The Spice Girl and the Olympic boxer talk about forging their own career paths, their experiences of domestic violence and growing up in Leeds
You’d be forgiven for not immediately noticing the many parallels between Nicola Adams, the 38-year-old former undefeated Olympic boxer, and Mel B, the 45-year-old Spice Girl and television personality. Especially given the stark differences in their demeanours; Adams is coy and laid-back, and Mel B, best known as Scary Spice, snaps at me for “interrupting” when I attempt to chair their conversation. But scratch the surface and it’s impossible not to see the similarities. The pair are from Leeds, with parents who hail from the Caribbean (Mel’s mum is white British and her dad is from Saint Kitts and Nevis; Adams’s mum is from St Maarten and her dad is Jamaican). Both are among the few black northerners in the public eye.
Both women competed in hugely popular dance shows, Adams taking part in Strictly Come Dancing this year, while Mel B came second in the US equivalent, Dancing With The Stars, in 2007. They enjoy a shared status as LGBTQ+ icons, too: Adams danced in the first same-sex pairing on Strictly, before being forced to quit when her dance partner, Katya Jones, tested positive for Covid. Mel B has been hailed a gay-iety since her heyday as part of the world’s biggest girl band and has spoken candidly about her fluid sexuality.
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