Ugly Betty is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which premiered on ABC on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010.^[1] The series revolves around the character Betty Suarez and is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian telenovela soap opera Yo soy Betty, la fea. The series was produced by Silent H, Ventanarosa and Reveille Productions partnered with ABC Studios and executive produced by Salma Hayek, Silvio Horta, Ben Silverman, Jose Tamez and Joel Fields. The pilot was filmed in New York; seasons one and two were filmed in Los Angeles and seasons three and four in New York City.

During its first three seasons, it aired on Thursday nights, where it was mostly successful. However, viewership dropped significantly in the show's third season, particularly in the important 18–49 age group. In October 2009, the series was moved to Fridays, where it had trouble finding an audience. The backlash from its fans prompted ABC to move the show to Wednesdays at 10:00 pm Eastern/9:00 pm Central starting January 6, 2010, where it was thought that it would better complement its Wednesday hits Modern Family and Cougar Town,^[2][3] but on January 27, 2010, ABC announced it was cancelling the series due to low ratings.^[4] With the end of the series, there was talk of a push by Ana Ortiz and America Ferrera for an Ugly Betty movie.^[5][6]

Plot[link]

Betty Suarez is a quirky, 22-year-old Mexican American woman from Queens, New York who is sorely lacking in fashion sense. She is known to be bold, good-hearted, and slightly naïve. She is abruptly thrust into a different world when she lands a job at Mode, a trendy, high fashion magazine based in Manhattan that is part of the publishing empire of the wealthy Bradford Meade. Bradford's son Daniel has been installed as Editor-in-Chief of Mode following the death of Fey Sommers (Bradford's longtime mistress). Bradford hires the inexperienced Betty as his womanizing son's newest personal assistant to curb his habit of sleeping with his assistants. As time goes by, Betty and Daniel become friends and help each other navigate their individual professional and personal lives.

Life at Mode is made difficult for both Betty and Daniel by their co-workers. Their most serious threat comes from Creative Director Wilhelmina Slater, a vindictive schemer who devises numerous plots to steal Daniel's job and seize control of his family's company. In addition, Wilhelmina's loyal assistant Marc St. James and Mode receptionist Amanda Sommers continually mock and humiliate Betty for her lackluster physical appearance, awkward nature, and initial lack of taste in fashion. However, not everyone at Mode is against Betty; she gains loyal friends in Scottish seamstress Christina McKinney and nerdy accountant Henry Grubstick. She also receives strong support from her father Ignacio, older sister Hilda, and nephew Justin. During the show's episodes, however, she also sort of befriends Marc St. James and Amanda Sommers, the first being her neighbour in the last season, who also helped Justin with his coming out, and the latter even being her roommate for some time.

Season 1: 2006–2007[link]

Season one premiered in the United States on September 28, 2006 and aired 23 episodes. Major plotlines during the first season include: Betty and Daniel settling into their respective roles as personal assistant and editor-in-chief at a fashion magazine; Betty's relationships with pre-Mode boyfriend Walter and new love interest Henry; Daniel's numerous sexual conquests and his relationship with fellow editor Sofia Reyes (Salma Hayek); Wilhelmina's plots with the "Mystery Lady" to undermine Bradford and Daniel's positions at Meade Publications; Christina's temporary switch to Wilhelmina's side in an attempt to boost her career; the truth behind the murder of Fey Sommers and the death of Daniel's older brother Alex; Ignacio's immigration status and health problems; and Hilda's struggle to find a new career and salvage her relationship with Justin's dad.

Season 2: 2007–2008[link]

The season's theme was "Brighter, Bolder, Bettyer" with a reworked version of Mika's "Hey Betty (You Are Beautiful)" being used as the featured song in its promos. Nine new recurring characters, played by Freddy Rodríguez, Illeana Douglas, Alec Mapa, David Blue, John Cho, Gabrielle Union, Gene Simmons, and Eddie Cibrian were introduced. Lorraine Toussaint continued in her role as Claire's fellow prison escapee, Yoga, as a recurring character. Production was halted in November 2007 due to the Writers Guild of America strike; ultimately the season episode order was cut to 18 instead of a proposed 23. New episodes did not air on U.S. television until April 24, 2008, starting with "Twenty Four Candles", and ending on May 22, 2008, with "Jump". This was the last episode to be produced in Los Angeles.

Major plotlines this season include the following: the love triangle between Betty, Henry, and a deli shop worker named Giovanni "Gio" Rossi; Claire's escape from prison, recapture, and trial for the murder of Fey Sommers; the aborted wedding of Wilhelmina Slater and Bradford Meade; Daniel and Alexis's power struggle after their father's death; Amanda's search for her biological father; Marc's relationship with fashion photographer Cliff St. Paul; Hilda's attempt to start her new beautician career and a relationship with Justin's gym teacher; Christina's reunion with her ailing husband; and Wilhelmina's scheme to conceive an heir to the Meade fortune using Bradford's sperm.

Season 3: 2008–2009[link]

ABC renewed the series for a third season on February 11, 2008. In addition, production was moved to New York City from Los Angeles to make the series more realistic and to take advantage of increased tax incentives in New York. The third season premiered on September 25, 2008. This season added ten new recurring regulars, played by Grant Bowler, Mark Consuelos, Heather Tom, Val Emmich, Ralph Macchio, Sarah Lafleur, Bernadette Peters, Lauren Velez and Daniel Eric Gold. Lindsay Lohan, Julian De La Celle, Derek Riddell and Eddie Cibrian returned from the second season for more appearances. "The Show" by Australian singer Lenka is used as the promo theme for the season. This season dealt with Betty and Marc getting into the YETI Program. In the YETI Program, Betty gets teamed up with a sports magazine employee named Matt Hartley. As they get to know each other Betty finds out that Matt comes from a very wealthy family after Matt's attempts to financially save Betty's family from facing eviction from their home. They eventually start dating and become a couple. Meanwhile, Daniel falls in love with Connor's girlfriend, Molly, despite knowing that she has cancer and might not make it. All the while, Connor begins dating Wilhelmina without Daniel and Molly knowing. Connor swindles the company and escapes the country, leaving Wilhelmina behind. Wilhelmina bribed Christina to be a surrogate for her unborn child with Claire's deceased husband Bradford. After the child was born, Christina realizes that the child she gave birth to for Wilhelmina is actually her own child. Therefore, she and Stuart decide to sneakily steal the baby from Wilhelmina and flee to Scotland, until they were caught by the police. Later on, Wilhelmina hands baby Will over to Christina and Stuart and the couple eventually move back to Scotland with their son. By the season finale, Betty gets promoted to Features Editor (at Marc's cost). Daniel and Molly get married, but Molly devastatingly passes away from cancer at the end of the season.

Season 4: 2009–2010[link]

The fourth season premiere in the United States aired in October 2009 on a new night and time. After three seasons on Thursday nights, the show was moved to the Friday night death slot amid protests from its fans. Beginning on January 6, 2010, the show aired Wednesdays at 10:00 pm Eastern/9:00 pm Central time. Season four shows Betty adapting to her new position as an associate features editor at Mode. Adam Rodriguez plays Bobby Talercio, Hilda Suarez's boyfriend (later fiancé, then husband). Hilda was previously dating Coach Tony Diaz, played by Rodriguez' Season 8 replacement on CSI: Miami, Eddie Cibrian. Several promos featured the M People song "Moving on Up".

On January 27, 2010, ABC confirmed that the series would end in April, at the same time as reducing the season length from 22 to 20 episodes.^[7] The last episode aired on April 14, 2010.

The fourth season premiered in the United Kingdom on August 11, 2010 on E4 and August 15, 2010 on Channel 4. The season Finale aired on December 22, 2010 on E4. The finale showed Daniel realizing he has feelings for Betty and Betty is finally leaving Mode for good; he surprises Betty one day in London, telling her that he has left Mode and is going to stay around and look for a new career opportunity.

