Paula Yates
| Paula Yates | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Paula Elizabeth Yates 24 April 1959 Colwyn Bay, Wales |
| Died | 17 September 2000 (aged 41) London, England |
| Cause of death | Heroin overdose |
| Occupation | Television presenter, writer |
| Years active | 1980–2000 |
| Known for |
The Tube The Big Breakfast |
| Spouse(s) | Bob Geldof (m. 1986; div. 1996) |
| Partner(s) | Michael Hutchence (1995–97) |
| Children | 4 |
| Parent(s) |
Hughie Green Elaine Smith |
Paula Elizabeth Yates (24 April 1959 – 17 September 2000) was an English television presenter and writer, best known for her work on two television programmes, The Tube and The Big Breakfast. She was in a relationship with musician Bob Geldof from 1976 to 1996. She died of a heroin overdose in 2000.
Born in Colwyn Bay, Wales to English parents, Yates was brought up in a show business family. Her mother was Elaine Smith, a former showgirl actress and writer of erotic novels from Blackpool, who used the stage name Heller Toren. Until late in her life, Yates believed her biological father to be Tyldesley, Lancashire born Jess Yates, who hosted the ITV religious programme Stars on Sunday. Jess Yates and Elaine Smith were married from 1958 to 1975. Jess Yates was nineteen years older than his wife, and their marriage was unconventional.
In an unsettled childhood, Paula attended school at Rowen Primary School, Penrhos College, Ysgol Aberconwy. The Yates family 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 in 1975, Paula lived mostly with her mother, including periods in Malta and Mallorca where she was a pupil at Bellver International College, before returning to Britain.
In 1979, Yates began her career as a music journalist with a column called "Natural Blonde" in the Record Mirror, shortly after posing for Penthouse magazine. She first came to prominence in the 1980s, as co-presenter (with Jools Holland) of the Channel 4 pop music programme The Tube. She also appeared alongside friend Jennifer Saunders in 1987 for a spoof 'mockumentary' on Bananarama.
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