual not-for-profit healthcare organisation, launch their "Fresh Start, Get on Track" campaign, appearing in nationwide radio interviews and online webchats.
as a charity runner, McAndrew completed the event in a time that allowed her to start with the elite athletes in future events. In the 2007 Marathon, she completed the course at a more sedate pace with her mother (after having recently given birth).
For the 2008 Great North Run
, she competed with the Fun Runners dressed as Wonder Woman to help raise funds for charities.
Her time in the 2009 Flora London Marathon was 3:10.20.
Her time in the 2011 Virgin London Marathon was 3:08:25.
Her time in the 2010 Bupa Great North run was 1:26.30.
Her time in the 2011 Bupa Great North run was 1:25.11.
After announcing their engagement in September 2004, she married property developer Paul Hardcastle twice - first in November 2004 in Huddersfield
, West Yorkshire, England, then again at a marriage blessing in December 2004 in Dubai
. McAndrew gave birth to a baby boy called Devon, in Leeds
, on 24 August 2006.
In March 2009 she revealed that she was still breastfeeding
her son, even though he was almost three, and talked about the criticisms she was receiving for this practice.
McAndrew took part in a training session for a charity race in which she wore little more than body paint. Launching the Cancer Research UK Race for Life 2008 in London's Regent's Park, she joined a group of other women whose training outfits were painted on their bodies.
Nell McAndrew is running for Alzheimer's Society in the Bupa Great North Run in Newcastle on 19 September 2010.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
glamour model.
Career
McAndrew started her modeling career as a catalogue and magazine model and as Marilyn Monroe lookalike. She was required to shave her head for a modeling assignment in Germany. In the UK she was featured as a Page Three girlPage Three girl
Page Three is a tabloid newspaper feature consisting of a topless photograph of a female glamour model, usually printed on the paper's third page...
in the Daily Star. She shot to fame as the Lara Croft
Lara Croft
Lara Croft is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Square Enix video game series Tomb Raider. She is presented as a beautiful, intelligent, and athletic British archaeologist-adventurer who ventures into ancient, hazardous tombs and ruins around the world...
model for the video game Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider is an action-adventure video game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. It was originally released in 1996 for the Sega Saturn, with MS-DOS and PlayStation versions following shortly thereafter...
between 1998 and 1999. McAndrew was fired from her stint as Croft in 1999 after posing nude for the cover of Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
, the first British woman to do so. This was partly due to the fact Playboy printed references to Lara Croft and Tomb Raider on the cover, which were removed when Eidos
Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive Ltd. is a British video game publisher and is a label of Square Enix Europe. As an independent company Eidos plc was headquartered in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton....
, the maker of the game, threatened a lawsuit.
She has since enjoyed a successful career as a glamour model, appearing in FHM, Maxim, and Loaded many times. She has appeared in fitness magazines, including Shape and Personal Trainer. McAndrew has released many popular calendars.
McAndrew, affectionately referred to as a Forces Sweetheart
Forces Sweetheart
Forces Sweetheart is a title given to some entertainment women mainly in the Royal Air Force, although it was also later used in the United States.-First World War:The role had its origins in World War I...
, has visited the UK Armed Forces at bases all over the world.
She has had a television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
career as a presenter on Racing Rivals, Born to Fight, It's a Knockout
It's a Knockout
It's a Knockout was adapted from the French show Intervilles. It ran between from 7 August 1966 to 25 December 1988 on BBC1, 28 May 1990 on ITV, 3 August 1991 to 24 December 1994 on S4C and from 3 September 1999 to 6 January 2001 on Channel 5, produced by Richard Hearsey and Ronin Entertainment...
and The Big Breakfast
The Big Breakfast
The Big Breakfast was a British light entertainment television show shown on Channel 4 and S4C each weekday morning from 28 September 1992 until 29 March 2002 during which period 2,482 shows were produced. The Big Breakfast was produced by Planet 24, the production company co-owned by former...