Cast[link]

List of main roles

List of notable recurring roles

Cancellation[link]

On January 27, 2010, ABC announced that Ugly Betty would cease production after the fourth season finale, which aired in April 2010.^[8] "We've mutually come to the difficult decision to make this Ugly Betty's final season", executive producer Silvio Horta and ABC Entertainment president Steve McPherson said in a joint statement. The show had struggled in the ratings in the US, falling from an average 8.1m to 5.3m viewers between the third and fourth seasons.^[9]

Future[link]

On April 16, 2010, it was reported that an Ugly Betty movie could be in the works. In an interview, series star Ana Ortiz stated:

There may be a movie. It's something that we’ve been talking about and it's something that America Ferrera would really love to do. That woman has so much determination that I can’t imagine anything she puts her mind to not getting done.^[10]

On September 15, 2010, America Ferrera stated that she knows of no plans for an Ugly Betty movie and that she thinks "the rumor is well and alive— it's always a possibility I suppose!".^[11] On September 29, 2010, Entertainment Weekly writer Michael Ausiello reported that a movie is not going to happen.^[12]

On November 9, 2011 America Ferrera stated on perezhilton.com "It's so wonderful that the fans care so much that this question about the movie just keeps coming up. It's not anything that's actually in the works but is something that's always a possibility, and it's wonderful to know that the fans want it."

[edit] Spin-off

[edit] Mode After Hours

Mode After Hours
Format	Web series
Starring	Becki Newton Michael Urie
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	19 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time	4 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC

Mode After Hours is spin-off web-series chronicles the adventures of Marc and Amanda when all (excluding security) staff members have left Mode for the night. The two usually plan on what to do in the future, dressing up as co-workers and mocking them, prepare for a date, going onto online dating sites, competing in certain activities, and inadvertently annoying security.

Even though the show mainly features Marc and Amanda, a few other characters are seen whose faces are never shown. Perhaps the only other main character of the show is Marc and Amanda's only nemesis who is, by far, the only mentioned MEADE Publications Security Officer, named Sander, who is in charge of watching the Mode hallways. Sander would be a judge of some competitions between the two such as dancing but on a negative note, he collects tapes of Marc and Amanda and making a collection of the two fooling around.

Production[link]

The idea to bring Ugly Betty to American TV screens began in 2001 when NBC was planning to adapt Betty as a half-hour comedy, which would be produced by Sony Pictures Television^[13] but it never made past the planning stages (It took three writers to come up with a concept based around the character)^[14] until ABC and Hayek's company came on board in 2004 and retooled it as an hour-long comedy-drama.^[15] Two years later, on May 16, 2006, ABC announced that Ugly Betty would be part of the 2006–2007 North American season lineup as a weekly hour-long series; the initial order was for 13 episodes.

ABC had announced the title of the series would be Betty the Ugly, a change from its developmental title, but changed it back to Ugly Betty on July 14,^[16] although the Ugly Betty title was already being used in promotions prior to this date on Citytv. There was speculation that the show would be a daily serial that would have debuted as a summer 2006 or midseason 2007 entry, but given the buzz and growing interest in the show, the network decided to make it a weekly series instead. On August 8, 2006, ABC decided at the last minute to make a schedule change to move Ugly Betty from its previously announced Friday 8 p.m. (ET) time period to Thursday at 8 p.m. replacing sitcoms Notes from the Underbelly and Big Day as a lead-in to top-rated program Grey's Anatomy, due to the growing interest in the show.

The program's pilot was tested on several cable providers to gauge interest and feedback from viewers, most notably the Hispanic community, including those who are fans of the original Betty, who hoped that ABC would maintain the integrity of the original. ABC also allowed its affiliates to show free off-air screenings to the public at various events ahead of the show's debut. In addition the network screened the debut episode on the web and made the episodes available for download on iTunes after their initial airings on January 5, 2007. The encore episodes also have run on ABC Family and SOAPnet, both of which have aired marathons of the show.

On October 13, 2006, ABC ordered a full season pick-up for the series, beyond the original 13 ordered at the May Upfronts^[17] due to its premiere ratings. ABC originally announced 22 episodes for the season 1, but increased the number of episodes by one to 23. The season finale is the episode called "East Side Story." On March 21, 2007, ABC renewed the series for a second season.^[18]

Although he joined NBC as their new entertainment head, Ben Silverman remained co-executive producer on the show, but in a limited role.^[19]

In November 2007, the cast of the series made headlines when they threw their support behind the 2007 Writers' Strike by joining them on the picket line in solidarity. Ferrera commented on the reason why they did this: "The issues coming up with the actors’ contracts are very similar to what the writers are dealing with right now, and we have to stay united and stand strong within the creative community for what we believe is fair."^[20] On November 25, the cast appeared in a 38-second video for "Speechless Hollywood" in which a black & white camera pulled away from a close up of Ferrera to showing her co-stars sitting next to her as they look directly at the camera without speaking.^[21]

On February 11, 2008, ABC picked up Ugly Betty for the 2008–09 television season, along with nine other shows.^[22] Unfortunately on the day the renewal was announced, two of the show's executive producers, Marco Pennette and James Hayman, were let go. The departures of Pennette and Hayman adds to the constant turnovers on the series off-camera, which has so far seen five writers having exited or fired.^[23] In a Q&A from TV Guide, Michael Ausiello criticized the decision, saying "that someone saw fit to fix what wasn't broken" and praised the two men for writing several of the show's best episodes.^[24] These turn of events may have also contributed to Rebecca Romijn's decision to no longer be a full time regular on the series in the third season, citing the move by new writers to make changes in the direction of several characters, especially Romijn's role as Alexis.^[25]

With the strike over as of February 12, there was the possibility that they could have seven new episodes completed by April, bringing the number of second season episodes produced to 20,^[26] but so far it has been adjusted to 18. As a result of the strike, creator Silvio Horta has delayed plans for a musical episode and having Lindsay Lohan onboard for a possible storyline until the third season.^[27] Four days later on February 16, 2008, ABC picked up Ugly Betty for the 2008–09 television season.^[28]

On March 12, 2008, Horta inked a two-year, seven-figure deal with ABC Studios, which guarantees the show's future and gives Horta a chance to produce other projects aside from Betty.^[29]

On April 17, 2008, the show's podcast, which is usually presented in audio and hosted by stars Urie and Newton, became available on video for the first time.^[30]

On May 6, 2008, ABC announced that starting with the third season, Ugly Betty will return to New York City and start production there. The move was done to bring the authenticity of the series' setting into the show and to take advantage of a tax credit offered by the State of New York's Governors Office of Motion Picture and Television Development.^[31] The production is returning to Silvercup Studios in Queens, where the original pilot was produced.^[32] The move resulted in several crewmembers in Los Angeles being let go.^[33] These events would lead California Assemblyman Paul Krekorian to introduce bill AB X315, the "Ugly Betty Bill", which would keep television and film production from leaving the state by using tax incentives. The bill was passed by the assembly and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed it into law on February 19, 2009.^[34][35]

In January 2009, ABC announced that it was putting Ugly Betty on hold to make room for a new comedy In the Motherhood and Samantha Who? in the Thursday night time slot. The series' last original episode aired on March 19, 2009 and the current season would have finished up sometime in June 2009.^[36][37] It was then announced on Sunday, March 15, 2009, that Ugly Betty will return for its final five episodes of the season on Thursday, April 30, 2009 from a five-week break. Technically it was supposed to be back on May 7, but due to low ratings for Motherhood, ABC moved it up a week. ABC has since pulled Motherhood from the schedule after their April 16, 2009 airing. The two-episode season finale aired on Thursday, May 21 from 8–10 pm.^[38]

The move by ABC and the show's declining ratings, led viewers to believe that ABC would cancel the show. But on February 17, 2009, Becki Newton stated that the show has been picked up for a fourth season.^[39] That statement would later be confirmed on March 5, 2009, when Stephen McPherson, president of ABC Entertainment Group, announced that ABC plans to renew Ugly Betty.^[40] On April 23, 2009, ABC gave an early fourth season renewal to Betty.^[41]

