Ulrika Jonsson
Encyclopedia
Eva Ulrika Jonsson is a Swedish
television presenter in the UK, who became famous as a TV-am
weather presenter and moved on to present Gladiators and became a team captain of the show Shooting Stars
.
, Jonsson was born in Sollentuna, Stockholm County
. Her parents divorce
d amicably in 1975 when her mother left to be with her lover Michael Brodie in the Netherlands; Ulrika was eight years old. She lived with her father until the age of 12 when her mother suggested that at that age she needed a mother's guidance. Jonsson accepted and moved to Buckinghamshire
, England in 1979 where she attended Farnham Common
Middle School
for a year above the normal age to prepare her for secondary school, then Burnham Grammar School
, followed by St Aldate
's Secretarial college
in Oxford. Jonsson speaks fluent English, French, and German.
in 1989 where she worked as a weather presenter. From 12 September 1989, she was also the weather presenter for Swedish TV3
, broadcasting from London. In 1991, she co-presented the short-lived daytime quiz show Who's Bluffing Who?, and starred in the critically acclaimed French film, The Annunciation of Marie
. In 1992 she moved into mainstream presenting and played host to numerous shows including Gladiators, The National Lottery – plus two major international broadcasts in 1998 and 1999, the Eurovision Song Contest
and Miss World
respectively. She also modelled for Playtex Lingerie during this period and was a team captain on the BBC TV quiz show Shooting Stars
.
In 1997, she interviewed the then British Prime Minister John Major
for the BBC2 programme, The Enormous Election. In 1998, she interviewed the then-Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown
, for her BBC2 programme Ulrika in Euroland.
She presented Dog Eat Dog
(reality game show) from 2001–2003, on BBC1.
In 2002, Jonsson presented TV makeover show Home On Their Own, a show where children made alterations to their house (how they wanted the house to be) during the course of a weekend, while their parents went on holiday. Some of the home improvements included an Austin Powers room, doorbells for the children and a cinema living room.
In 2002 she was also the subject of a Channel 4
documentary, Ulrika Jonsson: the Truth About Men. The programme featured a candid interview with Jonsson, received heavy press attention and attracted 2.8 million viewers.
After intense media attention relating to events in her personal life, she decided to return to Sweden. The Swedish television network TV3
offered her the role as hostess of the Miss Sweden
beauty pageant. She accepted the invitation.
In March 2003, Jonsson was a contestant on the BBC's Comic Relief does Fame Academy
.
In 2005, she appeared with four other celebrities on Channel 4
's daytime show Come Dine With Me
.
On 20 January 2007 she joined 10 other celebrities to take part in the ITV
reality TV show Dancing On Ice
, where she was partnered with Pavel Aubrecht. With previous skating experience in her native Sweden, Jonsson was expected to go far in the event but finished 9th after being beaten in the skate-off by Kay Burley
during week 3.
On 20 March 2007 she appeared in the confessional TV show, Ulrika: Am I A Sex Addict?, broadcast on Channel 4
. The show charted Jonsson's personal journey to uncover the truth about sex addiction. She has appeared on BBC1's Would I Lie To You? (2007).
She declined an offer to appear in the British science fiction television programme, Doctor Who
, due to her lack of experience as an actress.
In March 2009, she appeared in the new ITV series Piers Morgan's Life Stories
, each episode included a celebrity figure and a one-to-one interview with Morgan
about their lives. 4.4 million viewers tuned into Jonsson's interview.
In April 2009 it was confirmed that Jonsson would return to Shooting Stars
as team captain for a full series airing that autumn.
She will be presenting the new series of BingoLotto
, it will broadcast live on Virgin 1
every Sunday night at 7 pm which starts on 13 September 2009.
Her debut novel, The Importance of Being Myrtle, which focuses on relationships will be published by the Penguin Group
on 1 September 2011.
's Celebrity Big Brother
. Jonsson eventually won with 57 % of the final vote during the 23 January final. As results were announced to the contestants, Jonsson said "Oh my god, that's bonkers."
