Keren Woodward

Keren Jane Woodward (born 2 April 1961)[1] is an English singer and, with Sara Dallin and Siobhan Fahey, a founding member of the girl group Bananarama. In 1986, the trio reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 with their version of "Venus". Woodward and Dallin are the only constant members of Bananarama, and both have been a part of the group for over 40 years since 1979.

Keren Woodward
Woodward performing with Bananarama in 2018
Woodward performing with Bananarama in 2018
Background information
Birth nameKeren Jane Woodward
Born (1961-04-02) 2 April 1961
OriginBristol, England
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Years active1979–present
Member ofBananarama

Early life

Woodward is a classically-trained pianist; she sang in choirs and performed in amateur dramatics with Dallin, whom she has known since childhood. After leaving school, Woodward worked as a pensions clerk at the BBC in Portland Place, London.

Career

Woodward formed Bananarama with Dallin and Fahey, releasing their first single "Aie a Mwana" in 1981. They went on to have a string of UK top-ten hits and top the American charts in 1986 with "Venus". Fahey left the band in 1988, to be replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan, who left in 1991.

Woodward and Dallin have performed as a duo from 1991. They briefly reunited with Fahey in April 2017 and received the Icon Award at the Glamour Awards in June 2017.[2] The trio toured the UK in November and December 2017 and North America in February 2018. They performed their final dates as a trio in August 2018.

Personal life

In the mid-1980s, Woodward had a relationship with model David Scott-Evans, with whom she had a son born 31 December 1986.[3] In 1990, Woodward began dating Andrew Ridgeley, formerly of the musical duo Wham![4][5] They lived with her son in a 15th-century converted barn in Wadebridge in North Cornwall.[6][3] They ended their relationship in November 2017.[7][8]

References
  1. The Times, 2 April 2011
  2. "Glamour Awards 2017: All the talking points". Glamour Awards. 7 June 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  3. "Andrew Ridgeley on Life With and After Wham! (Hello!, 1997)". gmforever.com. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  4. "Keren Woodward". BBC WebWise. 29 October 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  5. "Andrew Ridgeley and Keren Woodward have split up". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 5 November 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  6. Trewhela, Lee (22 December 2018). "Bananarama star on life in Cornwall after splitting from Wham!'s Andrew Ridgeley". cornwalllive. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  7. "Wham! star Andrew Ridgeley is back together with ex Keren Woodward two years after split". Smooth. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  8. "Bananarama's Keren Woodward denies she is dating Andrew Ridgeley: 'We broke up seven years ago'". Smooth. Retrieved 19 November 2022.


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