Ugly Betty was renewed by ABC for a fourth season^[42] and began airing on Friday nights starting October 16, 2009, at 9:00 pm Eastern/8:00 pm Central, although it was scheduled to start a week earlier on October 9. This caused fans and critics to worry that ABC wishes to end the show, since that time slot is perceived as the Friday night death slot.^{[43][44][45][46]} On July 24, 2009, TV Guide Network announced that it has acquired the exclusive cable rights to the show and will air the fourth season episodes 14 days after its ABC run with an option to strip the show daily, with plans to air it weekly starting in the fall of 2010.^[47]

With Eastwick recently canceled, ABC began considering moving Ugly Betty to the Wednesday night 10:00PM Eastern/9:00PM Central timeslot,^[48][49] although there was talk of moving Lost to that same timeslot. On December 1, 2009, ABC, sensing a backlash from viewers over its decision to move it to Fridays, its sliding ratings and praises from critics over the improved storylines, made the move to Wednesday official by announcing that it would start airing new episodes on its new night starting January 6, 2010.^[50][51]

Competition with other "Betty" offshoots[link]

Although Disney-ABC Domestic Television (Buena Vista Television) has sold the series to foreign territories, the English-language version is expected to compete with the in-house versions in several of the locations.^[52]

As noted by the international broadcast posted below, several of these broadcasters have not only acquired this version, but the counterparts as well, including those that were produced by the broadcasters themselves. So far the series has been sold to TV networks and broadcasters in over 130 countries, making this version the most successful of the "Betty La Fea" franchise,^[53] but in the Guinness World Records 2010 El Libro De La Década, it stated that Yo Soy Betty La Fea is the most successful soap opera in the world, upstaging Ugly Betty.^[54]

In the U.S., Univision aired the Mexican counterpart La fea más bella, which ran weeknights at 8 p.m. (E/P), including Thursdays during the same time Ugly Betty airs. The star of the Mexican version, Angélica Vale, was anticipated to make a cameo in the 22nd episode, playing Betty's "counterpart" from the series, Leticia 'Lety' Padilla Solís;^[55] Vale instead appeared in the season finale playing Angelica, an orthodontist's assistant who looks exactly like Lety (pre-makeover).

Inspired versions[link]

While the original Betty la Fea has spawned serialized versions globally, it appears that the weekly American version has begun to pique interest as well.

A version of Yo soy Betty, la fea made by Bosnian Federalna Televizija (FTV), Croatian RTL Televizija and Serbian Fox Televizija began airing in October 2007. The title of the show was Ne daj se, Nina ("Don't give up, Nina"). After a long audition, newcomer Lana Gojak, who resembles America Ferrera, was cast in the role of Nina (Betty). Other cast members were established actors such as Robert Kurbaša, Edvin Livarić, Bojana Ordinačev, Petar Ćiritović, Andrija Milošević, Kristina Krepela and Sloboda Mićalović. The first, and only, season consisted of just over 50 episodes. Although the storyline basically followed that of Yo soy Betty, la fea, Lana Gojak's appearance as Nina seemed to be based more on the heroine of Ugly Betty than on that of Yo soy Betty, la fea. The series had a number of other elements that were directly borrowed from Ugly Betty, rather than from Yo soy Betty, la fea. The series did pretty well in the ratings, but was too expensive to produce, so a second season was never ordered.

In 2007, there had been talk of an Arabic version of Ugly Betty, which would have been produced and shot in Dubai.^[56] This would have been the first Betty, la Fea-inspired series to be directly adapted from the American version, but the project never came to fruition.

On May 24, 2010, the first (and so far only) direct adaptation of Ugly Betty, Georgia's გოგონა გარეუბნიდან (Gogona Gareubnidan, which means "suburban girl") premiered, a mere month and a half after Ugly Betty aired its series finale. The first season would consist of 10 episodes and would conclude in August 2010.

Criticism from Colombia[link]

In November 2007, Sony Entertainment Television began airing Ugly Betty in South America with Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. However, in Colombia, there were criticisms over the American version, calling it a pale imitation and counterfeit copy of their original version.^[57] The series differ greatly: the Colombian version aired as a soap opera with daily cliffhangers, while Ugly Betty airs as a weekly comedy, only sometimes ending with cliffhangers.^[58] The American version also has a different main plot and explores different themes. While the American version has more than half a dozen core characters, the Colombian version revolves only around Betty and her boss's life with its main plot being Betty's unrequited love for her boss, whom she marries on the series' last episode.

Syndication[link]

The TV Guide Network has purchased the rights to air reruns of Ugly Betty on cable television.^[59] In addition to its cable run, Ugly Betty is also seen on local stations in the United States as a double-run weekend offering, which began in September 2010.

DVD releases[link]

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has released all four seasons of Ugly Betty on DVD in region 1, 2, 4.

The Ugly Betty - The Complete Collection was released on March 28, 2011 in United States, United Kingdom and various parts of the world. The complete series was not released in Region 4.

International broadcasts[link]

Australia

Its debut episode on the Seven Network pulled in 2.03 million viewers, beating Nine's airing of 60 Minutes and Ten's airing of The Biggest Loser in the same time period. Since its debut the series has remained in the top five in the Australian TV ratings.^[60] The season one finale aired August 5, 2007, and received the lowest rating of the year – 1.051 million and only in the 13th slot of the night. This was predominantly because it aired in the same time-slot as the season premiere of rival program Australian Idol.^[61] After holding off on the 2nd season, it was announced in April 2008 that Seven would begin Ugly Betty's second season in a new 7:30 pm Wednesday timeslot, beginning on May 7 The show has lost its large following, only drawing around 900,000 viewers despite strong advertising attempts by Channel Seven. The show was "shelved" after the ninth episode was shown on July 2, and will resume airing the remaining episodes until after the Olympics. It was replaced by "RSPCA Animal Rescue".^[62] Ugly Betty returned to Seven on August 28, 2008, at a new and later timeslot of 9:30 pm Thursdays. The episode aired, "Bananas For Betty" was viewed by only 597,000 viewers and was removed. Seven later announced that Ugly Betty will return twice a week, every Tuesday and Thursday at 7:30 pm, starting when Summer begins. It was then moved to only once a week at Thursday 7:30 pm. Soon after, the show was pulled from screening (after finishing the second season) due to moderately low ratings. It was later confirmed on October 23, 2009, that Ugly Betty would return to Australian screens on Seven's new secondary digital channel 7Two. It will resume with the premiere of Season 3, "The Manhattan Project", starting Tuesday, November 3, 7:30 pm.^[63] It will air right through summer, with Season 3 to then finish in April/May 2010. In digital channel terms, Ugly Betty has been a success, coming first (out of all digital-only channels) in its timeslot, though is averaging 130,000 viewers, well down from its 800,000 and 1.3 million viewers average in seasons two and one respectively. Season 3 has finished airing and the Seven Network are continuing on with Season 4 straight after, starting April 13, 2010, in the same timeslot on 7TWO. Ugly Betty season 1 is also currently airing on Arena TV, an Australian pay TV channel.

Canada

Citytv owns the English-language rights to the series, which aired in the same timeslot as the American broadcast till December 2009, when only the stations in Manitoba and British Columbia started airing it Wednesdays at 7 pm (same time as Eastern ABC where it would be 10 pm, aired earlier than US air in Manitoba), for Ontario and Alberta, OMNI simulcasted Betty Wednesdays at 10PM. In March 2010, Citytv aired Ugly Betty across Canada due to the cancellation of The Jay Leno Show, airing Wednesdays at 10 pm on Citytv, simulcasting ABC's broadcast up until final airing.^[64] Radio-Canada, the French language television arm of the CBC, owns the francophone rights. The French version, known as Chère Betty ("Dear Betty"), debuted in Quebec and in the rest of French-speaking Canada on April 7, 2008 at 8:00 pm local time, 9:00 pm AT.

