Name: Kimberley (Kym) Gail Marsh
***Please note that Kym left Hear'say at the beginning of 2002 -see our news archives and the milestones section to find out what happened!***

From: Wigan, Lancashire

Birthday: 13th June 1976, born in Wiston hospital, Lancashire

Star sign: Gemini

Height: 5ft 4.5in (the half an inch makes such a difference! Hehe!)

Eye colour: Hazel

Previous Jobs: Clothes shop assistant, Hotel receptionist, club singer, professional singer, session work for other bands

Pet Hate: Smoking in the house

Personality: Kym is an outgoing lady, and is the kind of person that you're not likely to forget in a hurry! She has a bubbly and spontaneous character which are a true credit to her. Kym makes sure that her views are put across, and is not content with "fitting the mould". Kym is who Kym is, and nobody's gonna change her (-a good thing in our opinion!). All these qualities make Kym the cool Wigan lass that she deserves to be.

Best Quote: "What time is it when there's a pie on the clock tower in Wigan?" -"Summit to Ate!"

About Kym: Kym has grown close to the the other girls in the band, and shares a room with Myleene...(What a lucky thing you are, Kym!)

She has two children and three brothers and sisters. Her parents,David and Pauline also live in Wigan, and are a great help to Kym...Kym had to make a tough decision on whether to be in the band, or stay with her children...Kym said

"I’m looking forward to buying my kids things I wasn’t able to before"

and this quote earnt her a lot of respect among working mothers. Her children are currently being looked after by her mother and father, and Kym goes to see them as often as possible...

Kym has superb looks and a wonderful voice, and has sung as a backing vocalist for many tracks, and has even had a few singles. Kym is a valued member of Hear'Say, and we at www.allhearsay.net wish her happiness and good health for the future.

The Official Biography on Kimberley Gail Marsh:

Kym almost didn't make it to the Popstars auditions and never expected to make it into the band. In the space of a few weeks her life has changed beyond recognition.
'I don't think it has sunk in properly yet,' she says. 'Suddenly, we're having to be secretive about everything. We can't go out as a five. We can't even go to the supermarket together.'
The secrecy will end only when their identity is revealed midway through the Popstars series. 'It does get a bit scary,' says Kym, 'because it's not going to get any better. Once it's out in the open it's actually going to get worse.'
Kym is steeling herself for the moment she will be thrust into the public eye. 'If people look at us and think we've made it overnight the they don't know our backgrounds,' she says. 'Each and every one of us has a story to tell and mine has been a struggle.'
At school such was her dedication to singing and dancing that she was bullied. 'I was always doing a a show or something so I never hung round the discos, never had a boyfriend. I was always being called a square. And because I didn't have a boyfriend I had to be gay, you know, which I'm not.'
kym reckons being bullied toughened her up. 'It didn't do me any harm in the end,' she says. 'In fact I grew and became a much stronger person because of it.'
In some respects Kym is glad she had to wait until the age of 24 for her big break. 'I think I'm wiser now,' she says. 'I've had knock backs and I could have just laid down and not got back up, but I did.'
Through thick and thin it was her parents who supported her. Kym is incredibly close to them - and hugely proud of her northern roots. 'I think a lot of people forget where they come from - they might have lived on a council estate or been on the dole, or whatever,' she says. 'I never want to forget and I don't honestly think my parents would let me. That's a steadying influence. I will never forget where I'm from or what I've done in the past.'
As a child, much of Kym's inspiration came from her Dad, whose own band - Ricky and the Dominant Four - played gigs at Liverpool's legendary Cavern Club, sometimes supporting the Beatles. What makes Kym's success particularly poignant is that six years ago her Dad was dangerously ill after suffering a heart attack. It was the most devastating experience of her life. When Kym dashed to the hospital she found her Mum sobbing in the corridor and her Dad in a critical condition.
'They say the first 24 hours are crucial,' she says. 'I'm not deeply religious but I do believe in God, and that night I prayed, please, please.'
Her prayers were answered. Today, Kym's Dad is fit and well. 'He's so full of life now you'd never guess what he went through. He's lovely - both my parents are. They would do anything for me - as I would for them.'
Having won a place in the hottest new band of 2001 she is determined to keep her feet firmly on the ground. 'The world around me is going to change but I don't want to change,' she says. 'I'm a normal person, except I've been given this great chance by people who have decided I'm talented enough and I'm grateful - it could quite easily have been someone else. It doesn't make me the best just because I'm here.'
Kym knows that rarely do pop stars remain down to earth. She and Mylene had a reminder of what fame can bring when they went to see one of their favourite bands, Five, performing at Wembley Stadium in December. The girls went incognito to the after-show party hoping to meet the band.
'No one knew what we were doing there. People were looking at us as if, who are they?' says Kym. When they sat on a sofa reserved for Five they were quickly shooed away by minders. 'I really want us to be normal,' she says. 'At this stage, before anyone knows who we are, it's easy to observe and see what you don't want to be like.'
Sharing the house has meant that's the most important thing. We've got this thing about solidarity,' Kym says.
She decided to have a third - and final - tattoo dedicated to the others. 'It will be my symbol to them to show my loyalty,' she says. 'It's like an engagement between myself and the others. I want to look back in years to come on this period of my life and remember what I was doing and what it meant to me.'