Katie Price: The rise and fall of the boundary-pushing glamour model

“Instantly watchable,” “smart,” “underestimated” – all words used to describe the living brand that is Katie Price.

Estimated to be worth around £45m at the peak of her career, Price is at once in-your-face fake, yet utterly authentic.

If verification of her global celebrity status was needed, Kim Kardashian – a woman who has played the fame game to perfection – tweeted in April 2009: “OMG Katie Price aka Jordan and her husband Peter are on my flight home from NYC!”

Maximising her natural assets, and using them to propel and sustain her career, Price has ridden the wave of fame for nearly three decades – an impressive feat in the notoriously fickle world of showbiz.

‘Her body is a business’

Author and Times columnist Sarah Ditum told Sky News Price has always been a step ahead of the crowd.

“She’s fascinating for the way she used her body to become famous and successful. And because it always seems quite cynical and calculating the decisions she’s made, to have the biggest boobs and to make that her job.”

But the writer of Toxic, Women, Fame And The Noughties says there is a glass ceiling concealed within Price’s unconventional career choice.

“Over time you run up to the limits of what’s possible. You can’t get bigger and bigger and bigger indefinitely – eventually someone’s going to come along and be even bigger or have even more recklessly huge implants.”

Ditum says she’s long been intrigued by Price, who she first saw on a poster on a younger male relative’s bedroom wall.

“It was interesting that someone had worked out how to turn her body into a business and how to get longevity out of being a Page 3 girl, because this was a time when Page 3 was contentious.”

And she says Price was a rare victor in the cut-throat world of glamour modelling.

“Katie Price was almost unique in that she came up through Page 3, and she found longevity in her career. That was what Page 3 was meant to be – the sell was always ‘this is an opportunity for working-class girls to make their way in the world and use their assets’. That was the fig leaf of it. She was the only person who really achieved it and I found that compelling.”

Ditum goes on: “She’s obviously smart. If you look at what Page 3 does to girls, it was a machine for taking teenagers and getting naked pictures of them, and that’s it – then sifting them out when they got too old. The lifespan of a Page 3 girl was tiny, and the number of them who achieved any kind of ongoing success out of that was infinitesimal, and she was one of them.

“That does not happen if you are dumb. She’s very intelligent at seeking publicity, she’s very intelligent at shaping her profile, and she’s very intelligent at using her body and using the extremity of her body to attract attention.

“But the cost of doing that is personally and physically really unimaginably huge. And there’s no long-termism built into it.”

Katie becomes Jordan

Born Katrina Amy Alexandra Alexis Infield in Brighton in 1978, Price (who took her surname from her stepfather) was a keen swimmer and equestrian.

Riding since the age of seven, she would go on to perform dressage at the Horse of the Year Show in 2008, entering the ring to Peter Andre’s Mysterious Girl. It was certainly not a foreseeable trajectory from Price’s early career choices.

She began modelling as a teen, but it was her appearance on Page 3 of The Sun in 1996, billed as Jordan and aged just 18, that made her a household name.

A savvy marketeer, she chose the name Jordan as she thought it sounded catchier than Katie – and she was right. It was an alter ego which would stay with her until she re-branded as Katie Price eight years later.

Frequently appearing in the popular lads’ mags of the late 90s and early 2000s, she was a staple in the tabloid press and celebrity magazines and featured in both the UK and US editions of Playboy, making the cover in the American edition.

Four years later she would undergo the first of many breast enhancements – going from her natural 32B to a 32C. A year later she’d have two more operations. A professional lifestyle choice, boob jobs would go on to punctuate her career.

Price has gone both up and down in size over the years, her largest being 2120 cubic centimetre implants in 2022 (that’s three times bigger than a standard E cup), before a slight reduction again this year. She says she has had 17 boob jobs to date.

When asked in a 2009 Sunday Times interview if she’d ever consider having a facelift, she was adamant she wouldn’t, saying: “I’ve seen them in LA, they look like freaks.”

