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Rape-claim Jordan paying price of fame
Ben Bailey18.09.09
From pneumatic glamour model to one-woman business empire, Katie Price has lived every twist and turn of her life in the media spotlight.
Her rape claim is the latest revelation in a dramatic and turbulent private life, which has captured public attention and dominated tabloid headlines.
Since her turbulent divorce from singer Peter Andre, Price, 31, seemed briefly to return to the party-girl lifestyle for which she first became famous.
As Jordan, her addiction to plastic surgery, drinking binges and doomed love affairs ensured she became prime gossip fodder for the red tops and celebrity magazines.
In candid moments she wistfully recalled her old life before the lust for fame took hold.
"I wish I was ordinary Katie Price again," she once said. "Absolutely everyone I've been out with has said they hate Jordan but love Kate to death.
"And I can see that, because everyone sees what Jordan gets up to, whereas Kate is this normal, family-loving girl. They really are two completely different people."
She was born Katie Infield in May 1978 to parents Amy and Ray, who split when she was four. Her mother married builder Paul Price and Katie took his name.
At school she was not an academic pupil but excelled at sport, swimming for Sussex. She also developed a life-long passion for horses.
She left school at 16 determined not to end up in a mundane office job.
Encouraged by friends and family, she sent some holiday snaps to a model agency, was snapped up and Page Three soon beckoned.
Newly dubbed Jordan, her fresh-faced beauty and natural curves made her one of the most popular glamour models around.
But she was reportedly insecure about her looks and at the age of 19 she had the first in a succession of breast enhancements which saw her bust gradually balloon from 32B to a cartoonish 32FF and down again.
The plastic surgery did not end there and Price went on to have liposuction on her hips and thighs, fat implanted into her lips to boost her pout and a nose job.
Her love life continues to fascinate her many fans and detractors.
After liaisons with singer Gareth Gates and Gladiator Ace, alias Warren Furman, she had a turbulent relationship with singer Dane Bowers.
She moved on to Manchester United star Dwight Yorke but their fling was short-lived.
She fell pregnant and Yorke initially demanded DNA tests before acknowledging he was the father.
Harvey was born in May 2002, but tests revealed he was blind and suffering from a growth defect.
While pregnant she suffered a health scare, when her manicurist noticed a lump on her left index finger. She had the rare cancer, leiomyosarcoma (LMS) removed.
However, she bounced back and posed for the Playboy cover in September 2002.
Two years later, she took part on hit reality TV show I'm A Celebrity: Get Me Out Of Here.
Viewers were transfixed as romance blossomed between Price and Andre in the Australian jungle.
The pair soon became a golden media couple, boosting their wealth and popularity with countless magazine deals, plus a string of hit fly-on-the-wall reality shows, detailing their fairytale wedding and domestic ups and downs.
As Price gave birth to a son Junior in 2005 and daughter Princess Tiaamii in 2007 she morphed into a busy working mother and attracted a large female fanbase.
Her devoted followers lapped up her many merchandising products, from lingerie lines, jewellery and perfume to equestrian gear and her string of hit novels, children's books and trilogy of autobiographies.
Price even tried her hand at singing and brought out a charity album with her husband and made an ill-advised attempt to enter the Eurovision Song Contest.
However, by early 2009, the cracks in her relationship with Andre began to show and the pair announced their separation in May.
As their divorce was finalised earlier this month, Price had already embarked on a relationship with cage fighter Alex Reid.
Price revealed she had had a miscarriage just days before running the London marathon as her relationship with Andre fell apart.
Ironically it was her comments to the media in defence of Reid that thrust the issue of her reported rape into the media glare.
