Holly Willoughby's fabulous life in photos

She's such a familiar face on British television that she almost seems like one of our own relatives. Holly Willoughby, the 'golden girl' of TV, has spent uncountable hours on our screens and won numerous awards. Who is this fabulous show host? What's she like in her day-to-day life?

Holly Marie Willoughby was born on February 10, 1981, as the youngest daughter of Brian and Linda Willoughby. The couple, a sales manager and a stewardess, lived in Brighton, East Sussex.

Photo: @hollywilloughby / Instagram

Holly has one older sister, Kelly Willoughby. The difference between them is two years. "Kelly was always the one I looked up to," Holly tells The Guardian. Kelly adds that they never fought. "I was the postman, and Holly was all the characters coming into the shop."

Picture: @hollywilloughby / Instagram

Kelly works in television as a producer. "People weren’t obsessed with fame when we were kids like they are now," she remembers in The Guardian. "Holly said she wanted to be a barrister in the car once. She’d picked it up from somewhere. As it transpired we ended up working in the same world." What's more, the sisters have written a number of books together.

It's remarkable that Holly Willoughby wrote a number of books because she's had to cope with dyslexia. "At school, reading out loud absolutely terrified me because I’d get all the words wrong and I was convinced everybody thought I was stupid," she told Red Magazine. "It still happens now," she added. "Most of the mistakes I make on 'This Morning' are because of it."

(In the photo, Holly is posing with co-author Fearne Cotton and their book 'Best Friends' Guide to Life.')

Holly loved Drama in school. When she was fourteen years old, talents scouts spotted her as a model and she signed up with the agency Storm. The teenage Holly Willoughby appeared in magazines like 'Shout', 'Mizz,' and 'Just Seventeen.'

When she was seventeen, in 1998, Holly began modelling underwear and lingerie. This is a still from a commercial she did for Pretty Polly in 1999. One of the eighteen-year-old brunette's iconic lines from the ad is: "Don't squeeze them. Lift them."

Two years later she would have her first shot at a TV career, winning an audition in 2000 to participate in the program 'S Club TV' on CITV. From that moment, Holly Willoughby would become a regular face on English television: from children's entertainer to daytime queen.

The step to television meant that Holly no longer appeared as a brunette or redhead. She even dyes her hair platinum blond sometimes.

While making television during the COVID-19 pandemic, Holly Willoughby showed her followers on Instagram how long her hair was growing without the regular touch-up from a hairstylist. "Sooo... what do I do with this?" she asked them. "Chop or not to chop?"

Picture: @hollywilloughby / Instagram

Holly Willoughby is best known for hosting the daily program 'This Morning' with Phillip Schofield. She's been doing it since September 2009 and it feels like she's always been there.

At the moment, Phillip and Holly present the program every Monday through Thursday. On Fridays, they get a break thanks to co-hosts Dermot O'Leary and Alison Hammond.

'This Morning's special guests range from royalty (Charles and Camilla) to animals who do not follow the script. Holly and Phillip have good chemistry together and always have a laugh on the show, whether their guest is a skunk or a prince.

The show's cooks (John Torode, Phil Vickery, James Martin, and others) prepare meals or snacks that we can copy at home.

And then there's Holly Willoughby's stunning looks: every day something new. Before the show, she always posts a head-to-toe image of herself with the latest outfit. Holly's current clothing sponsor is Marks & Spencer.

Holly Willoughby's path to becoming one of British TV's iconic presenters started with children's television. After 'S Club' she returned to the screen with 'Ministry of Mayhem,' a kids' entertainment show on Saturday mornings. In 2007, she presented a dating show with her friend Fearne Cotton. Soon enough, they became "poster girls for CBBC and CITV," the Daily Mail says.

Before television became a sure path, Holly Willoughby tried other careers as well. She studied psychotherapy at the Open University and worked as a receptionist and as a runner for 'Auction World TV,' a channel that no longer exists.

The children's entertainment show 'Ministry of Mayhem' (2004-2006) was produced by Dan Baldwin. He and presenter Holly Willoughby hit it off. They dated for a few years and got married in 2007.

By the time they married in August of 2007, Holly Willoughby was already a star. The wedding became a media event.

Image: @hollywills / Twitter

On TV, Holly Willoughby had already found her 'husband' in Phillip Schofield. Together they have presented 'Dancing on Ice' since 2006. Since 2009, the daily cooperation in 'This Morning' has further strengthened their bond.

With her best friend Fearne Cotton and Keith Lemon, Holly Willoughby appeared for many years (2008-2020) in the hilarious panel show 'Celebrity Juice.' As team captains, Holly and Fearne gave each other crazy assignments and trick questions. When Fearne left in 2018, Holly's opponent became Spice Girl Mel B.

In addition to 'Celebrity Juice,' 'Dancing on Ice,' and 'This Morning,' Holly Willoughby appeared in talent shows like 'The Xtra Factor' and 'The Voice'. By then, it seemed like the witty blonde was on British television all the time. She became part of the furniture.

