Amanda Holden

About Amanda Holden

Amanda Louise Holden (born 16 February 1971) is an English actress who was well known for her roles as Sarah Trevanion on Wild at Heart. She is also notable for being a judge on Britain's Got Talent.

Amanda Holden was born in Southsea in 1971. She was brought up in the village of Waltham Chase in Hampshire by her mother Judith Mary (Harrison) Collister and her stepfather Leslie Drew Collister, her father having left when she was five years old. She joined the Bishop's Walthan Little Theatre Company when she was nine and credits Angie Blackford as influential in her early stage career. At 16 the family moved to Bournemouth and ran a small guesthouse while Amanda studied drama and English literature A levels under Terry Clarke and Charles Lamb at the Jellicoe Theatre, part of Bournemouth University. She successfully auditioned for Mountview Drama School when she was 18 and left in July 1992 with an agent.

She is best known for her role as the main character, Geraldine Titley in the British TV comedy The Grimleys. She is also known for starring in Wild at Heart, Kiss Me Kate and Hearts and Bones.