France

The first two episodes aired on TF1 on January 7, 2008 at late-night time, averaging about 3.8 million viewers (28.4% share) and 3.3 millions viewers (39.4% share). Ugly Betty did really well on key demos 15–24 (First episode: 46.8%, second episode: 56.7%) and 18–49 (First episode: 39.7%, second episode: 56.6%). But week after week the show has lost more than 1 million viewers, in part due to the late night schedule. In an effort to attract more viewers, two weekly TV magazines, Arthelius and Series TV Magazine, placed a cover of Ugly Betty on their February 12, 2008 issues.^[65][66]

Ireland

The European premiere took place on RTÉ Two on January 1, 2007. Season two again premiered on RTÉ Two on October 4, 2007. The second season returned after a break on March 24, 2008 at 8:05 pm. Season Three premiered on November 6, 2008, at 8:40 pm on RTÉ Two and finished on June 4, 2009. Season Four premiered on January 5, 2010 at 8:05 pm on RTE Two and finished its run on June 1, 2010. Ugly Betty airs Tuesdays at 8:05 pm on RTÉ Two

New Zealand

The show aired on TV2 at 7:30pm, Sunday nights for season one and two on TV2. The timeslot for season 3 was moved to 5:30 on Sunday night, finishing on August 2, 2009. Season 4 aired at 5.30 pm on Sundays, completing its run on June 27, 2010.

South Africa

Ugly Betty premiered in South Africa on Pay Channel, M-Net on Tuesday July 17, 2007. It later was re-broadcast on sister channels, GO and M-Net Holiday. The first season fared well with audience's and was a hit for the channel with a strong buzz around the show. Due to heavy promotions for the show across all media spectrums by M-Net, the premiere episode of Ugly Betty attracted 80% more viewers than Smallville which previously occupied its time slot. M-Net marketing General Manager, Koo Govender, says the first episode was watched by about 432,000 viewers.^[67] Generally for its first season, Ugly Betty often generated 350 000 viewers with each airing, bringing in good ratings for the channel. Seasons 2 and 3 aired in the same timeslot as its premiere season; Tuesday evenings at 7:30 pm CAT, with Season 2 premiering on March 25, 2008. The channel premiered Season 3 on Tuesday January 13^{[year missing]}. In its third season the show still pulls in strong ratings similar to its premiere season keeping a consistent fan base. M-Net repeats the show on Wednesdays at 5:00 pm CAT.

United Kingdom

The premiere on Channel 4 on January 5, 2007 attracted 4.5 million viewers.^[68] Two weeks later, Ugly Betty hit a new high with 5.5 million viewers watching the third episode.^[69]

The figures and shares were similar each week, around 2–3 million viewers with 10–15% share; however, the finale rated less than the premiere episode, attracting 3.1 million viewers with 15% share.^[70] This could have been due to Channel 4 moving the show half an hour later that evening to accommodate an extended edition of Big Brother.

Due to the show's success and the fanbase it has achieved in the UK, Channel 4 decided to move up the second season premiere to Friday, October 5, 2007, thus allowing viewers to watch episodes one week after their U.S. airing.

The show went on hiatus from Friday December 12 due to the WGA strike, the last shown episode was Bananas for Betty. Season 2 resumed on September 5, 2008 at 9 pm with the episode "Zero Worship". Season 2 finished on Channel 4, the last episode being shown on Friday, October 17, 2008.

Season 3 started on Wednesday June 24, 2009 with "The Manhattan Project". The show aired on Wednesday nights up until Wednesday, September 30, 2009, when it was replaced by the new season of True Blood. Season 3 was broadcasted on E4 on Tuesday nights at 9 pm, and on Channel 4 (standard and HD); on Monday nights at 10. Its last episode, "The Fall Issue", was shown on Monday, December 7, 2009.

Season 4 premiered in the UK on Wednesday August 11 at 9 pm.^[71] and completed its 20-episode run on Wednesday December 22, 2010. This season, however, was first broadcast on E4, Channel 4's sister channel, before a Sunday afternoon catch-up on Channel 4.

Brazil

The show aired on Sony at 11:00am on Monday and SBT at 02:00am on Tuesday. On July 2, 2008, premiered the first season of the series was aired Wednesdays at 22:30 at night. On May 20, 2009, premiered the second season of the series was aired Wednesdays at first 23:50 and then was moved to 01:15. On November 30, 2010 to September 20, 2011, the SBT reprised the first two seasons at 02:00am on Tuesday. On September 27, 2011,^[72] the SBT, again showing the series 2:30 am and opened the third season of the series that was exhibited until March 06, 2012.^[73] Still no confirmation when premiere the fourth and final season.

United States (Insular Territories and Overseas Military location)

In Guam, ABC affiliate KTGM aired the series twice a week, Thursdays at 9:00 pm (actually a same-day Wednesday night airing due to Guam being a day ahead of the United States) followed by a repeat during the week when a timeslot is available. They were the only ABC affiliate in the United States to air the show twice.

The Armed Forces Network's AFN-Spectrum channel: airs the series on Wednesdays. The network will usually start airing the latest episodes a couple of months after the US broadcasts, as opposed to waiting a year after its stateside airing.

Merchandising[link]

On April 15, 2008, Hyperion Books, a Disney-owned publisher, released a companion book to the series, titled Ugly Betty: The Book, a 175-page softcover about the show in general, which covers the first season and portions of the second, complete with interviews from the cast and crew, tips and quotes from the characters, and mock ads for Fabia Cosmetics and Atlantic Attire. Around the same time, Random House's children's books division published a "magazine"-inspired book tied into the series, complete with photos and mock ads as if they were published by Betty herself, targeted for younger readers.^[74]

In addition, a 2008 calendar for Ugly Betty was released using stills from the first season, while a series of greeting cards was issued in January 2008. These photos were edited to enhance her facial features. A 2009 calendar is scheduled to be issued in August 2008.^{[75][dated info]}

Even the main character has been immortalized into a doll, as Angelic Dreamz, Inc's Madame Alexander collection introduced two different versions of Betty Suarez that were featured on their website in February 2008.^[76]

In July 2009, Coca-Cola UK unveiled a special limited edition Diet Coke bottle created by Patricia Field called "The Betty" for sale in the United Kingdom as an exclusive for customers at Selfridges.^[77]

Reception[link]

American ratings[link]

Television parodies and references[link]

In the October 7, 2006, episode of Saturday Night Live, cast member Fred Armisen spoofed the character of Betty by playing a look-alike named Fugly Betsy. Not to be outdone, a February 17, 2007 episode of MADtv has Ellen DeGeneres (played by Nicole Parker) interviewing an actress on her talk show who plays Ugly Betty, with Salma Hayek (played by LisaNova) always pointing out how ugly she is. The Ugly Betty actress (played by Crista Flanagan) claims it is only makeup and costume but is ignored. Crista later reprised her Betty role in the poorly reviewed parody film Meet the Spartans.^[83] American singer Katy Perry in music video "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" spoofed the character of Betty by playing a look-alike named Kathy Beth Terry.

On April 22, 2007, the 2007 TV Land Awards parodied the series with a spoof aptly titled "Ugly Betty White", with White playing Betty Suarez, Charo playing Hilda, Erik Estrada playing Ignacio, Joan Collins playing Wilhelmina, Peter Scolari playing Alexis, and George Hamilton playing Daniel.^[84] Thanks to her performance in that parody, the producers cast White as a guest star in the second season.^[85]

Even the cast poked fun at their alter egos. On October 30, 2006, three of the series' cast members, appearing in their characters (Ferrera as Betty, Mabius as Daniel, and Newton as Amanda), gave New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick a 'makeover' to make him look more like quarterback Tom Brady in a spoof that was featured on ESPN's Monday Night Countdown.^[86]

It was also referenced in other shows, most notably in "Up All Night", the February 8, 2007 installment of the NBC sitcom 30 Rock, in which Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) says "this would've worked on Ugly Betty" when she fails to crawl out a door without being seen. The scene was patterned after the Ugly Betty episode "Swag" in which Betty crawled through a fashion show.^[87] Hayek will also make a recurring appearance on 30 Rock in the third season.^[88]

In an episode of the TV sitcom Scrubs, Christopher Turk has a picture taken of "Ugly Betty" with his daughter, only for it to be torn up by best friend and main character John Dorian.