. She has been a contestant on the reality TV show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! Celebrities under Pressure, Family Fortunes and Dancing On Ice
Dancing on Ice
Dancing on Ice is a British television show co-hosted by Christine Bleakley and Philip Schofield, in which celebrities and their professional partners figure skate in front of a panel of judges. The format, devised by LWT and Granada Television, has been a prime-time hit in eight different...
.
Her first fitness video, Peak Energy (2002), became a best seller. It was followed up by Maximum Impact in December 2003 and Ultimate Challenge, Ultimate Results in December 2004.
In 2003 she was voted the Yorkshire Woman of the Year and won Rear of the Year
Rear of the Year
Rear of the Year is a light-hearted British award for celebrities who are considered to have a notable posterior. It was created by publicity consultant Anthony Edwards and is organised by Rear of the Year Limited.-History:...
in 2005.
She has been part of a number of PR campaigns for Yorkshire Water, including a digital version of herself in their Sewer Raider item on the company website.
She is currently fronting an advertising campaign for Activia Yoghurt, and for 2009 had her hair cut very short, returning to the look she had at the start of her modeling career.
In January 2009, Nell helped Benenden Healthcare Society
Benenden Healthcare Society
Benenden Healthcare is a UK-based mutual not-for-profit friendly society run for members, providing healthcare for those who work, or have worked, in the UK public sector. Members of approved charities, credit unions and co-operatives are also eligible. It has a membership of over 900,000, and all...
, a mutual not-for-profit healthcare organisation, launch their "Fresh Start, Get on Track" campaign, appearing in nationwide radio interviews and online webchats.
Sport
Running in the 2005 London MarathonLondon Marathon
The London Marathon is one of the biggest running events in the world, and one of the five top world marathons that make up the World Marathon Majors competition, which has a $1 million prize purse. It has been held each spring in London since 1981. The race is currently sponsored by Virgin Money,...
as a charity runner, McAndrew completed the event in a time that allowed her to start with the elite athletes in future events. In the 2007 Marathon, she completed the course at a more sedate pace with her mother (after having recently given birth).
For the 2008 Great North Run
Great North Run
The Bupa Great North Run is the world's largest half marathon, taking place annually each September. Participants run between Newcastle upon Tyne and South Shields in England. The run was devised by former Olympic 10,000 m bronze medallist and BBC Sport commentator Brendan Foster.The first Great...
, she competed with the Fun Runners dressed as Wonder Woman to help raise funds for charities.
Her time in the 2009 Flora London Marathon was 3:10.20.
Her time in the 2011 Virgin London Marathon was 3:08:25.
Her time in the 2010 Bupa Great North run was 1:26.30.
Her time in the 2011 Bupa Great North run was 1:25.11.
Family and personal life
She has a two brothers and one sister. Her father, Ted, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2003; he is currently in remission.After announcing their engagement in September 2004, she married property developer Paul Hardcastle twice - first in November 2004 in Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
, West Yorkshire, England, then again at a marriage blessing in December 2004 in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
. McAndrew gave birth to a baby boy called Devon, in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, on 24 August 2006.
In March 2009 she revealed that she was still breastfeeding
Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding is the feeding of an infant or young child with breast milk directly from female human breasts rather than from a baby bottle or other container. Babies have a sucking reflex that enables them to suck and swallow milk. It is recommended that mothers breastfeed for six months or...
her son, even though he was almost three, and talked about the criticisms she was receiving for this practice.
Charitable activity
McAndrew has supported charities including Breast Cancer Awareness, Help The Aged, the British Heart Foundation, DebRA, Cancer Research UK, The Lymphoma Association and SSAFA.McAndrew took part in a training session for a charity race in which she wore little more than body paint. Launching the Cancer Research UK Race for Life 2008 in London's Regent's Park, she joined a group of other women whose training outfits were painted on their bodies.
Nell McAndrew is running for Alzheimer's Society in the Bupa Great North Run in Newcastle on 19 September 2010.