by Jane Grimshaw

Created on: November 02, 2011   Last Updated: November 06, 2011

Kym Marsh may be a successful actress, but losing her son Archie and having a cancer scare nearly destroyed her life off screen. The 35-year-old actress, who now plays Michelle Connor in ITV1’s hit soap Coronation Street, made her debut on the TV reality show Popstars in February 2001. Kym was the lead singer in the manufactured band Hear’say, who went on to win the competition and produce two UK number one singles: ‘Pure and Simple’ and ‘The Way To Your Love’ - they also produced a number one album called ‘Popstars.’ Unfortunately, though, less than a year after the band was formed, Kym left to go solo because of the frequent disagreements that arose between herself and fellow band mate Myleene Klass.

Kimberley Gail Marsh was born in Wigan on 13 June 1976. She is the youngest of four children, having a sister, Tracy, and two brothers, John and David. Kym attended the Elliot Clarke stage school in Liverpool, but left at the age of 15 and ended up having a series of different jobs, which included shop work and working as a receptionist. At the age of 16, however, she made her first move into the music business and became a backing singer for a band called ‘Freaky Realistic’ from Peckham, London. Kym always dreamed of being on ‘Top of the Pops’, which was a British music chart show that first started in the 60s, but never thought that she would actually manage to fulfil her dream.

Kym’s life has been very up and down to say the least. She married former EastEnders actor Jack Ryder in August 2002, but divorced six years later. She is now engaged to Hollyoaks actor Jamie Lomas, and the couple have a baby daughter, Polly, who was born on 23 March 2011, seven weeks early - she weighed in at just 4lbs 1 oz. The couple sadly lost their son, Archie, in February 2011, when he was born at five months and died moments after the birth. The tragedy really took its toll on the couple’s relationship, which resulted in them splitting up for a period of time. Things got progressively worse when a routine smear test revealed some pre-cancerous cells on Kym’s cervix, which had to be removed to prevent any further complications. Kym already has two other children from an earlier relationship with boyfriend David Cunliff, and they are David Ryan, 16, and Emily May, 13. Jamie also has a son, Billy, who is five, from his relationship with ex-partner Hayley Lever.

Looking at Kym’s fantastic figure, it is hard to believe that she was bullied at school because of her weight and this caused her to develop bulimia. Kym also suffers from something called ovary syndrome which can cause fertility problems, weight gain and bad skin. Nowadays, however, Kym keeps herself in peak condition by eating sensibly and exercising regularly. She has also undergone surgery to enhance her breasts and waistline in an attempt to boost her self-esteem.

Kym has received a number of awards in her career so far, and these include being awarded the title of ‘Celebrity Mum of the Year’ by Bounty in 2009, ‘The Favourite Newcomer Award’ at the 2nd TV Now Awards in Dublin in April 2007 and ‘The Best Actress Award’ at the Daily Star Soaper Star Awards in February 2008. She has also written an autobiography ‘From the Heart’, which she claims brought her peace, because it helped her to come to terms with the dreadful loss of her son Archie. 

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