In March 2009, a spoof of Ugly Betty, called Ugly Yeti was made by Take180.^[89] Take180, like ABC, is a Disney company and the parody was featured on ABC's website.

Promotion abroad[link]

The buildup to "Bettymania" by various broadcasters also began to take shape overseas, especially in the United Kingdom. On December 6, 2006, Channel 4 began to advertise the show. The ad shows seemingly attractive models gathered around a pool, but as the camera angle changes a model comes out of the pool wearing Betty's glasses, then as the models smile, they are all wearing Betty's braces. Another ad parodies Marks and Spencer's successful fashion advertising campaign, as well as Dove and Gap campaigns. A voice over then says, "Fashion has a new face. 'Ugly Betty' Coming Soon To 4." After a week of these teasers, clips from the actual program were included in the trailers. In mid-January, Davina McCall, presenter of Celebrity Big Brother dressed up as Betty live on Channel 4 before the titles of the second eviction show of the evening. On February 16, 2007, Ashley Jensen (Christina) also dressed up as Betty during an airing of Channel 4's Friday Night Project, where she was the guest host. The children's channel CBeebies also parodied the title sequence, with one variation mixing faces of regular CBeebies characters until finally settling with Tiny from Little Robots.

In Australia, during the week leading up to the Sunday premiere of Ugly Betty, February 12 to 17, 2007, Channel Seven devoted a week of Deal or No Deal to the show by having the models dress like Betty, complete with the Guadalajara poncho. Channel Seven also used the series to promote its successful "Beautiful Sundays" schedule.

In South Africa, M-Net teamed up with Ogilve Johannesburg to hype up its campaign for the show, which included a picture of Betty on the mock cover of Elle magazine.^[90]

New Zealand TV2 also hyped-up Ugly Betty by promoting Tuesday nights as "True Beauty Tuesday", and when the show moved to Sunday nights, it promoted them as "Beautiful Sunday". TV2 also launched competitions for a replica of Betty's poncho.

Cultural impact[link]

"Ugly Betty" logo.

Ever since the show's debut, the main characters, especially the title character, have quickly become the latest fixtures in the lexicon of pop media culture, and already they found their way onto parodies, news media stories and art-imitating-life situations. The show's impact on issues and culture has also attracted the attention of the United States Congress, where on January 17, 2007 California congresswoman Hilda Solis (D-32nd, El Monte) saluted Ferrera on both her Golden Globe win and for bringing a positive profile to the Latin and Hispanic communities.^[91] In addition to that recognition, on May 8, 2007, star America Ferrera was honored by TIME on the magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential people. The event took place at New York's Lincoln Center and the actress was recognized for defying stereotypes with the show.^[92] The success of Ugly Betty and how it deals with body imaging among women in general would inspire a series of reports on Entertainment Tonight, in which reporter Vanessa Minillo went undercover in a fatsuit to see if women were discriminated on the basis of how they look. Gay awareness groups like GLAAD have also noted the positive impact the show has had regarding Betty's teenaged nephew Justin, who realizes that he is gay.

Awards and nominations[link]

Mark Indelicato and America Ferrera at the 2010 Voice Awards.

Since its debut, Ugly Betty won two Golden Globe Awards on January 15, 2007, for "Best Leading Actress in a Comedy Series" (America Ferrera) and Best Comedy Series. Ferrera also won a SAG Award on January 28, 2007, for "Best Actress in a Comedy Series". On June 4, 2007, the series was honored with a Peabody Award for its storylines, which explores clashing concepts of beauty, class, race and footwear with intelligence, warmth and wit.^[93]

Ugly Betty won the Outstanding Comedy Series award by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation in April 2007.^[94] Judith Light also won a Prism Award for her portrayal as Claire Meade.

On July 19, 2007, the series received 11 nominations at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards in the Comedy category (the most of any comedy series),^[95] including Outstanding Comedy Series, Best Actress (Ferrera), Best Supporting Actress (Williams), and Best Guest Starring Actress (Hayek for her role as Sofia; Light for her role as Claire. Both lost to Elaine Stritch). It won three awards — Best Casting in a Comedy Series, Best Direction in a Comedy Series (for the show's pilot episode), and Best Actress in a Comedy Series (Ferrera).^[96] For its second season, it received six other Primetime Emmy Award nominations, going home empty handed. Overall, Ugly Betty has been nominated for eighteen Emmy Awards.

Although The NAACP Image Awards honors African Americans in the entertainment industry, the series has won five of the Image Awards' eight major TV categories, a rarity among television series with a multicultural cast. In addition to winning an Image award for the TV series in 2007 and Ferrera for best actress in 2008, Vanessa Williams has won back to back honors (in 2007 and 2008) in the Supporting Actress category for her portrayal of Wilhelmina Slater.

The ALMA Awards honors the Hispanic entertainment community. During its first season, Ugly Betty won four of its first seven nominations and in the second season took home three more, along with a Chevrolet Entertainer of the Year Award for Ferrera for her work on the show. Overall the series has received 162 nominations.

See also[link]

• List of Ugly Betty cast members
• List of Ugly Betty episodes
• Yo soy Betty, la fea

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Ugly Betty

• Ugly Betty at the Internet Movie Database
• Ugly Betty at TV.com
• Ugly Betty at TV Guide
• The original MODE Magazine Predates the show and the large women's fashion magazine
• Betty Suarez's blog, "Be Inspired", as written by the series' writers
• Ugly Betty Wiki
• Oficial UK Website

Reviews

• Ugly Betty Reviews at Metacritic.com
• first-look in USA Today (August 15, 2006)
• Review in USA Today (September 28, 2006)
• Comparisons between Ugly Betty and The Devil Wears Prada in USA Today (September 26, 2006)
• "It's a 'Bettification' project" from USA Today (October 4, 2006)
• from Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (September 27, 2006)
• from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (September 27, 2006)
• from Seattle Post-Intelligencer (September 28, 2006)
• "Ugly, The American" from TIME (November 27, 2006)
• "Be Ugly '07" campaign announced in USA Today (December 20, 2006)
• Articles from TV Addict

v t e Official remakes and adaptations of Yo soy Betty, la fea Yo soy Betty, la fea (1999): Ana María Orozco, Jorge Enrique Abello, Julián Arango, Ricardo Vélez, Celmira Luzardo Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin (2003): Mona Singh, Navneet Nishan, Samir Soni, Neena Gupta, Parmeet Sethi, Gaurav Gera Sensiz Olmuyor (2005): Özlem Conker, Emre Altuğ, Yeliz Şar Verliebt in Berlin (2005): Alexandra Neldel, Mathis Künzler, Tim Sander, Laura Osswald Ne rodis krasivoy (2005): Nelly Uvarova La Fea Más Bella (2006): Angélica Vale, Nora Salinas, Juan Soler, Jaime Camil, Elizabeth Álvarez Lotte (2006): Nyncke Beekhuyzen, Lars Oostveen, Ilse Heus, Geert Hoes, Arent Jan Linde, Janna Fassaert Yo soy Bea (2006): Ruth Núñez Ugly Betty (2006): America Ferrera, Eric Mabius, Alan Dale, Tony Plana, Vanessa L. Williams, Michael Urie, Becki Newton Maria, i Asximi (2007) Aggeliki Daliani, Anthimos Ananiadis, Antigoni Glikofidi, Tasos Kostis Sara (2007): Veerle Baetens, Kürt Rogiers, Sandrine André, Veerle Eyckermans, Tom Van Bauwel, Gert Winckelmans, Lotte Pinoy Ne daj se, Nina (2007): Lana Gojak, Robert Kurbaša, Kristina Krepela, Andrija Milošević, Bojana Ordinačev Cô gái xấu xí (2008): Ngoc Hiep, Chi Bao, Lan Phuong, Phi Thanh Van, Binh Minh Ošklivka Katka (2008): I Love Betty La Fea (2008): Bea Alonzo, John Lloyd Cruz, Ruffa Gutierrez, Vhong Navarro, Ronaldo Valdez, Sam Concepcion, Alessandra De Rossi, Ai-Ai Delas Alas Chou Nu Wu Di (2008): Li Xinru BrzydUla (2008): Julia Kamińska, Marek Włodarczyk, Filip Bobek Bela, a Feia (2009): Gisele Itié, Bruno Ferrari, Carla Regina, Simone Spoladore, Natália Guimarães Gogona Gareubnidan (2010): Tina Makharadze