It rained awards on the shows presented by Schofield and Willoughby. They've always come across as an incredibly successful and amiable couple on TV. But there was one thing that did not sit well with Holly Willoughby. Despite doing the same work as her on-screen husband, she was paid less.

She set out to fix that. According to the Daily Mail, Holly "received a £200,000 pay rise [in 2017], which then put her on the same salary as Phillip Schofield." A source told the newspaper: "It seemed ridiculous they were going to get paid the same fee for Dancing on Ice but Holly was lagging behind on This Morning. Quite rightly, that has now been rectified and they both earn exactly the same."

Holly herself also seems to have felt cheated by her employer. According to the Daily Mail, she said: "I think it’s outrageous, I mean there’s no reason for it at all. If you have two equally qualified people who have been doing something for the same amount of time then there is absolutely no excuse."

Asked about the possible reason for the discrepancy, she added: "Do you know what? I have no idea. We’ve never spoken about it. The thing is, it's a really difficult question to answer because I think you have to trust in your employer really. You have to trust that they respect you in that way, and I would hope our employer would respect me."

Another somewhat painful episode in Willoughby's recent career was the time when she replaced Ant McPartlin, a close friend of hers, in the ITV program 'I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!' in 2018. Ant had always presented this popular show in the Australian jungle with his regular TV partner Declan Donnelly, but he had to leave TV temporarily under difficult circumstances.

The established TV duo Ant & Dec had appeared together for years and won numerous prizes for programs like 'SMTV Live,' 'Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway,' and 'I'm a Celebrity.' They had always been inseparable and none of their fans wanted to ever see them break up.

When she was asked about replacing one half of the Duo, Holly Willoughby told The Daily Mail that it would probably be "much weirder for Dec" than for her. "I mean, he’s only ever worked with Ant." Dec later confessed in the book 'Once Upon A Tyne' that it was "very strange for me to host a TV show with anyone but Ant."

But there was no other way. After a great run with Dec on TV, Ant McPartlin had some bad years in the 2010s. He became addicted to several dangerous substances and drove his life off the rails. After a car crash in Richmond in 2018, the television star was charged with DUI and had to go into rehab. He took a long break from television.

Replacing one half of the Ant & Dec duo while also being Ant's close friend was a painful affair for Holly Willoughby. Asked about it by The Guardian, she said: "Everybody knows that Ant is a very good friend of mine and I've known him for a very long time. Out of respect for him, I love him to bits, it's not something that I find very easy to talk about. Because it’s a friend. His is not my story to tell."

Once Ant was recovered and back in showbiz, he and Dec reunited and Holly looked back on a wonderful, one-time experience in Australia. What did Ant think of Holly's work in the jungle? Speaking to The Sun, the disgraced star admitted that he had only seen "bits" of 'I'm a Celebrity' with Holly Willoughby, because it was "too difficult" for him to watch the show. Still, he praised his close friend Holly and said she was "fantastic." Dec added: "Holly did a superb job."

With all her TV appearances, sponsorships, and the producing company Roxy Media she runs with her husband Dan Baldwin, Holly Willoughby's net worth has grown to a respectable number of £10 million, Hello Magazine reports.

Holly Willoughby makes about £600,000 a year with 'This Morning,' the Daily Mail adds, while Roxy Media made £1 million over the course of 2017. Of that production profit, Holly got 80% (£760,000), as she is the majority owner of the shares, while Dan received the other 20% (£190,000) for the year. Not bad, right?

With some of that money, the couple bought a beautiful house in London, of which we sometimes get a peak through Holly Willoughby's Instagram feed. How about this impressive kitchen and the giant meal she is cooking in it? During the lockdown, fewer guests came to her 40th birthday than one would expect, but Holly told her TV audience that "as long as I've got a cake and a glass in my hand I'll be fine."

Picture: @hollywilloughby / Instagram

The house stands in southwest London and is worth £3 million, Hello Magazine reports. Holly can relax in her garden after a hectic day with 'This Morning' or before entering the rink for 'Dancing on Ice.'

Picture: @hollywilloughby / Instagram

Holly Willoughby shares the house with Dan, her three children, and Bluebell the cat. On social media, she gives an honest presentation of her daily life with all its ups and downs.

Photo: @hollywilloughby / Instagram

In 2020, Holly and Phillip were physically separated from each other while presenting 'This Morning' during the coronavirus lockdown. In this photo, you can see how they interviewed Catherine, then Duchess of Cambridge.

Holly and Dan's three children, Belle, Harry, and Chester, were in the house while their mum prepared to go on TV.

Picture: @hollywilloughby / Instagram

During the lockdown, Willoughby took the time to show her followers the life she leads at home. The TV star is a skillful gardener, for example.

Picture: @hollywilloughby / Instagram

Now that the most difficult period of the pandemic is over, Holly Willoughby is being applauded for all the work she has done to entertain, inform, and unite the public. In May 2023, she cheerily executed her role as a Prince's Trust celebrity ambassador and met the new King at Buckingham Palace.