An interest in acting led her to enrol at the Sixth Sense theatre company in 1990, which led to acting roles in several television commercials and an episode of EastEnders. More studies at the Sylvia Young Theatre School in London followed.
When Billie was chosen as a spokesmodel for the British pop music magazine Smash Hits in 1997, scouts for the new Virgin Records subsidiary, Innocent Records, spotted her and signed her to their label.
Her first single, Because We Want To, propelled Billie to the status of the youngest solo artist to debut at number one on the UK charts. With the help of the follow-up number one single Girlfriend and the release of her debut album, Honey To The B, Billie named the UK's Pop Princess and Best Female Star at that year's Smash Hits Poll Winners party.
Billie took a break from singing when she married media mogul Chris Evans in 2001, but recently relaunched her acting career with a string of critically acclaimed performances in projects such as The Canterbury Tales and Bella and the Boys.
ENGLAND