Victoria Beckham
Victoria Beckham at a May 2010 LG Mobile event
Born	Victoria Caroline Adams (1974-04-17) 17 April 1974 (age 38) Harlow, Essex, England
Other names	Posh, Posh Spice
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, dancer, model, actress, fashion designer, businesswoman
Years active	1994–present
Spouse	David Beckham (1999–present)
Children	4
Website
Official website

Victoria Caroline Beckham (née Adams; born 17 April 1974)^[1][2] is an English fashion designer, businesswoman and former singer. In the late 1990s, Beckham rose to fame with the all-female pop group Spice Girls and was dubbed Posh Spice by the July 1996 issue of the British pop music magazine Top of the Pops.^[3] Since the Spice Girls split, she has had a solo pop music career, scoring four UK Top 10 singles. Her first single to be released, "Out of Your Mind", reached Number 2 in the UK Singles Chart and is her highest chart entry to date. During her solo career, she has been signed to Virgin Records and Telstar Records.

Beckham has found more success as an internationally recognised and photographed style icon. Her career in fashion includes designing a line of jeans for Rock & Republic and later designing her own denim brand, dVb Style. Beckham has brought out her own range of sunglasses and fragrance, entitled Intimately Beckham, which has been released in the UK and the US. In association with the Japanese store Samantha Thavasa and Shiatzy Chen, she has produced a range of handbags and jewellery. In addition, Beckham has released two best-selling books; one her autobiography, the other a fashion guide.

In her television ventures, Beckham has participated in five official documentaries and reality shows about her, including Being Victoria Beckham, The Real Beckhams, and Victoria Beckham: Coming to America. She has since made a cameo appearance in an episode of American TV series Ugly Betty, and been a guest judge on Project Runway, Germany's Next Topmodel, and American Idol.

She is married to David Beckham and they have four children, Brooklyn Joseph, Romeo James, Cruz David, and Harper Seven. As of 2009, the couple's joint wealth is estimated at £125 million.^[4]

Early life[link]

Beckham was born at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex and raised in Goffs Oak, Hertfordshire.^[5] She is the second child of three children born to Jacqueline and Anthony Adams. Her father worked as an electronics engineer,^[5] and he later founded an electronics wholesale business which allowed a comfortable upbringing for Victoria and her siblings,^[1] sister Louise and brother Christian Adams.^[6]

In 1980, when Beckham was seven years old, she watched the musical Fame and subsequently made the decision to pursue a music career.^[7][8] Jacqueline and Anthony Adams enrolled her at Jason Theatre School.^[1] In 1991, Beckham entered Laine Theatre Arts in Epsom, Surrey and studied dance and modelling.^[1][2] Beckham attended St. Mary's High School in Cheshunt, where she was embarrassed by her family's wealth and often begged her father not to drop her off outside the school in their Rolls Royce.^[9] She was frequently bullied and often felt treated like an outsider. Beckham later explained that she had never made any friends and the other children would throw rocks at her.^[10] Eventually, she became a member of a band called Persuasion.^[11]

Music career[link]

Success with the Spice Girls[link]

Victoria Beckham performing in 2007 with the Spice Girls

Beckham auditioned for a March 1993 advertisement in The Stage which required girls who were "street smart, extrovert, ambitious and able to sing and dance".^[5] In 1994, Beckham joined the all-female group, the Spice Girls. In the recordings before her marriage, she is credited with her maiden name as Victoria Adams. The group's first single was called "Wannabe" (1996), and she worked alongside Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton, Melanie Brown and Melanie Chisholm. It went to number one in the United Kingdom and United States, and another 29 countries. It was followed by nine further number one singles from their albums Spice, Spiceworld and Forever.^[2] Each member of the group received a nickname from the media. Beckham was named "Posh Spice".^[12][13] The group was one of the most successful pop acts of the 1990s, selling over fifty-five million records worldwide.^[14] After the release of their third album, Forever (UK number 2), which was far less successful than their previous two albums, the Spice Girls stopped recording, leading Beckham to try to build a solo career.^{[citation needed]}

Victoria Beckham performing with the Spice Girls in 2007

In 2007, the Spice Girls reformed and announced plans to embark upon a reunion tour,^[14] from which they were said to have earned £10 million each (approximately $20 million).^[15] Victoria had previously stated that she and her former Spice colleagues were enjoying their solo careers in various fields, saying "We're all still doing our own thing."^[16] Their "Greatest Hits" album was released in early November 2007 and the tour began on 2 December 2007. At its advent, Beckham said "I wanted my children to see that Mummy was a pop star. It was the last opportunity for them to stand in a crowd full of people screaming for the Spice Girls."^[17] When Beckham had her hair coloured brown for the tour, she stated that her sons immediately reacted by saying "Oh my goodness, it's Posh Spice. She's back."^[18] During one Spice Girls performance at London's The O2 Arena, her three sons accompanied her on stage during "Mama", along with the other Spice Girls' children.^[19] She was the only member of the group not to sing a solo song on the tour, instead posing in the style of a fashion show on a makeshift catwalk, whereas the others each performed a number from their solo careers.^[20] Polly Hudson wrote: "This time around Posh gets the biggest cheer when she sings her solo lines. She knows it too – and it seems to give her more and more confidence as the show goes on."^[21]

Film-maker Bob Smeaton directed an official film of the tour entitled Spice Girls: Giving You Everything, which was first aired on Fox8 in Australia. It later aired in the UK on 31 December 2007 on BBC One.^[22] As well as their sell-out tour, the Spice Girls were contracted to appear in Tesco advertisements, for which they were paid £1 million each.^[23]

[edit] Victoria Beckham solo album

On 14 August 2000, Beckham released her first solo single, "Out of Your Mind" in collaboration with Dane Bowers and Truesteppers.^[5] The week of release coincided with the release of "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" by Spiller featuring Sophie Ellis-Bextor, resulting in a chart battle dubbed 'Posh vs. Posher' by the tabloids.^[24] Following a huge publicity campaign, "Out Of Your Mind" was outsold by Ellis-Bextor, and debuted at Number 2 in the UK Singles Chart.^[25] Before the single's release, on 8 July 2000, Beckham made her public solo debut at London's Hyde Park at a concert to raise money for the Prince's Trust charity. She sang "Out of Your Mind" to a 100,000-strong audience.^[26] Beckham then signed a recording contract with her group label Virgin Records.^[2] Her next single as a solo artist, "Not Such An Innocent Girl", was released on 17 September 2001.^[1] Again, she faced competition in another hugely hyped chart battle, this time with Kylie Minogue's single "Can't Get You Out Of My Head".^[27] Despite a huge promotional campaign, Beckham was outsold eight to one, and her single debuted at number 6.^[28] Beckham's eponymous debut album, which was released on 1 October 2001, reached Number 10 in the UK album chart.^[29] The album cost a reputed £5 million to produce and it sold a modest 50,000 copies.^[30]

The second and final single to be released from the album was "A Mind of Its Own" on 11 February 2002. The single reached number 6 in the UK^[31] and sold 56,500 copies.^[32] Rumours soon spread that Beckham was to be dropped by her label for not charting in the Top Three. These were strongly refuted at the time.^[33] Beckham commented "You know what newspapers are like, they just like to put all the negative stuff in, but as far as I'm concerned and the record company is concerned it is all great."^[33] A third single, "I Wish", was promoted but never materialised. The single version was a remix featuring Robbie Craig, and was performed on TV on Friday Night's All Wright.^[34] Following the announcement of Beckham's second pregnancy, the single was shelved. Beckham and Virgin Records went their separate ways;^[35][36] a statement from her publicist read: "No-one has been dropped. The Virgin deal has come to a natural end and both parties have decided not to continue."^[35]