She’s softened her attitude since then, undergoing multiple facial procedures, but insisting she held off until she was into her 40s (she’s now 46).

Her sister Sophie has called her love of cosmetic surgery “a form of self-harm,” while her mother Amy has said her oldest daughter suffers from body dysmorphia, a mental health condition the NHS notes can cause a person to spend a lot of time worrying about perceived flaws in their appearance.

Price herself told the Go Love Yourself! podcast last year: “I’ve never thought I’m good-looking, and I still don’t. Maybe I’ve got body dysmorphia, and [maybe] I have to admit I’ve got body dysmorphia because I’m always changing stuff. And I know sometimes when I’ve gone too far.”

She went on to say she doesn’t know “what goes on in my head with me and my body”, admitting she’s trying to achieve “something that’s probably not possible”.

Last year, Price said she’d been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a condition which according to the NHS can affect people’s behaviour and can lead sufferers to act on impulse.

Reality TV re-invention

Back in 2004, Price was already well-known to the public thanks to her regular appearances in the press.

She’d dated a series of low-level stars – Gladiator Ace, Another Level singer Dane Bowers, Pop Idol singer Gareth Gates to name but a few – and was regularly photographed out and about in the fashionable bars and clubs of London.

Ready for the next step in her career, it was her appearance on I’m A Celebrity that would transform her from a tabloid regular into a TV reality star – along with all the attention and fame that would come along with it.

Natalka Znak – a TV executive dubbed the queen of reality TV thanks to her creation of prime-time hits including I’m A Celebrity, Love Island and Hell’s Kitchen – says she jumped at the chance to get Price on I’m A Celeb back in 2004.

Now the CEO of three TV production companies, Znak tells Sky News: “I was always a massive fan of Katie, and I was super keen for her to be on the show.”

She calls Price “a classic good tabloid booking”, explaining: “You hadn’t seen lots of her back then, she was a Page 3 model, so you hadn’t seen her looking down and dirty, so it was interesting.”

A multi-BAFTA winner herself, Znak knows TV magic when she sees it.

“She was good to work with because she worked hard and she was always great on camera. You’d turn a camera on her and she was instantly watchable.

“We’ve dealt with a lot of difficult people, and I don’t think she was particularly difficult.”

A recognisable name, Price wasn’t a cheap booking. Znak can’t remember the exact amount, but admits, “we paid a lot of money for her”, adding that she was the highest-paid contestant to appear on the show at the time.

It was an outlay that was immediately reflected in the viewing figures.

Znak says: “I remember the instant boost in ratings. That series they were through the roof. It just worked. It was worth it…

“A lot of it was to do with having her on it. She was a really important part of it. And she was fantastic.”

The third series of the show was one of the most watched series to date, with viewing figures almost hitting 12 million (for comparison, last year’s viewing average was 7 million).

Znak says: “That show was such a huge hit. And then she went on to build a big career off the back of it.”

Price and Andre: ‘It was for real’

Kerry Katona won I’m A Celeb that year, with Price coming in fifth place. But a key part of that year’s drama was built around Price’s relationship with Peter Andre.

The high-profile relationship, which flourished in front of millions of viewers, led to a four-year marriage, and two children.

Znak went to the wedding – which was complete with a Cinderella glass carriage, six white horses and puffy pink dress – and describes the 2005 Highclere Castle ceremony as “fantastic”.

Quite the golden couple, the wedding shots were sold to OK! for £2m. A succession of ITV docuseries would go on to chart their family life – up to their divorce in 2009.

But was it all faked for the cameras? Not according to Znak.

She says: “Nobody was expecting it. She had a boyfriend at the time. On the show everyone was like, ‘Is it for real?’ But it was for real.

“I was really sad when they split up, it was a shame. He was really good for her. I think she was totally in love with him.”

Znak says while she’d like to take credit for the TV gold that resulted from the surprise coupling, it was as much a shock to her as everyone else, and “absolutely not planned”.

