Geri Halliwell

NICKNAME: CLAIMS SHE DIDN'T HAVE ONE AT SCHOOL BUT RECKONS SHE GOT TEASED FOR BEING SHORT AND HAVING NO BOOBS.

SPICE FACT: SHE ONCE GOT ARRESTED FOR 'DISORDERLY BEHAVIOUR'. NOWADAYS SHE EARNS MILLIONS FOR THE SAME CRIME!

LOVE HISTORY: HER MAN HAS TO BE "A GOOD SNOGGER AND GIVE ME VERBAL AND INTELLECTUAL INTERCOURSE."

CLAIM TO FAME: CLUB DANCER IN MAJORCA, CLEANER, AEROBICS INSTRUCTOR - AND USED TO WORK FOR A VIDEO COMPANY, WATCHING LOADS OF TAPES TO CHECK IF THEY HAD ANY SWEARING!

- If you've got something to say, SAY IT! It's better out than in!
- Your eyes are the window to your soul, they hide nothing. Eye to eye contact is essential!
- Looking for an answer? Ever in doubt? Follow your instinct it's never wrong!
- Personality is like a muscle...use it a lot and it grows and improves!
- Beauty doesn't last. Rely on it and you become a cabbage from within!

- What is your favourite saying?    "This what we're going to do...!"
- How do you win an argument?   "I throw in a lot of big words and a lot of verbal to confuse the situation!"
- How do you meet guys?   "I go for eye to eye contact then I lunge. I'd chat him up with 'Hey Mr Scorpio here's 10p...call your - Mum 'cos you're not going home tonight!'"
- What about toilet Hygene?   "I put a pattern of toilet paper down first!"
- What do you do before bedtime?   "Plan the next day!"

"I've always been an independant girl, as long as I can remember. My mum used to work, so I was left to entertain myself a lot of the time. I'd even put my own bunches in my hair, then get myself off to school in the morning. Relying on myself made me the way I am today, living on my wits.

"I've always thought of myself as The Artful Dodger out of 'Oliver', blagging my way through life. I was managing to talk my way into clubs long before I was in the band and I suppose I sort of talked my way into Spice Girls too. I'm not a trained singer or dancer, but I knew that I could bring some spirit to the group, some Girl Power. I hope what I've managed to achieve now helps other women learn the lesson that they can do as much as anybody. When someone says I can't do something I derive energy from it and that fuels me even more to prove them wrong. I'm an expressive person, very outspoken, I feel like a freedom-fighter trying to give girls the right to express themselves.

"Sometimes other girls don't appreciate that. Mel C and I were at a Blur concert in London not too long ago and they put the spotlight on us. We waved and the whole place waved back, except for one girl who stuck two fingers up at me. I thought 'Where's your Girl Power?' I dunno. Maybe she was just drunk. Or maybe she didn't think doing nude photos like I did before I joined the band was Girl Power. But the point is that Girl Power isn't about dictating how people should be. It's about taking control of your own destiny. Some people don't get it and it's when people misunderstand the message that I get upset.

"The papers are probably to blame for that. When I said Margaret Thatcher was the first Spice Girl I wasn't claiming I was a real Tory. I just admire people with ideals. Even if it's not my point of view I respect the fact that it takes dedication and guts to stand up and say what you believe in. I hate hypocrisy, so I have to stand up and say what I mean. And I'm ready to take the consequences.

"That's why I don't get upset when negative stories are written about me in the papers. Most of them are untrue anyway, but I knew that things like that could happen when I chose to go into this career. One bloke said I slept with him when all I ever did was kiss him on the cheek! Can you believe that? The point is that today's news really is tomorrow's fish and chip paper, so the good of being a Spice Girl far outweighs the bad.

"I gew up in quite a poor family, but now I've got everything I could ever want as far as material goods are concerned. It's great to be able to buy nice things, but I'm searching for ismore spiritual. That's what we were put on the earth for originally; to improve our spirituality, not for material gain. I was just as happy as I am now when I was skint. I've lived on less than 30 quid a week and had just as much of a laugh.

"I've got two tattoos now because I think they're very spiritual too. I had them done to prove to myself that I could endure the pain. It's a ritual thing and they help tell the story of my life. I recently had a sundial design at the top of my back, while the first one I had was a jaguar further down in memory of my dad, who was a car dealer and drove a Jaguar. He died three years ago and it's my greatest regret that he isn't here today to see what's happened to me in Spice Girls.

"I think a lot of the troubles that we have today stem from young people not being allowed to dream. If a kid at school says he wants to be a spaceman when he grows up, then he shouldn't be told not to be so stupid. The Careers Officer should say, 'OK, then. First you'll have to learn about astrophysics' or whatever. We need more people to say that anything is possible.

"I'm the proof that dreams can come true. I love people coming up to me in the street because that's the purest gratification I can get. I'd hate myself if I didn't have the time for those people, because they've given me everything.

"What have I bought so far? Well, I now drive an MGB 1967 Roadster convertible with silver spokes, like you see in all the classic Bond movies. The engine sounds like my voice when I've been out all night, really throaty. Or like Rod Stewart singing 'Baby Jane'! I liked him when he used to wear those leopard-skin pants. I'm into trash. I guess I'm just a trashy kinda girl!"