By Lauren Humphreys

Ever since I was about six years old, Cheryl Cole has always been one of my biggest inspirations. Her iconic fashion sense, feisty personality, dazzling smile, stunning looks and of course her brilliant music has helped her evolve into Europe’s biggest superstar ever!

Her life, however, hasn’t always been idolised, as when she was younger her parents split up and she lived on a rough council estate in Newcastle and saw many of her friends and even her older brother dealing with drugs and crime. A shot at fame arose when she got the opportunity to attend a royal ballet school which she soon dropped out of and won awards for her good looks. She even appeared in a British gas advert and when she auditioned for Popstars the rivals, I don’t think she or anybody else realised how big she would become.

Girls Aloud is THE biggest girl band in Britain! From their first single, ‘Sound of the underground’ up until ‘Untouchable’, the last single they released before they took a break to pursue their own projects, it was clear they had a strong chemistry and special talents. The Brit award winning band have had twenty consecutive top ten hits, four ground breaking number ones and two number 1 albums and there are rumours that in 2012 on their tenth year anniversary they are set to reconcile.

Cheryl’s personal life has always been on public display from her deadly encounter with malaria, in which she almost died, to her divorce from Ashley Cole who cheated on her with several women. She has always kept a smile on her face and the world got to see her even more when she signed up to be judge on Simon Cowell’s hit TV show ‘The X Factor.’

The X Factor catapulted Cheryl into superstardom and people got to see the genuine loveable girl rather than the feisty one seen in the tabloids. She made her mark when for the first two years on the show as a mentor, she won with Alexandra Burke and Joe Mcelderry ,and in her third year Rebecca Ferguson came second place. The X Factor also turned her into a style icon, along with Danni Minogue, battling it out every week for the style crown. Cheryl and Simon’s bickering had the nation gripped but it came as no surprise when Cheryl left the UK version to judge the revamped show in the USA. However, it all came falling down when Simon unexpectedly hired Nicole Scherzinger to be her replacement.

Not only has she endured success with her TV career and with Girls Aloud, but her solo career has also gone from strength to strength. She has had two number one singles and albums, has supported Black Eyed Peas on their European tour and has worked with the likes of Taio Cruz and Dizzee Rascal. She has plenty of celebrity fans such as Coldplay, Rihanna, Selena Gomez, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber and Gary Barlow and is the face of L’Oreal. I believe the height of her career is shown in the Cheryl waxwork at Madame Tussauds, which awards waxworks to successful people.

Cheryl is my biggest inspiration because she has come from nothing and has worked very hard to get to where she is now. She was publicly slammed by tabloids over making mistakes but has stayed strong and has risen when all odds were against her. She has shared her passion with her fans for writing and making music and has still stayed down to earth. Her lyrics are heartfelt and her compassionate ways keep us hanging on to her every word. Her stunning looks, which have graced the covers of magazines such as Vogue have given her the title of being the most beautiful woman in the world and even after all the pressure she has been under, she is still grateful for everything she has!

My Inspiration by Aneela Aziz
I really admire Cheryl Cole for her improvement throughout the years, as she has tried really hard in life to become successful and she knows what she wants and will try to get it.  I like her determination and she inspires me to work hard in life and get where I want to be in the future.