She had been nominated by her fellow housemates on each occasion, firstly by 'head of house' Terry Christian
and then by other housemates, but survived the public vote on five occasions. Jonsson eventually progressed to the finals night, as the only woman left, after LaToya Jackson was evicted by public vote on Day 20. Prior to her entry into the house, various newspapers had reported that Jonsson had negotiated a £175,000 payment, nearly eight times as much as some of the other celebrities. Jonsson commented "It is singularly the weirdest experience of my entire life and I've had quite a weird life".
Ulrika once again entered the Big Brother house on 24 August 2010 for Ultimate Big Brother,reaching the final and finishing seventh.
as the alleged perpetrator on his television show The Wright Stuff
, which was apparently an open secret
in the UK entertainment industry. Jonsson made no public comment on Leslie's naming and did not cooperate with police over the matter. Police investigated Leslie but never charged him regarding the case.
, Buckinghamshire, and has a home on the Swedish island of Värmdö
.
She has previously been linked to well-known public personalities such as Prince Edward
and Vic Reeves
. In 2002 she had an affair with Sven-Göran Eriksson
, then manager of England's football team. Partly as a result of this, she was given the job as a columnist for the News of the World
newspaper in 2003, in which she regularly commented on Eriksson's personal life. Her column was stopped in 2007, a year after Eriksson resigned as England manager. It was announced in 2011 that she had taken legal proceedings against the newspaper over allegations an investigator had hacked into her mobile phone.
In 2002, Jonsson presented the reality television show, Mr Right, where an eligible bachelor (Lance Gerrard-Wright) is faced with choosing a girlfriend from a group of women. However, the eventual winner turned Gerrard-Wright down. Ironically, it was Jonsson who then entered into a relationship with Lance Gerrard-Wright, marrying him on 16 August 2003; they split in October 2005. Their daughter Martha was born 28 May 2004.
Jonsson married for a third time in March 2008, to US advertising executive Brian Monet. She gave birth to his son Malcolm Charles Tripp Monet on 7 June 2008. She now lives with Monet and her four children: Cameron from her first marriage, Bo from her relationship with Markus Kempen, Martha from her marriage to Gerrard-Wright and Malcolm, her son with Monet.
Ulrika Jonsson is also a Manchester United F.C.
fan
.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
television presenter in the UK, who became famous as a TV-am
TV-am
TV-am was a breakfast television station that broadcast to the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 to 31 December 1992. It made history by being the first national operator of a commercial television franchise at breakfast-time , and broadcast every day of the week for most or all of the period...
weather presenter and moved on to present Gladiators and became a team captain of the show Shooting Stars
Shooting Stars
Shooting Stars is a British television comedy panel game broadcast on BBC Two as a pilot in 1993, then as 3 full series from 1995 to 1997, then on BBC Choice from January to December 2002 with 2 series before returning to BBC Two for another 3 series from 2008 until its axing in 2011...
.
Early life
The granddaughter of Swedish opera singer Folke JonssonFolke Jonsson
Folke Henry Jonsson was a Swedish opera singer who sang leading bass roles primarily at the Royal Swedish Opera and in other Scandinavian opera houses for many years...
, Jonsson was born in Sollentuna, Stockholm County
Stockholm County
Stockholm County is a county or län on the Baltic sea coast of Sweden. It borders Uppsala County and Södermanland County. It also borders Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The city of Stockholm is the capital of Sweden. Stockholm County is divided by the historic provinces of Uppland and Södermanland...
. Her parents divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
d amicably in 1975 when her mother left to be with her lover Michael Brodie in the Netherlands; Ulrika was eight years old. She lived with her father until the age of 12 when her mother suggested that at that age she needed a mother's guidance. Jonsson accepted and moved to Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, England in 1979 where she attended Farnham Common
Farnham Common
Farnham Common is a village in the parish of Farnham Royal, in Buckinghamshire, England, about 3 miles north of the town of Slough, on the A355 road between Slough and Beaconsfield. It is to the north of the village of Farnham Royal, and adjoins the woodland of Burnham Beeches.Lois Allan invented...
Middle School
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
for a year above the normal age to prepare her for secondary school, then Burnham Grammar School
Burnham Grammar School
Burnham Grammar School is a co-educational grammar school in Burnham, Buckinghamshire. It is a community school, which takes children from the age of 11 through to the age of 18. The school has approximately 1200 pupils....
