Paula Yates

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Paula Yates (born April 24, 1960 in Colwyn Bay, Conwy, Wales – died September 17, 2000) was a British television presenter. Paula posed naked for Penthouse in 1978, and then became a music journalist, writing a column called "Natural Blonde" in the Record Mirror. She first came to prominence in the 1980s, as co-presenter (with Jools Holland) of the Channel 4 pop music programme The Tube.

She was better known as the daughter of former Stars on Sunday TV presenter Jess Yates, and Elaine, an actress with the stage name Heller Toren. Jess Yates had been sacked from his job presenting religious programmes because of scandalous newspaper stories about his private life.

Paula attended school at Penrhos College, Ysgol Aberconwy. The Yates' ran the Deganwy Castle Hotel for a time, before moving to a large house in Rowen, Conwy. After the break-up of her parents' marriage, Paula lived in Majorca for a time, before returning to Britain and, after being the ultimate party girl, landing a job as presenter of the music show, The Tube, with Jools Holland.

Paula is probably most famous for her marriage to rock singer and Live Aid organiser Bob Geldof, (with whom she lived for some years before their marriage in 1986) and for the eccentric names they gave their three daughters: Fifi Trixibelle, Peaches Honeyblossom and Pixie. She was also one of the presenters on The Big Breakfast, which was produced by Geldof.

It all began to unravel, however, when Paula famously interviewed INXS singer Michael Hutchence in her Big Breakfast boudoir, and fell head over heels in love with him. In 1995, Yates left Geldof for Hutchence, with whom she had another daughter, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily, known as Tiger Lily, before Michael's death in 1997.

In 1997, Hutchence was found hanged in a hotel room in Sydney, and Yates became distraught, refusing to accept the coroner's verdict of suicide. She eventually sought psychiatric treatment. She never really recovered from losing him. Meanwhile, there was a question over the custody of her youngest daughter, Tiger Lily.

Moreover, further media allegations were made suggesting that Jess Yates had not been Paula's natural father. A paternity test proved that the late quiz show host Hughie Green had in fact been her natural father, not Jess Yates. Shortly after this announcement, Paula Yates was found dead, at the age of 40, of an apparent heroin overdose. The coroner ruled that it was not a suicide, but a result of 'foolish and incautious' behaviour.

Hughie Green's son, Christopher, has gone on record as saying that Kell Hutchence (Michael Hutchence's father) never fought for custody of Tiger Lily. In his book Hughie and Paula, he says of the late Kell Hutchence that "he was one of the very few decent people out there who tried to be the peace maker in a sad story". According to Christopher Green, Kell's ex-wife and step-daughter only made motions to gain custody of Tiger after Yates's death. Tiger Lily now lives with Bob Geldof and her half-sisters.

Rupert Everett's serialised memoirs include the revelation that he conducted a six-year affair with Paula.

[edit] Author

Paula Yates was the author of several books, including:

Rock Stars in Their Underpants (1980)
A Tail of Two Kitties (1983)
Blondes (1983)
The Fun Starts Here (1990)
The Fun Don't Stop: Loads of Rip-roaring Activities for You and Your Toddler (1991)
And the Fun Goes On: A Practical Guide to Playing and Learning with Your Pre-school Child (1991)

[edit] References

Green, Christopher, and Clerk, Carol (2003). Hughie and Paula: The Tangled Lives of Hughie Green and Paula Yates. London: Robson. ISBN 1-86105-609-5.
Rojek, Chris (2001). Celebrity. London: Reaktion Books. ISBN 1-86189-104-0.