Geraldine Estelle Halliwell-Horner[1][2] (née Halliwell; born 6 August 1972) is an English singer, songwriter, television personality, author, and actress.

Her second studio album, Scream If You Wanna Go Faster (2001), was preceded by the lead single, "It's Raining Men", which reached number one in the UK and earned her a Brit Award nomination.

As an author, Halliwell has released two autobiographies: If Only (1999) and Just for the Record (2002); the children's book series Ugenia Lavender (2008), and the young adult novel Rosie Frost and the Falcon Queen (2023).

Halliwell's paternal grandfather was a Swedish-speaking Finn Mathias Karlson Sjövik, born in Korsnäs, Finland, who emigrated to Sweden.

[16] Before starting her music career, Halliwell had worked as a nightclub dancer in Majorca,[15] a presenter on the Turkish version of Let's Make a Deal,[15] and a glamour model.

[18][19] In 1994, Halliwell, along with Melanie C, Mel B and Victoria Beckham, responded to an advertisement in The Stage magazine seeking members for a new all-girl pop group.

After a couple of line-up changes, Halliwell, Melanie C, Mel B and Beckham became the members of the group called "Touch", and were later joined by Emma Bunton.

[20] In the months that followed, they teamed up with music manager Simon Fuller, signed a deal with Virgin Records, and changed the group name to Spice Girls.

[4] In a Christmas 1996 interview with The Spectator magazine, Halliwell spoke of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as being an inspiration for their girl power ideology.

[37][38] In 1999, one year after leaving the group, Halliwell launched her solo career and released her debut album Schizophonic,[39] with the lead single "Look at Me", produced by Absolute and Phil Bucknall.

[41][42] Halliwell was nominated at the BRIT Awards ceremony in 2000 for Best British Female Solo Artist and Best Pop Act; she performed "Bag It Up" during the show.

[51] Her cover version of the Weather Girls' 1983 hit, "It's Raining Men" was released as the lead single from the album and was also included on the Bridget Jones's Diary film soundtrack.

[56] In late 2002, Halliwell was featured alongside Pete Waterman and Louis Walsh as a judge on the television series Popstars: The Rivals, which created Girls Aloud.

[61] She also appeared on Channel Five as one of the hosts of the Party in the Park event for the Prince's Trust and was the presenter and main performer of the Tickled Pink Girls' night in Live!

[67] The character Princess Posh Vattoria, a caricature of Halliwell's bandmate Victoria Beckham, was featured in early drafts, but has not appeared in the book series.

[72] According to the official site, the book sold more than 250,000 copies in its first 5 months, making Halliwell 2008's most successful female celebrity children's author.

[81] In 2010, Halliwell stood in for Dannii Minogue as a guest judge on The X Factor at the Glasgow auditions alongside Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Cheryl.

[82] In March 2010, vocal coach and singer Carrie Grant announced on ITV1's The Alan Titchmarsh Show that Halliwell would be making a return to music.

The group also teamed up with Jennifer Saunders and Judy Craymer to develop a musical based on the songs of the Spice Girls titled Viva Forever!, which opened on 11 December 2012.

[86] In October 2012, Halliwell made her first solo performance in seven years at the Breast Cancer Care, debuting a new track called "Phenomenal Woman".

[92] In July 2016, Halliwell, Mel B and Bunton released a video celebrating the 20th anniversary of Spice Girls' debut single "Wannabe" and teased news from them as a three-piece;[93] Beckham and Melanie C opted not to take part in a reunion project, with Mel B saying that both members gave the three-piece their blessing to continue with the project.

[97][98] In June 2017, Halliwell released a charity single, "Angels in Chains", a tribute to George Michael, to raise money for Childline.

[104][105] In November 2020, Halliwell debuted the original YouTube series Rainbow Woman for which she wrote, directed, and served as an executive producer.

[106][107] In August 2021, she had a voice role in the short animated movie The Crown with a Shadow, directed by J.B. Ghuman Jr.[108] Halliwell was in the cast of the 2023 film Gran Turismo, playing the wife of Djimon Hounsou.

Halliwell said in a statement: “Rosie Frost has lived in my heart for a long time – and this feels just the right moment to introduce her to the world.

[123] Halliwell picked up further UN work in 2006, by visiting Zambia from 14 to 16 November, to promote greater international awareness of the urgent need to reduce maternal death and halt the spread of HIV/AIDS.

[124] In September 2009, Halliwell, in her role as a Goodwill Ambassador of UNFPA, visited Nepal to help launch a national campaign to stop violence against women.

[125] On 25 October 2015, the Mail on Sunday reported that Halliwell had been in talks with the Department for Education with a view to establishing a free school in north London, scheduled to open in 2018 and specialising in the arts and business.

Halliwell later expressed regret for deleting the Tweet and wrote on her personal blog "Now I realise that I do admire a woman, whether she is right or wrong, regardless of her opinions.

Halliwell has spoken out about her experiences of bulimia, saying that she came close to death, weighing just 7 stone (98 lb; 44 kg), and was advised by Robbie Williams to seek medical help.