Cat Deeley Biography

Catherine Elizabeth "Cat" Deeley (born 23 October 1976) is an English television presenter, actress, singer, and model. Since 2006, Deeley has been the host of So You Think You Can Dance in the United States, for which she received three nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program.

Early life

Deeley was born in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham. She attended Grove Vale Junior School in Great Barr, Sandwell, followed by Dartmouth High School in Great Barr, where she played the clarinet in the Sandwell Youth Concert Band. She then joined the sixth form at Bishop Vesey's Grammar School.

At age 14, Deeley entered a regional edition of a BBC competition for The Clothes Show, in which she reached the national finals. Spotted by an agent for Storm modeling agency at age 16, she was quickly signed as a model under her nickname of Cat to make it easier for clients to re-book her.

Career

Deeley became a full-time fashion model. She left full-time modelling in 1997, following changes in her contract with Storm. She moved on to co-present the MTV chart show, Hitlist UK, with close friend Edith Bowman. From 1998 until 2002, she was co-host with Ant & Dec on the Saturday morning children's programme SMTV Live and hosted its spin-off programmes

she hosted Fox's celebrity dating game show The Choice, which premiered on 7 June 2012 in the United States.

Charity work

Since 2003, Deeley has been a patron of Great Ormond Street Hospital. She is also an active supporter of UNICEF. In 2007, she took part in a UNICEF benefit show in Los Angeles during which magician David Copperfield sawed her in half using his antique Buzz Saw illusion. In 2008, she visited a number of UNICEF projects in the Philippines, including their Soccer Aid 2 project in Manila. In December 2009 she was made a UNICEF UK ambassador.

Personal life

Deeley describes her religious affiliation as Anglican, although she was not christened.

Between 2001 and 2006, Deeley dated businessman Mark Whelan. She was then romantically linked to a number of fellow celebrities, including actors Leonardo DiCaprio, which she later dispelled as a rumour, and Jack Huston, with whom she had a two-year relationship. In 2011, she had a brief relationship with True Blood actor Michael McMillian, which ended after four months.

In early 2012, Patrick Kielty revealed that he and Deeley were in a relationship. They were married 30 September 2012 in Rome.