Nicole Marie Appleton was born on December 7, 1974, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. She grew up with her three sisters, Lori, Lee and Natalie, in Toronto and New York before moving to Camden in London, England. Nicole was a self-described nerd in school, and had trouble fitting in; she was later jokingly given the nickname "Fonzie" to boost her coolness.

During her youth, Nicole held a variety of odd jobs, working as a waitress, hotel singer, bartender, and lifeguard. However, she wasn't successful at most of these; she found that music was the only job she could hold down and excel at.

While attending the Sylvia Young Theatre School with her sister Natalie, Nicole was introduced to Melanie Blatt, who, along with Shaznay Lewis, was putting together an all-girl group called All Saints. Both the Appleton sisters joined.

All Saints releases debut album

All Saints debuted in 1998 with their self-titled album, establishing themselves as a smarter and "cooler" alternative to the Spice Girls. All Saints won Brit Awards that same year for their single "Never Ever" and its accompanying video. However, a good beginning quickly fizzled when Melanie Blatt became pregnant, tour dates were canceled, and talk of a band breakup loomed. Nicole was approached at the time to start on a solo music -- or even acting -- career, but nothing came of it.

All Saints give pure shores to the beach

Nevertheless, All Saints returned in 2000 with a follow-up album called Saints and Sinners, after delays and title changes, and contributed the song "Pure Shores" to the movie The Beach (2000). Nicole appeared with Natalie and Melanie Blatt in the UK film Honest (2000), a vehicle for All Saints, but it was panned.

The group was doomed; by the spring of 2001, they had broken up, this time for good. Still, a compilation album, All Hits, was released in 2001. The time was ripe for Nicole to move up in the music world.

Nicole and sister Natalie form Appleton

Immediately after the demise of All Saints, Nicole teamed up with her sister and former bandmate Natalie, and they called themselves Appleton. They recorded a single, "Fantasy" -- which peaked at No. 2 -- and were set to release their debut album, Everything's Eventual. However, controversy struck again, this time with the release of the Appleton sisters' tell-all autobiography called Together, in which Nicole revealed that she had an abortion in 1998, when she was seeing Take That singer Robbie Williams.

The UK release of Everything's Eventual was pushed back to early 2003, and it appeared in North America even later. The album's first track, "Don't Worry," was a moderate hit.

Nicole and Liam Gallagher have a son

However, Nicole's personal life has improved. During the late 1990s, she lived alone in London with her two cats, which she described as "more dependable and loving than any man." But in mid-2000, she started dating Oasis singer Liam Gallagher. The couple later had a son, Gene, born in July 2001, and eventually got married.

Now Nicole feels that her new family is one of the most important things to her, but she is still passionate about making music and has high hopes for Appleton in the future.

Credit: askmen.com