Zoe Birkett was catapulted into stardom aged just 16 when she starred alongside Gareth Gates and Will Young on Pop Idol. But it has been on the West End stage where she finally found her voice.
“When I was on Pop Idol I was a child having media training about what I could say, what I was allowed to say, how I was allowed to act, how I was allowed to be, how they wanted my hair, my dress. Who was I?
“It's only been the last couple of years that I've truly been myself, and being my full authentic self at this age is actually my superpower,” says the 41-year-old.
Originally signed to Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller, Zoe told Ateh Jewel on this week’s HELLO! Second Act podcast how she begged to be released from her contract and then embarked on a sensational West End career, winning award nominations for her roles in The Bodyguard, Moulin Rouge and Tina.
Yet Zoe, who has just announced her role of Whoopi Goldberg’s character Deloris Van Cartier in Sister Act the Musical, revealed behind her success has been a string of personal traumatic events that have changed her life - for the better.
From having her heart broken by Gareth Gates, dealing with body shaming and a shocking physical attack during a Pop Idol party, Zoe still thanks the show for giving her a platform to pursue her dream career.
© Getty ImagesBut as her West End career was taking off a childhood hip injury came back to haunt her. Just months before starring in Moulin Rouge, she was told she needed a total hip replacement aged 36, after being diagnosed with early osteoarthritis.
“I lived in constant pain and when they told me I needed a total hip replacement I cried on the phone to my dad that my career was over. I had the hips of an 80 year old.
“I asked the doctor ‘will I be able to do cartwheels and the can can?’ He was there at the opening night of Moulin Rouge and every opening night since, I felt reborn.”
Then tragically during the middle of her critically acclaimed run as Tina Turner, the musical, Zoe suffered a miscarriage.
“That put into perspective a lot of things for me,” says Zoe, who turned 40 just weeks after the miscarriage. “I've been through all of this stuff growing up, health issues and then that happened to me and I realised I'm so good at being able to pick myself back up and carry on. I'm a very mentally strong individual. From that experience has come a side of me where I know my worth now.”
She was recently told to lie about her age as people mistake her for looking much younger. But stepping into her forties has made her change her perception of ageing.
“I thought people in their 40s and 50s were like, ‘hi kids, I'm done.’ I had all this vision when you had children, you had to stop and be this little housewife. Since turning 40, I feel this whole new release of freedom - it's a gorgeous place to sit. It's freeing.”
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