Vanessa Feltz is a British TV personality and journalist. Her early morning radio show on BBC Radio 2 is much appreciated by her fans and one of the critics has described her voice as “like lemon tea with honey”.
Sun Sign
Pisces
Residence
St John’s Wood, London, England
Nationality
Education
Vanessa studied at the independent school Haberdashers’ Aske’s School For Girls in Hertfordshire. For her further education, she went to Trinity College, Cambridge from where she graduated with a first class honors degree in English.
Manager
Vanessa is represented by the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) located in London.
Boyfriend / Spouse
Vanessa Feltz has dated –
- Michael Kurer (1983-2000) – Michael Kurer was a junior orthopedic surgeon when he met Vanessa in the early 80’s. He proposed to her on their very first date and they got married in a lavish wedding ceremony in 1983. Soon after, they became parents to 2 daughters, Allegra Kurer (b. 1986) and Saskia Kurer (b. 1989). Surprisingly in 1999, Michael gave her an ultimatum of 3 months asking her to get in shape or else he would leave her. So Vanessa trained for 7 weeks with her personal trainer Dennis Duhaney, in whose presence she received the ultimatum. Michael left her anyways after these 7 weeks and it was later learned that he was having an affair with a junior doctor named Rachel Evans. Their divorce, which was finalized in 2000, proved to be financially straining as she had to shell out £1.5 million in the settlement. Vanessa was also severely depressed after her divorce, as a result of which she lost a ton of weight dropping from a UK size 26 to size 12.
- Fitzroy Charles (2001) – Vanessa allegedly hooked up with Fitzroy Charles, a bouncer, in 2001. She maintained that they were flirting with each other but never got physically intimate. Things took a turn for the worse when Fitzroy gave a detailed account of the nature of their alleged relationship to a leading newspaper. Vanessa filed a complaint citing invasion of privacy but it was rejected by the PCC (Press Complaints Commission) on the grounds that she had shared details about her private life before.
- Dennis Duhaney (2000-2006) – Right after her divorce from Michael Kurer, Vanessa was working closely with Dennis Duhaney, who was her personal fitness trainer. The two formed a bond and began dating soon after. It was reported that Dennis ended their on-again-off-again relationship unexpectedly in 2006.
- Ben Ofoedu (2006-Present) – Vanessa met Anglo-Nigerian Ben Ofoedu, former singer of the music band Phats & Small, at a London party in 2006. She is 10 years older to him and was introduced to Ben through a common friend and Boyzone star, Keith Duffy. They instantly felt a connection and got engaged in December 2016. A year later, they were seen announcing the dates for a civil wedding. However, it never materialized. In 2011, the couple again made announcements of an impending wedding and their plans to adopt a baby but in vain. The long-time partners live together in St. John’s Wood in London.
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Distinctive Features
Voluptuous figure
Brand Endorsements
Vanessa has done the endorsement for Heineken Beer in 2001.
Religion
She was raised in a Jewish household.
But her present religious views are unknown.
Best Known For
- Having a long-lasting career as a public figure in the British media since the mid-90’s
- Being a radio host, chat show host and participant in several reality TV shows like Strictly Come Dancing, Big Brother, The Weakest Link, etc. staying relevant to the audience for many decades
First Film
She made her theatrical film debut as Vanessa in the rom-com Once Upon a Time in the Midlands in 2002.
First TV Show
In February 1995, Vanessa made her first TV show appearance as a panelist on the game-show Do The Right Thing.
Personal Trainer
Vanessa has always had a love-hate relationship with her weight. Although she was never a fat child, she began gaining weight after having 2 pregnancies in quick successions and letting herself go during that time. After her 16-year long marriage crumbled, she lost 6 stone of weight due to her depressed state of mind. Once she began feeling like herself, her weight skyrocketed again.
She calls herself an emotional eater wherein she eats for every occasion. In 2010, she had a gastric band fitted in her stomach (a surgical treatment which limits one’s food intake and thus helps control obesity). She lost nearly 4 stone in a matter of 6 months post the operation. However, she would find ways to supplement her by downing foods like , risotto, and Shepherd’s pie.
It was her partner Ben Ofoedu who gave her the confidence to be comfortable with her body saying that he loved ‘chubby blonde girls’. This helped Vanessa feel more comfortable in her skin and accept the fact that she would never have a svelte figure. Since then, she has become more body confident.
Vanessa Feltz Favorite Things
- Author – Geoffrey Chaucer
Source –
Vanessa Feltz Facts
- Feltz was the first female columnist for the London-based Jewish weekly newspaper The Jewish Chronicle.
- In May 2003, Channel Four conducted a poll of 100 Worst Britons and Vanessa ranked at the 93rd spot on the list.
- Vanessa wrote her first book titled in 1995.
- In 2014, Vanessa came forward with her story of assault in the hands of disgraced TV personality Rolf Harris. While interviewing him live on channel 4’s Big Breakfast in May 1996, Rolf groped her inappropriately in the presence of his wife and crew members. Her story was corroborated after examining the tape of the show. Vanessa had decided to come forward in the light of several assault charges against Harris for which he was sentenced to prison for 5 years and 9 months but he was released in 2017 after completing only 3 years of his sentence.
- Vanessa became the target of Journalist Kevin Myers when a blatantly racist article was published in The Sunday Times in 2017. The article titled “Sorry, ladies – equal pay has to be earned” alleged that Vanessa and , both female presenters for the BBC, were well paid because they were Jewish. Myers was sacked from the paper for his unjustified attack on Jewish people with Vanessa addressing the column as ‘vile’.
- She is not on social media.
Featured Image by Veronique Cotrel / Instagram
Facts of Vanessa Jane Loretta Feltz
- Gender Female
- full nameVanessa Jane Loretta Feltz
- middle nameJane
- nicknamesThe blonde bomb site
- birthplaceIslington, London, England
- Date of Birth February 21, 1962
- Age 62 years 8 months
- Horoscope Pisces
- Lucky Number 5
- Lucky Stone Aquamarine
- Lucky Color Sea Green
- Best Match for Marriage Cancer, Scorpio
- ethnicity / ethnic backgroundWhite
- nationalityBritish
- net worth$100,000 - $1Milllion
- professionBroadcaster, Journalist, Television Personality
- weight74 kg or 163 lbs
- height5 ft 2 in or 157.5 cm
- hair colorBlonde
- eye colorHazel
- body type / buildLarge
- collegeTrinity College
- motherValerie Ohrenstein
- fatherNorman
- sistersJulia