[edit] Open Your Eyes

In 2002, Telstar Records signed Beckham in a deal made with 19 Management^[30] worth £1.5 million.^[2] Beckham spent much of that year recording a pop-influenced album called Open Your Eyes, which yielded the single "Let Your Head Go", but she allegedly chose not to release it after being disappointed with the results.^[37][38] Instead of pop, Beckham wanted a more urban sound, working with urban producer Damon Dash for a more RnB and hip hop influence.^[30][31] When he was first asked why he was working with Beckham he stated "Because I see how much she gets photographed over here."^[2] A Dash-produced track "It's That Simple" featuring M.O.P. premiered on radio stations in July 2003,^[31] generating mixed reviews.^[31] Beckham's first single with Telstar, "Let Your Head Go / This Groove",^[31] was released in the UK on 29 December 2003, following heavy promotion and many TV appearances across the Christmas period with the video being directed by Andy Hylton. The single charted at Number 3 in the UK.^[31] This double A-side lifted "Let Your Head Go" from Beckham's earlier pop-inspired work with "This Groove" one of her Hip-Hop/R'n'B songs and remains Beckham's last single release to date. She is currently the only Spice Girl never to have had a UK solo number one, though she is also the only Spice Girl to have all her single/album releases go Top 10.^{[citation needed]} Outside of the UK, Damon Dash had plans for Beckham in the US, including a potential release of "Let Your Head Go / This Groove" under the name of "Posh Spice Victoria Beckham". The release was proposed for sometime between March to May 2004, but never eventuated.^[39]

With the UK media describing her solo music career a failure, combined with a rumoured fall-out between Dash and Fuller, her hip hop album, Come Together, was not released.^[1][40] Beckham's fourth and last attempt at a solo career came with the announcement of a new single "My Love Is for Real", in which she ditched the attempt at urban music and went back to pop. This never materialized, and amidst the collapse of Telstar, remaining plans for Beckham's music career were cancelled.^[41][42] Beckham is the only Spice Girl to have all of her singles and albums chart in the Top 10 of the UK charts, but she also has released fewer albums (1) and singles (4).^{[citation needed]}

Post-music career[link]

Books[link]

On 13 September 2001, Beckham released her first book, Learning to Fly.^[43] The title was taken from a line in a song from the musical Fame, which Beckham had enjoyed as a child. The verse that inspired the title is: "I'm gonna live forever, I'm gonna learn how to fly".^[44] The autobiography documents her childhood, time during the Spice Girls, her marriage and family life, as well as her career at the time.^[45] Learning to Fly became the third best-selling non-fiction title of 2001 and the total UK sales stand at more than 500,000 copies.^[46] When the book was first released, it went to Number 1 in the book charts after four weeks of release, relegating Robbie Williams' book to second place.^[28] A high-profile guest appearance on Parkinson, watched by nine million people, helped to promote the book.^[28] Hello!, The Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday joined to buy the rights to preview and serialise the book before its publication. The figure paid was thought to be near £1 million.^[11]

Beckham was quoted by a Spanish journalist in 2005 as saying "I've never read a book in my life".^[47] She later claimed this was a mistranslation from the original Spanish in which the interview was printed, saying she actually stated that she never had time to finish reading a book because she was always too busy looking after her children.^[48]

Beckham's second book, a fashion advice guide, entitled That Extra Half an Inch: Hair, Heels and Everything In Between, was published on 27 October 2006.^[49] That Extra Half an Inch: Hair, Heels and Everything In Between includes tips from Beckham on fashion, style and beauty,^[49] and also contains photography by Mario Testino, Annie Leibovitz and Steven Meisel. The book became another bestseller,^[50] and has sold 400,000 copies in Britain alone since it was published in hardcover.^[51] The rights have since been sold to the United States, the Netherlands, Japan, Portugal, Lithuania, Russia, and most recently China.^[51]

Television[link]

Victoria Beckham in Düsseldorf promoting her new jeans (2008)

Beckham has shot five official documentaries. The first, dated 11 January 2000, was called Victoria's Secrets, a programme only shown in the UK on Channel 4. It involved Beckham being followed by cameras while also discussing and interviewing other British celebrities, such as Elton John.^[52] The second, Being Victoria Beckham, was broadcast in March 2002 and saw Beckham discussing her career as a solo artist with the release of her first album, and also showed her at various photo shoots and recording sessions. The documentary attracted a strong audience of 8.83 million,^[53] coming top in its timeslot.^[54] One critic described her as "so clearly level-headed, happy with her not inconsiderable lot and seemingly unfazed by the madly intrusive nature of her monumentally ridiculous fame".^[55] The third, The Real Beckhams, aired on 24 December 2003 on ITV1 and focused on the Beckhams' move to Madrid from London after David Beckham was signed to Real Madrid. It also featured Victoria Beckham re-launching her solo career and showed her mocking the tabloid stories she reads in the paper every day. The special received an audience of 6.10 million viewers^[56] and was later released on DVD on 2 February 2004.^[57]

The fourth was entitled Full Length & Fabulous: The Beckhams' 2006 World Cup Party, and followed Victoria and David Beckham organising and making preparations to host a 2006 World Cup Party at a marquee in the grounds of their mansion in Hertfordshire, which aimed to raise money for their charity.^[58] Two tickets to attend the ball were auctioned on-line for charity, and sold for £103,000.^[59] The documentary aired on 28 May 2006 and showed the event itself, where the menu was designed especially by friend and chef Gordon Ramsay and the charity auction was hosted by Graham Norton.^[60] Ramsay catered for 600 guests, with the aid of 40 chefs and 100 waiting staff.^[60] The ITV documentary attracted an average of 7.56 million viewers.^[61]

To document Victoria Beckham's preparations for her family's move to the US, she signed a deal with NBC for six episodes of a half-hour unscripted reality TV series. Despite original plans for six episodes, the show was cut to a one hour special only as there "just wasn't enough (material) for a series."^[62] The show, called Victoria Beckham: Coming to America, aired on 16 July 2007 in the US and Canada. It was heavily scrutinised by the American media and critics, with The New York Post describing it as "an orgy of self-indulgence" and also describing Beckham as "vapid and condescending".^[62] The programme was the third-most-watched programme in its time-slot and received viewing figures of 4.9 million in the US, beaten by a repeat of Wife Swap and two sitcoms.^[63] The programme aired in Britain on 17 July 2007 on ITV with 3.84 million viewers tuning in.^[64] The programme was produced by Simon Fuller who managed her and the Spice Girls on their come-back tour.^[65]

In July 2007, it was announced that Beckham would shortly begin filming a cameo appearance as herself in an episode of the second season of ABC's TV series Ugly Betty.^[66] The episode, "A Nice Day for a Posh Wedding", aired on 9 November 2007 in the United States and on 23 November in the United Kingdom.^[67] Beckham's first line was "This is major", said when bursting through a curtain at a dress fitting for a wedding, in which she was the bridesmaid.^[67] Beckham has said she only agreed to the part because of her interest in fashion, and not for the acting opportunity.^[67] Despite her forays into television, Beckham has denied plans to embark upon a Hollywood movie career.^[68] In February 2008, it was revealed that Beckham would be the guest judge for the finale of fourth season of Project Runway, which aired on 5 March 2008 in the US.^[69]

Fashion[link]

Beckham has become better recognised as an international style icon, rather than a music artist.^[14][70] Beckham made a guest appearance on the catwalk for Maria Grachvogel in 2000, marking her debut as a model at London Fashion Week.^[71] Beckham also acted as a British ambassador for Dolce and Gabbana^[72] and was briefly the face of Rocawear in 2003.^[73] Beckham designed a limited-edition fashion line for Rock & Republic called VB Rocks in 2004, consisting mainly of jeans for the high end of the market, retailing at approximately $300 in the US.^[74] She had previously "hit it off instantly" with Rock & Republic designer, Michael Ball, in Los Angeles. He commented "She not only understands fashion and trends but has been a trend-setter and fashion icon for years."^[75]