, followed by St Aldate
St Aldate's, Oxford
St Aldate's is a street in central Oxford, England. It is named after Saint Aldate of whom little is known, although it has also been suggested that the name is a corruption of 'old gate', referring to the south gate in the former city walls. St Aldate's Church is on the west side of the street, in...
's Secretarial college
Secretary
A secretary, or administrative assistant, is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication & organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit...
in Oxford. Jonsson speaks fluent English, French, and German.
Career
After working as a secretary, Jonsson began her TV career on TV-amTV-am
TV-am was a breakfast television station that broadcast to the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 to 31 December 1992. It made history by being the first national operator of a commercial television franchise at breakfast-time , and broadcast every day of the week for most or all of the period...
in 1989 where she worked as a weather presenter. From 12 September 1989, she was also the weather presenter for Swedish TV3
TV3 (Sweden)
TV3 is a television channel targeted at a Swedish language audience owned by Viasat . It was founded on 31 December 1987 by entrepreneur Jan Stenbeck as joint Scandinavian channel, but Denmark and Norway soon got their own versions of TV3...
, broadcasting from London. In 1991, she co-presented the short-lived daytime quiz show Who's Bluffing Who?, and starred in the critically acclaimed French film, The Annunciation of Marie
The Annunciation of Marie
The Annunciation of Marie is the English-language title of the 1991 critically acclaimed French-Canadian film L'Annonce faite à Marie, an adaptation of the play of the same name by Paul Claudel.-Production:...
. In 1992 she moved into mainstream presenting and played host to numerous shows including Gladiators, The National Lottery – plus two major international broadcasts in 1998 and 1999, the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
and Miss World
Miss World
The Miss World pageant is the oldest surviving major international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951...
respectively. She also modelled for Playtex Lingerie during this period and was a team captain on the BBC TV quiz show Shooting Stars
Shooting Stars
Shooting Stars is a British television comedy panel game broadcast on BBC Two as a pilot in 1993, then as 3 full series from 1995 to 1997, then on BBC Choice from January to December 2002 with 2 series before returning to BBC Two for another 3 series from 2008 until its axing in 2011...
.
In 1997, she interviewed the then British Prime Minister John Major
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
for the BBC2 programme, The Enormous Election. In 1998, she interviewed the then-Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
, for her BBC2 programme Ulrika in Euroland.
She presented Dog Eat Dog
Dog Eat Dog (game show)
Dog Eat Dog is a Saturday night British game show on BBC One hosted by Ulrika Jonsson, which ran from 14 April 2001 to 2 November 2002. It was devised by David Young, then a BBC producer...
(reality game show) from 2001–2003, on BBC1.
In 2002, Jonsson presented TV makeover show Home On Their Own, a show where children made alterations to their house (how they wanted the house to be) during the course of a weekend, while their parents went on holiday. Some of the home improvements included an Austin Powers room, doorbells for the children and a cinema living room.
In 2002 she was also the subject of a Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
documentary, Ulrika Jonsson: the Truth About Men. The programme featured a candid interview with Jonsson, received heavy press attention and attracted 2.8 million viewers.
After intense media attention relating to events in her personal life, she decided to return to Sweden. The Swedish television network TV3
TV3 (Viasat)
TV3 is the brand name used by Viasat's flagship channels in Scandinavia, the Baltic States, and Slovenia. Viasat is part of the Swedish media company Modern Times Group...
offered her the role as hostess of the Miss Sweden
Miss Sweden
Miss Sweden , is the title of the Swedish beauty pageant, which ran from 1949-2003, by the female magazine VeckoRevyn and production company Strix in partnership with MTG. The competition qualified delegates to the global contests Miss Universe and first runner ups to Miss World...
beauty pageant. She accepted the invitation.
In March 2003, Jonsson was a contestant on the BBC's Comic Relief does Fame Academy
Comic Relief Does Fame Academy
Comic Relief Does Fame Academy is a spin-off of the original Fame Academy show where celebrities sing as students of the Academy. The programme was launched in 2003 to help raise money for the charities supported by Comic Relief, with the final of the show occurring on Red Nose Day...
.
In 2005, she appeared with four other celebrities on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
's daytime show Come Dine With Me
Come Dine With Me
Come Dine With Me is a popular Channel 4 television programme shown in the United Kingdom, produced by Granada Television and first broadcast in January 2005. The show has either four or five amateur chefs competing against each other hosting a dinner party for the other contestants...