“They were such an unlikely match… It was just a compelling love story in the jungle.”

Price would go on to appear in I’m A Celeb again in 2009. She was paid £450,000 for her appearance and chose to leave after just nine days, saying she was sick of repeatedly being voted to do the Bushtucker Trials by the public every night.

And while never crowned Queen of the jungle, she did win Celebrity Big Brother in 2015, leaving Katie Hopkins languishing in the runner-up position.

A Jack of all trades

Never short of an opinion – or shy to share it – Price was part of ITV’s Loose Women presenting line-up between 2015 and 2018, after previously appearing as a guest panellist.

A best-selling author, Price’s name also graces the cover of 11 rom-com novels, eight autobiographies, a fashion guide and two series of children’s books.

Indeed, her Perfect Pony series has turned her into an unlikely role model for horsey girls.

But books aren’t her only side-hustle.

Short-lived political aspirations saw her stand as an independent candidate in Greater Manchester in the 2001 general election, campaigning on free boob jobs and no parking tickets. She was unsuccessful and secured just 713 votes.

An aspiring singer too, she was runner-up in her quest to be the UK’s 2005 Eurovision act, and released an album the following year, a collaboration with ex-husband Peter Andre.

Indeed, over the years, she’s also tried her hand as a chat show host, columnist and fashion designer, as well as venturing into merchandise including perfume, nutritional supplements, and an equestrian clothing range.

She also fronted her own fitness DVD and had a brief taste of Hollywood stardom with a cameo in Sharknado 5 (where she was inevitably eaten by a shark).

In 2022 Price joined over 18s subscription service OnlyFans, currently charging fans £12 per month for access to her page with additional content available for an extra fee.

Last year, she hit back at claims she wasn’t making much money from her content, telling a podcast she had earned tens of thousands, while American gaming review platform Bonus Insider previously estimated she earned $2.2m a month from the X-rated site.

Other ventures include a make-up line, a soap and scent business (Scented by Katie Price), a private Instagram page selling “official Katie Price memorabilia” and a Depop page selling off her old clothes, club appearances and make-up masterclasses.

Price is nothing if not adaptable. And hardworking. As TV exec Znak summarises: “She was always a grafter in my experience… She realised she had to work hard to succeed.”

Price’s latest venture is into the on-trend world of podcasting, co-presenting a weekly show with her younger sister Sophie.

During one recent edition, Price mentioned that a three-part Netflix series about her life was in the works, however, Netflix told Sky News they had no plans to make such a documentary.

A wife, a mother and a campaigner

Often in the headlines for her high-profile relationships, Price has been married three times.

After her relationship with Peter Andre came to an end, Price married cage fighter Alex Reid in 2010. It lasted less than two years but still spawned its own reality series.

That was followed by a five-year marriage to former stripper Kieran Hayler in 2013. And she’s currently dating Married At First Sight UK star JJ Slater.

As Ditum explains: “It’s a tough one if you’re in a business where romance is saleable, which certainly she was for a while. Her celebrity, her position on the cover of Heat magazine, would often rely on her having an interesting partner to be linked with.

“Celebrities make decisions on how much of their personal life and your public life are combined, and in her case they’re very closely combined, really intricately entwined.”

Price is also a mother-of-five.

Her first child, Harvey, whose father is ex-footballer Dwight Yorke was born in 2002, and suffers from autism, vision-impairing septo-optic dysplasia and the rare genetic disease Prader-Willi syndrome.

As a parent of a disabled son, Price has frequently used her celebrity to shine a light on the challenges of living with a disabled child and has made several documentaries about Harvey with the BBC.

She’s also campaigned for law change around online abuse after Harvey became the target of online trolls. Sadly, Price has had plenty of practise at fighting back against cruel jibes aimed at her and her son from both the media and fellow celebrities.

