Maria Whittaker

Maria Whittaker (born 7 October 1969) is an English former glamour model, Page 3 girl and singer.

Maria Whittaker
Born (1969-10-07) 7 October 1969[1]
Hounslow, Middlesex, England
Height5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Spouse(s)Michael West
Children3

Modelling career

Maria Whittaker was born on 7 October 1969 in the large suburban town of Hounslow in Middlesex.

In 1985, Whittaker made her debut as a Page 3 girl in British newspaper The Sun at the age of 16.[2] With her brunette hair, good looks and natural 36DD breasts, she became one of the most celebrated glamour models of the 1980s, alongside Samantha Fox and Linda Lusardi.

In 1987, Whittaker appeared on the cover of Palace Software's computer game Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior, along with Michael Van Wijk (also known as Wolf) from the Gladiators television show.[3] In 1988, they appeared again on the cover of Barbarian II: The Dungeon of Drax. Whittaker was the star of Maria Whittaker's X-Mas Strip Poker, a computer game released in 1988 for the Amiga, Commodore 64 and 128.[4] Whittaker also appears in the 1991 video game Cover Girl Strip Poker as one of eight opponents; her appearance in the game was highlighted by several reviewers,[5][6][7] with one magazine calling her "particularly spellbinding".[8]

She soon became one of the most popular models to appear in the feature and was named Page 3 Girl of the Year in 1989.[9]

Whittaker is ranked as Glamour Girl No. 80 in Glamour Girls: An Illustrated Encyclopedia.[10]

Music and television

Before breaking into modelling, Whittaker appeared as a Hill's Angel in two episodes of The Benny Hill Show in 1983. In 1986, she appeared in the movie version of Whoops Apocalypse. She made her second screen appearance in the thriller film Tank Malling in 1989.

Whittaker's Page 3 spread was shown, being read by Benny Hill, in the Genesis music video (2:07)[11] for "Anything She Does", off the Invisible Touch album, from 1986. Hill then looks up, and sees Whittaker in the flesh, so to speak. He is distracted by her as people sneak into the backstage area he is supposed to be guarding.

After retiring from modelling, Whittaker formed the band Rhythm Zone in 1990, with her as lead vocalist.[9] After the band flopped and a solo single, "Stop Right Now", tanked, Whittaker returned to modelling, doing nude pictorials for Mayfair and other men's magazines.

Personal life

Her younger sister Lisa Whittaker (born September 1970 in Hounslow) also appeared on Page 3, and the sisters posed together for topless photo shoots. She has an older brother, David, who is an accountant in London.

Whittaker is married to jungle producer Congo Natty.[9] She has three children. Trinity Tafari,[12] her youngest child, is a world champion at street dance, and is a part of dance group IMD, who have been featured on Got to Dance and Britain's Got Talent.

In March 2020, Whittaker was in a TV advert with what looked like her husband, for an insurance company.

References
  1. Maria! The Intimate Story of Britain's No 1 Topless Beauty by Maria Whittaker and Madeleine Pallas (London: Star Books, 1988), p. 11
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "The Making Of: Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior | Features | Edge Online". Web.archive.org. 5 October 2013. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  4. "Allgame – Maria Whittaker Strip Poker". Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  5. "Perder Hasta la Camisa: Cover Girl Strip Poker" [Lose Up to the Shirt: Cover Girl Strip Poker]. pcmanía (in Spanish). No. 17. Hobby Press. March 1994. p. 31.
  6. "MS-DOS: Cover Girl Strip Poker". Videogame & Computer World (in Italian). Vol. 5 no. 8. DTP Videowrite. April 1992. p. 35.
  7. "Covergirl Poker". Joystick (in French). No. 27. Sipress. May 1992. pp. 232–233.
  8. "Cover Girl Strip Poker". Svet Kompjutera (in Serbian). No. 92. NIP Politika. May 1992. p. 70.
  9. "PAGE 3 MARIA HAS A SECRET BABY BOY; Little Joe helps lift heartache for topless beauty who went bust. - Free Online Library". Thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  10. Glamour Girls: An Illustrated Encyclopedia: Sullivan, Steve. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 1999
  11. Genesis, Genesis - Anything She Does (Official Music Video), retrieved 29 December 2018
  12. Trinity Tafari on Instagram
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