.
On 20 January 2007 she joined 10 other celebrities to take part in the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
reality TV show 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...
, where she was partnered with Pavel Aubrecht. With previous skating experience in her native Sweden, Jonsson was expected to go far in the event but finished 9th after being beaten in the skate-off by Kay Burley
Kay Burley
Kay Burley is an English television newsreader, presenter and journalist. She currently anchors the Afternoon Live programme on the Sky News station.-Early life:...
during week 3.
On 20 March 2007 she appeared in the confessional TV show, Ulrika: Am I A Sex Addict?, broadcast on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
. The show charted Jonsson's personal journey to uncover the truth about sex addiction. She has appeared on BBC1's Would I Lie To You? (2007).
She declined an offer to appear in the British science fiction television programme, Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, due to her lack of experience as an actress.
In March 2009, she appeared in the new ITV series Piers Morgan's Life Stories
Piers Morgan's Life Stories
Piers Morgan's Life Stories, also known as Life Stories, is a British television chat show presented by journalist Piers Morgan. Filmed in front of a studio audience, each programme is devoted to one special celebrity guest. The interviews are intimate, in-depth and emotionally-charged as Piers...
, each episode included a celebrity figure and a one-to-one interview with Morgan
Piers Morgan
Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan , known professionally as Piers Morgan, is a British journalist and television presenter. He is editorial director of First News, a national newspaper for children....
about their lives. 4.4 million viewers tuned into Jonsson's interview.
In April 2009 it was confirmed that Jonsson would return to Shooting Stars
Shooting Stars
Shooting Stars is a British television comedy panel game broadcast on BBC Two as a pilot in 1993, then as 3 full series from 1995 to 1997, then on BBC Choice from January to December 2002 with 2 series before returning to BBC Two for another 3 series from 2008 until its axing in 2011...
as team captain for a full series airing that autumn.
She will be presenting the new series of BingoLotto
BingoLotto (UK)
BingoLotto was a hybrid lottery bingo style game based on the Swedish version of the same name, Bingolotto. Each week viewers with a valid gamecard had 1 in 9.5 chance of winning, however unlike the National Lottery prizes would be life-enhancing, rather than life-changing, with prizes varying from...
, it will broadcast live on Virgin 1
Virgin 1
Channel One was a television channel owned and operated by British Sky Broadcasting. The channel was launched on 1 October 2007 at 21:00 on Freeview, Virgin Media and Sky as Virgin1, replacing Ftn...
every Sunday night at 7 pm which starts on 13 September 2009.
Her debut novel, The Importance of Being Myrtle, which focuses on relationships will be published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group
The Penguin Group is a trade book publisher, the largest in the world , having overtaken Random House in 2009. The Penguin Group is the name of the incorporated division of parent Pearson PLC that oversees these publishing operations...
on 1 September 2011.
Big Brother
From 2 to 23 January 2009, she took part in the Channel 4Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
's Celebrity Big Brother
Celebrity Big Brother 2009 (UK)
Celebrity Big Brother 2009 was the sixth series of Celebrity Big Brother. It began on 2 January 2009 and ran for 22 days until 23 January 2009. It was broadcast on Channel 4. The launch show was watched by approximately 6.4 million people...
. Jonsson eventually won with 57 % of the final vote during the 23 January final. As results were announced to the contestants, Jonsson said "Oh my god, that's bonkers."
She had been nominated by her fellow housemates on each occasion, firstly by 'head of house' Terry Christian
Terry Christian
Terry Christian is a British television and radio presenter whose credits include Channel 4's late night Youth Entertainment show The Word and ITV1 moral issues talk show It's My Life...
and then by other housemates, but survived the public vote on five occasions. Jonsson eventually progressed to the finals night, as the only woman left, after LaToya Jackson was evicted by public vote on Day 20. Prior to her entry into the house, various newspapers had reported that Jonsson had negotiated a £175,000 payment, nearly eight times as much as some of the other celebrities. Jonsson commented "It is singularly the weirdest experience of my entire life and I've had quite a weird life".
Ulrika once again entered the Big Brother house on 24 August 2010 for Ultimate Big Brother,reaching the final and finishing seventh.
