Profile:
Full name: Melanie Jayne Chisholm (aka Sporty Spice).
Born: January 12 1974 in Liverpool.
Star sign: Capricorn.
Parents: Mel and her mum Joan O'Neill have matching tattoos. Father Alan (who worked for a coach hire firm) and her mother divorced when Mel was eight. Joan is a singer on the northern pubs and clubs circuit. In 1978 she supported Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes at the Hammersmith Odeon.
Education: Left school at 16 to attend the Doreen Bird dance school in Sidcup, Kent to study ballet and dance.
Previous jobs: Worked in a chip shop.
Lives: Hampstead, north London.
Love life: Went out with J from Five from March to July 2000. Previously linked to Robbie Williams, Jason McAteer, Anthony Kiedes from Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Brookside's Paul Byatt. Mel is still waiting for her first long-term relationship.
