Holly Valance, wife of potential Chelsea owner Nick Candy, went from Neighbours to FHM stardom before going broke
CHELSEA are up for grabs – with a slew of billionaires queuing up to buy the club. British businessman Nick Candy is one name who has been mentioned, as the future of the West London giants remains in the balance following Roman Abramovich’s assets being frozen by the UK government. He would certainly bring glam […]
CHELSEA are up for grabs – with a slew of billionaires queuing up to buy the club.
British businessman Nick Candy is one name who has been mentioned, as the future of the West London giants remains in the balance following Roman Abramovich’s assets being frozen by the UK government.
He would certainly bring glam to Stamford Bridge, in the shape of his wife Holly Valance.
The actress, 38, rose to fame as Felicity ‘Flick’ Scully in Aussie soap Neighbours.
She launched a pop career, before she was sued by her former manager and forced to hand out a £200,000 pay out.
Broke, she moved to Los Angeles where she continued her acting career – starring in US TV show Prison Break and appearing alongside Liam Neeson in Taken.
She met Candy in 2009 at a mutual friend’s dinner party in Los Angeles, before they married in 2012 in a lavish Beverly Hills ceremony.
They have since had two daughters and divide their time between London and a stunning Cotswolds home.
Big break
Valance scored a role in Neighbours after former cast member Scott Michaelson, who played Brad Willis, saw a picture of her in a magazine and got in touch with her to ask if she wanted to audition.
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The then 15-year-old agreed, wowing producers who offered her a role three months later.
“I never would have [believed it]. You know the show that I’ve been watching since I was two years old and been such a huge fan. Not in a million years would I thought I would be a part of,” she said.
Valance appeared in a total of 420 episodes, leaving in 2002, but reprising her role three years later for the soap’s 20th anniversary.
Like Kylie Minogue and Natalie Imbruglia before her, she saw her future as a pop star
Music career
Kiss Kiss, Valance’s first single, gave her an incredible platform to start her music career.
It rocketed to the top of the charts in the UK and her native Australia, cementing her status as the new queen of pop.
Follow-up single Down Boy peaked at No2 on our shores, while her debut album secured her a top 10 hit.
However, her second album State of Mind didn’t fare so well – failing to break into the top 50.
Behind-the-scenes, Valance was embroiled in court drama that was blighting her career.
Sued
After discovering her, Michaelson began to represent her.
He claimed it was his idea to transform from the wholesome schoolgirl she played in Neighbours to a sexy singer.
At the time, she also began to sizzle on the front covers of lads’ mag, FHM – showing off her incredible bikini bod to hundreds of thousands of readers.
But in 2002, Holly ditched Michaelson with 15-months left on their contract.
He took Valance to court, where she was judged to have breached their deal.
She was ordered to pay him £200,000 in lost earnings, and was left broke.
Wanting a fresh start, she moved to Los Angeles for a new chapter in her life.
The American way
“I was fed up of being on the road, so I went to Los Angeles to start again,” she told the Daily Mail.
“I arrived with no work lined up.
“Being in Hollywood was liberating because I was able to be anonymous and fall out of nightclubs with friends without it being splashed over the papers. I was able to have the childhood I never had.”
Soon, offers would turn up at her door. She scored roles in hit TV series such as Entourage, CSI: Miami and Prison Break.
While movie roles in DOA: Dead Or Alive and Luc Besson’s Taken gave her a new lease of life.
Love, though, would change her life forever.
Candy crush
In 2009, Valance met Nick Candy at a mutual pal’s dinner party. They immediately hit it off.
“I didn’t know anything about him. I just thought ‘Cor, if I didn’t fancy you so much, we’d be the best of friends. Instead, I want to make out with you all the time,'” she said.
Then she saw his super yacht. She revealed: “When I saw the boat for the first time, I was stunned and said: ‘Oh dear God! It’s a mansion on the water. It’s incredible’.”
Valance moved to London shortly after appearing on Strictly Come Dancing.
Nick soon proposed on a romantic getaway in the Maldives in a five-star luxury resort.
The pair said their ‘I do’s’ in 2012 in a £3million ceremony in Beverly Hills.
Katy Perry was their wedding singer, reportedly paid around £1.2million to perform at the nuptials, while Simon Cowell was also a guest.
In recent years, Valance has retired from showbiz to raise their two children, Luka and Nova.
Should Candy be successful with his bid for Chelsea, you can bet Valance would be thrust straight back into the limelight once again.