Autobiography and John Leslie scandal
Jonsson wrote in her autobiography that an unnamed television presenter had sexually assaulted her earlier in her television career. Matthew Wright named (apparently accidentally) John LeslieJohn Leslie (television presenter)
John Leslie is a Scottish former television presenter. He has presented BBC One's Blue Peter and ITV's This Morning and the ITV gameshow Wheel of Fortune. He was also the roving reporter for the first series of the UK version of Survivor...
as the alleged perpetrator on his television show The Wright Stuff
The Wright Stuff
The Wright Stuff is a British television chat show, hosted by Matthew Wright, and currently airing on Channel 5 each weekday morning from 9:15 to 11:10am....
, which was apparently an open secret
Open secret
An open secret is a concept or idea that is "officially" secret or restricted in knowledge, but is actually widely known; or refers to something which is widely known to be true, but which none of the people most intimately concerned are willing to categorically acknowledge in public.Examples of...
in the UK entertainment industry. Jonsson made no public comment on Leslie's naming and did not cooperate with police over the matter. Police investigated Leslie but never charged him regarding the case.
Personal life
Jonsson lives in MarlowMarlow
- United Kingdom :*Little Marlow, Buckinghamshire*Marlow, Buckinghamshire**Marlow Bridge, an old suspension bridge over the River Thames**Marlow F.C., a football club in Buckinghamshire**Marlow United F.C., a football club in Buckinghamshire...
, Buckinghamshire, and has a home on the Swedish island of Värmdö
Värmdö
Värmdö can mean:*Värmdö Municipality - a municipality of Stockholm County in Sweden, named after the island Värmdön*Värmdö - a large island in eastern Sweden, in Värmdö Municipality...
.
She has previously been linked to well-known public personalities such as Prince Edward
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex KG GCVO is the third son and fourth child of Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh...
and Vic Reeves
Vic Reeves
James Roderick Moir , better known by the stage name Vic Reeves, is an English comedian, best known for his double act with Bob Mortimer . He is known for his surreal and non sequitur sense of humour....
. In 2002 she had an affair with Sven-Göran Eriksson
Sven-Göran Eriksson
Sven-Göran Eriksson , in Sweden commonly referred to just by his nickname Svennis, is a Swedish ex-football manager. From October 2010 to October 2011 he managed Football League Championship side Leicester City....
, then manager of England's football team. Partly as a result of this, she was given the job as a columnist for the News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
newspaper in 2003, in which she regularly commented on Eriksson's personal life. Her column was stopped in 2007, a year after Eriksson resigned as England manager. It was announced in 2011 that she had taken legal proceedings against the newspaper over allegations an investigator had hacked into her mobile phone.
In 2002, Jonsson presented the reality television show, Mr Right, where an eligible bachelor (Lance Gerrard-Wright) is faced with choosing a girlfriend from a group of women. However, the eventual winner turned Gerrard-Wright down. Ironically, it was Jonsson who then entered into a relationship with Lance Gerrard-Wright, marrying him on 16 August 2003; they split in October 2005. Their daughter Martha was born 28 May 2004.
Jonsson married for a third time in March 2008, to US advertising executive Brian Monet. She gave birth to his son Malcolm Charles Tripp Monet on 7 June 2008. She now lives with Monet and her four children: Cameron from her first marriage, Bo from her relationship with Markus Kempen, Martha from her marriage to Gerrard-Wright and Malcolm, her son with Monet.
Ulrika Jonsson is also a Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
fan
Fan (person)
A Fan, sometimes also called aficionado or supporter, is a person with a liking and enthusiasm for something, such as a band or a sports team. Fans of a particular thing or person constitute its fanbase or fandom...
.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | The Annunciation of Marie The Annunciation of Marie The Annunciation of Marie is the English-language title of the 1991 critically acclaimed French-Canadian film L'Annonce faite à Marie, an adaptation of the play of the same name by Paul Claudel.-Production:... (L'Annonce faite à Marie) film |
Violaine Vercors |
| 2004 | Bob the Builder: Snowed Under Bob the Builder Bob the Builder is a British children's animated television show created by Keith Chapman. In the original series Bob appears as a building contractor specialising in masonry in a stop motion animated programme with his colleague Wendy, various neighbours and friends, and their gang of... TV film |
Jana von Strudel (voice) |