In 2007, Heat magazine published a sticker mocking a then five-year-old Harvey, brandishing the message: “Harvey wants to eat me.” The publication later apologised for the stunt.

And in 2010, Scottish comedian Frankie Boyle aimed two off-colour jokes at the then eight-year-old Harvey on Channel 4 show Tramadol Nights.

Price called his jokes “vile”, while Boyle has stood by his work and never apologised.

Ditum says due to Price’s background, her campaigning may not always have been given the recognition it deserves.

“She’s this kind of weird figure where she’s famous for being a sexual celebrity, but she has this second life as a children’s book author and she is also dealing publicly with being the mother of a disabled son.

“At a minimum, she did some valuable work in terms of bringing understanding to families with disabled children… and that’s not nothing.”

Price is also mum to Junior, 19, Princess, 17, Jett, 11 and Bunny, 10.

‘Slow, sad late-career period’

Legal and financial issues have plagued Price in recent years.

In 2021 Price received a 16-week suspended sentence after flipping her car while under the influence of alcohol and cocaine, during which time she said she was suffering from a breakdown.

In 2022 she was spared a prison sentence after breaching a restraining order forbidding her from contacting her ex-husband, Kieran Hayler’s, fiancée.

This year she was declared bankrupt due to an unpaid tax bill worth more than £750,000.

Earlier this month she was arrested in Heathrow after failing to show up at a bankruptcy court hearing last month. She was returning from Turkey where she’d been undergoing cosmetic surgery.

Each of her court dates attracts an inevitable media circus and press coverage of the latest chapter in her life.

Price’s lacklustre financial management and habit of poor choices have led to much negative media coverage in recent years.

It’s a trend Znak says is down to more than just the model’s questionable conduct: “There’s always been a snobbery about her, which was something I never felt because she was just a hard-working woman earning money.

“She’s always been very ambitious and driven, and she carved out an incredible career for herself out of sheer determination.”

Znak says gender bias also plays a role in some of the negativity around the star.

“People are judgmental about women in a way they wouldn’t be about men. Men are allowed to be successful and then not successful and then be successful again and reinvent themselves. But for women, there’s a judgement that’s applied.”

With Price, she says that judgement can be particularly harsh because she doesn’t play by anybody else’s rules.

“She was a role model for women, because even though she was a Page 3 model, she just always did everything her own f****** way.”

From a more practical point of view, Ditum puts Price’s “long, slow, sad, late-career period” down to a clear-cut decline in business.

The author says it’s “not clear where you go and how much you can progress when your business is that kind of extreme treatment of your body”.

And when your body is your business, your figure has more important figures attached to it than most.

Ditum explains: “The economy she comes out of, the soft porn economy, has really collapsed.

“If you’re someone like her, who could make pretty decent money out of selling calendars, and posters, and that kind of stuff that was your ancillary income if you were a model, that doesn’t exist anymore. People do not go out and buy calendars of their favourite models.”

Rising to fame ahead of the explosion of social media, the media landscape has now changed beyond all recognition.

Ditum says whoever the equivalent of her poster-loving younger male relative is now, “he’s certainly not buying a Jordan poster or even buying a magazine – he’s following models on Instagram”.

She goes on: “It’s a really different economy and how you make money in that is pretty sketchy. It’s challenging I think for a lot of people.”

What Katie does next…

Price’s career may have had meteoric ups and crushing downs, but the mark she’s made on the celebrity world is undeniable.

Whether a comeback is on the cards is hard to say, but as far as Price is concerned, her bucket list is already fully ticked off.

Speaking to the Guardian earlier this year Price said: “I wanted a big house in the countryside, a fairytale wedding, to be a famous pop star or a model, and to work with horses. I’ve achieved it all.”

As for her future, Znak is optimistic: “I would really hope that she could bounce back… She deserves it.

“Never underestimate her, that’s what I would say. People have done that all her life… but I have every faith in her, come on Katie!”

Sky News has contacted Price for comment.