On 16 January 2006, Beckham walked the runway for Roberto Cavalli at Milan Fashion Week, and was for a period exclusively dressed by him for red-carpet and social events.^[76] For the March 2006 issue of Harper's Bazaar, Beckham acted as fashion editor when she styled her close friend, Katie Holmes, for a fashion shoot.^[77] In July 2006, Beckham released a line of sunglasses, called dvb Eyewear.^[78][79] She has admitted to a personal love of sunglasses, saying "I'm quite obsessed with sunglasses. I collect vintage Guccis and Carreras — they can make virtually any outfit look cool."^[8] After Beckham's departure from Rock & Republic, in September 2006, she furthered her fashion ventures by launching her own denim label, of which she acts as creative director. The new line of Beckham's jeans collection is called dvb Style.^[51][74] In the same month, Intimately Beckham, a his-and-her fragrance line, was launched at a lavish press conference in Venice.^[78][79] Beckham then launched her new official website, dvbstyle.com, which promotes her fashion work.^[80][81] She also produced a range of handbags and jewellery in association with the Japanese store, Samantha Thavasa.^[78][79]

Beckham in 1999

On 5 June 2007, Beckham won two British Glamour Magazine Awards, one for "Woman of the Year" and another for "Entrepreneur of the Year," which celebrated her fashion achievements.^[82] On 14 June 2007 Beckham launched her dvb Denim collection in New York at the high-end Saks Fifth Avenue, along with unveiling her eye-wear range in the United States for the first time.^[83] In the same month, Beckham made her first appearance at London's annual Graduate Fashion Week as a judge alongside Glenda Bailey (editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar) and Lanvin's Alber Elbaz, to choose the winner of the River Island Gold Award, worth £20,000.^[84] In August 2007, Intimately Beckham perfume hit US stores for the first time.^[85][86] Victoria Beckham has stated "We are not just saying, 'We are celebrities, put our name on it.' I love to be involved with the whole process."^[87] The Intimately Beckham line has been predicted to sell over $100 million worth of sales internationally, doubling this estimate in 2008.^[87] In September 2007, Beckham released Intimately Beckham Night a new range of his-and-her fragrances,^[88] and her debut cosmetics line V-Sculpt was unveiled and launched in Tokyo.^[89] In a 2007 appearance at an LA Galaxy press conference, Beckham is credited with having popularised Roland Mouret's 'moon dress' and his brand,^[90] and Beckham was also the face of Marc Jacobs for his Spring 2008 collection.^[91] Beckham's own fashion collection debuted during the 2008 New York Fashion Week at the Waldorf Hotel,^[92] featuring dresses, of which only 400 will be made.^[93] Her first collection, that will retail between £650 and £1900,^[93] was met with positive reviews; "it was a very impressive, accomplished collection, with not a single dud. ... it was the fabrics (silk, wool and organza) and the attention to detail that impressed", wrote one critic,^[94] whilst others called it "Beautiful", "desirable" and "classy".^[95]

Beckham sealed her status as a fashion icon by appearing on the cover of different editions of Vogue Magazine three times in a the space of a year.^[96] Beckham's first appearance was on the April 2008 cover of British Vogue, then in November she appeared on Indian Vogue, and in February 2009 she made the cover of Russian Vogue.^[97] Beckham has voiced her anti-fur beliefs, and promotes an animal friendly wardrobe filled with faux/synthetic furs. Her stand against the fur industry has generated admiration from animal rights organizations, including PETA. Of PETA's numerous anti-fur campaigns, Beckham stated that she is "supportive of its high-profile anti-fur campaigns," and pledged "never to work with fur in any of her own fashion collections".^[98] Beckham is also well known for her love of designer high heeled shoes.^[99] In November 2011, Beckham was awarded the "Designer of the Year" gong at the annual British Fashion Awards.^[100]

Personal life[link]

David and Victoria Beckham in Silverstone Circuit during the British Grand Prix 2007.

Beckham began a relationship with Corey Haim in 1995, which ended on mutual terms.^[101][102]

In 1997, she started dating footballer David Beckham after they met at a charity football match, prompting him to request a meeting with her.^[103] Of their initial meeting, she said, "I didn't really know who he was. I was never into football."^[104] The couple announced their engagement in 1998 and were dubbed "Posh and Becks" by the media.^[105] On 4 July 1999 they were married by the Bishop of Cork, Paul Colton, at Luttrellstown Castle, Ireland.^[106] The wedding attracted much media coverage.^[107] Beckham's team-mate, Gary Neville, was the best man,^[103] and the couple's four month old son Brooklyn was the ring bearer.^[108] Most of the media were kept away from the ceremony as an exclusive deal with OK! magazine had been arranged, but photographs were released showing the Beckhams sitting on golden thrones.^[109] Victoria wearing a diamond coronet created for her by jewellery designer Slim Barrett. A total of 437 staff were employed for the wedding reception, which was estimated to have cost £500,000 (US$823,650).^[110] The couple bought what would become their most famous home for £2.5 million in 1999;^[111] the property, which is set in 24 acres (97,000 m²) of land, was duly given a £3 million renovation and was subsequently dubbed Beckingham Palace by the media.^[111]

Victoria and David Beckham have four children: sons Brooklyn Joseph (born 1999, Westminster, London),^[112] Romeo James (born 2002, Westminster,^[113] London),^[114] Cruz David (born 2005, Madrid, Spain);^[115][116] and daughter Harper Seven (born 2011, Los Angeles).^{[117][118][119][120]} Elton John and David Furnish are reportedly the godparents of Brooklyn and Romeo, and the godmother is Elizabeth Hurley.^[121] Prior to Harper's birth, Victoria and David Beckham stated that they had a strong desire for a daughter.^[122]

In January 2000, a tip-off to Scotland Yard detectives exposed a plot to kidnap Victoria and Brooklyn Beckham and hold them at a house in Hampstead, London.^[123] The family was then moved to a secret location, but no arrests were made.^[123] Later in March 2000, she received a death threat prior to performing at the Brit Awards with the Spice Girls,^[123] and in the show's rehearsal, a red laser light appeared on her chest and she was rushed off stage.^[123] After a fire door was found to be lodged open, it was thought that there had been an assassin there, and Beckham later revealed that she was terrified by the experience.^[123] In November 2002, five people were arrested after another plot for her kidnap was infiltrated by a tabloid newspaper.^[124] All charges were dropped after a witness was deemed unreliable.^[125] In 2004, allegations surfaced that David Beckham had had a brief affair with a former personal assistant, Rebecca Loos.^[126] The affair had apparently taken place when David had moved to Madrid, although he denied all the allegations.^[126]

The family moved to Los Angeles, California on 12 July 2007 as a result of David being signed to play for the LA Galaxy. On their arrival in America on 12 July 2007, Victoria and David were met by hundreds of paparazzi and media representatives, causing a media frenzy.^[127] They currently reside in a $22 million Beverly Hills mansion with ten security guards.^[128] To create publicity for their move to America, the couple were photographed in their underwear for the fashion magazine, W,^[127] which also included an interview in which Victoria said that David's supposed affair with Loos had made their marriage stronger.^[127]

It was reported in October 2007 that Beckham had turned down the opportunity to appear in Sex and the City: The Movie. She stated in an interview: "...asked to be in the Sex and the City film, which I would have loved to have done, but because I am in full-on Spice Girls rehearsal mode, unfortunately, I can't do it."^[129] Beckham's marriage and career as a singer have made her the 52nd richest woman in Britain.^[130] and the 19th richest person in Britain with husband David, with an estimated joint wealth of £112 million ($225 million USD).^[4] In 2010, Beckhams's charity work with Save the Children earned her a nomination for the Do Something With Style Award from the VH1 Do Something Awards. The awards show, produced by Vh1, is dedicated to honouring people who do good and is powered by Do Something, an organization that aims to empower, celebrate, and inspire young people.^[131]

Filmography[link]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Singles[link]

See also[link]

• Girl power
• Spice Girls

References[link]