Known for her designer clothes and expensive handbags, Victoria Beckham defined '90s
glamor. And in the two decades since she left the Spice Girls, her fashion sense
has only grown! Here's how Posh Spice has evolved while also staying true to herself.
Victoria Adams was born in 1974 in Harlow, England. She and her two siblings grew up in
a comfortable setting thanks in part to her family's financial success. Her dad
owned an electronics business that did so well it allowed him to own a Rolls-Royce.
In April 2023, she made a return trip to visit her childhood home with husband David Beckham
and their kids. On her Instagram Story, Victoria gave fans a peek into the place she grew up in,
including two dolls that she used to play with, one called Aunt Sally. She
also described what it was like to be back at her childhood home, saying,
"It brings back such nice memories. It's so nice to come back."
"I was just very, very happy." As she grew older, Victoria Beckham
began experimenting with her looks. She even showcased an image from her youth in a 2022
TikTok video. By the time she was 15 years old, Beckham was already beginning to model,
though not exactly for fashion shoots. The teen was featured in the brochure for the London
Academy of Health and Beauty, with photos showing her lounging in a dorm room and giving a massage.
Two years later, Beckham continued to pursue a career in entertainment when she enrolled as a
dance and modeling student at the Laine Theatre Arts college. Around this time,
Beckham joined a band called Persuasion. The short-lived band sang in pubs, with the future
Spice Girl primarily featured on backup vocals. In 1993, Victoria Beckham noticed an advertisement
in The Stage magazine looking for young, talented women who could sing and dance. Fortunately,
Beckham had been training for years as a dancer and performer, so she seemed perfect for the
casting. In the end, Beckham, Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm, Geri Halliwell, and Emma Bunton
were selected and formed a girl group called Touch. Bunton actually replaced a short-lived
sixth member, Michelle Stephenson, who left the group because of an illness in her family.
The ladies were first managed by Bob and Chris Herbert, a father-and-son team, who wanted
to pick five women with distinctly different styles. Bob told Rolling Stone four years later:
"We put all the basic ingredients in: provided them with the studios,
a house to live in, dance tuition, writers, paid their expenses. But
to make the ingredients work, you have to get five spices together."
And so, they all lived in a house in a suburb of London to rehearse and write
music together. Beckham recalled that Bob looked like he belonged
in the TV series "Miami Vice" with the way he dressed. She told Rolling Stone,
"He walked in one day, and he had a bright-blue suit on and
a white shirt and a medallion and some bright-blue loafers."
However, the management pairing ultimately didn't work out due to contract disputes.
When the group separated from the Herberts they renamed themselves the Spice Girls. The five
performers later linked up with manager Simon Fuller in 1995 and signed with Virgin Records.
"We're the Spice Girls!" "If you haven't noticed."
After teaming up with manager Simon Fuller, the ladies began to take on their distinct
identities as the five different Spices. There was Scary Spice, Ginger Spice, Baby Spice,
and Sporty Spice. Beckham, of course, became known as Posh Spice. She ultimately leaned
into the title and started wearing designer clothes from luxury brands like Gucci and Prada.
After dropping the first single "Wannabe" in 1996, the Spice Girls released their debut
album "Spice" later in the year, and Spicemania officially swept the world.
"Yeah, we're doing pop music. But we're so different from Britney and
Christina and N'Sync. You know, we're Spice Girls."
Looking back at some of her outfits from this period,
Beckham admitted to WWD that some people might be shocked by the choices. While she
agreed that some '90s styles were making a comeback years later, she quipped,
"I wouldn't say my PVC catsuits would be reappearing, put it that way."
While the Spice Girls dominated music in England in 1997, the British sports world couldn't get
enough of Manchester United player David Beckham. Neither could Victoria Beckham, who attended one
of his matches alongside her bandmate, Sporty Spice. David was also enamored with Victoria and
claimed to know it was love at first sight. While the two didn't talk at this first game, Victoria
came back a week later to watch David again — and this time, the footballer connected with the
singer. As David explained on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" years later, she had to
leave Manchester but wrote her phone number down on the train ticket she used to get to the game.
"Which I still have." "Oh and you kept the ticket?"
"Yeah."
In 2020, Victoria posted a cute video on Instagram of their early days dating. In the video, she
asked David when he realized he was famous, and he joked that he knew instantly. She then quipped,
"It was when he first started going out with me, I think, actually."
In 1999, the couple tied the knot at a Castle in Ireland. It was four months after the pair
welcomed their first child, Brooklyn, who was the ring bearer for the ceremony.
At the start of the new millennium, Victoria Beckham expanded her musical efforts outside of
the Spice Girls as the featured artist on the song "Out of Your Mind" by True Steppers and
Dane Bowers. Tragically, it was also the same year that Beckham's safety became a concern,
as police discovered a plot to kidnap her and her infant son, Brooklyn.
"Brooklyn lived like a prisoner. It was awful. Absolutely terrifying."
In January 2000, Scotland Yard received a tip that members of a
gang planned to hold the two hostage in Hampstead, London. Fortunately,
the warning worked, and the Beckhams were moved to a secure location.
Victoria also received death threats around this time. As reported by the Daily Mail,
she was leaving the stage after a rehearsal for the Brit Awards when she noticed a red
laser beam on her chest. Police investigated the origin of the light and found a fire door propped
open. When performing at the award show, Victoria believed that she had been shot. She even stopped
singing and held her stomach, after mistaking thousands of balloons popping for gunshots.
In addition to facing another kidnapping plot in 2002, she and David Beckham dealt with a
stalker while living in England. According to the Mirror, the couple even received a pair of
bullets in the mail with their names written on them. All these events understandably shook up
the singer and eroded her sense of safety. She wrote in her autobiography, "Learning to Fly,"
"I didn't know who I could trust. I didn't know if I could trust anybody."
Following their third album "Forever," which was released in 2000, the Spice Girls officially
split up. Looking back on the wild ride in the group, Victoria Beckham said there were a lot
of positives, but also some negatives, too. She told Harper's Bazaar in 2020,
"I learnt an enormous amount being very young and very,
very famous. You realize it's much more difficult to maintain success than it is
to actually achieve it — and it's not as glamorous as people would think."
Post-Spice Girls, Victoria released her first solo record in 2001 called "Not Such an Innocent
Girl." Later that year, she dropped her debut album. The music star parted ways with Virgin
Records and signed with Telstar. Her first output as part of the label was the 2003 song "Let Your
Head Go." However, Telstar folded the following year. In a 2021 interview with the Daily Mail,
Victoria's former labelmate, Alesha Dixon, said the company's issues allegedly started
after they spent too much money to sign the former Spice Girl.
Victoria never released another album, but sessions from her days with Telstar
were later leaked in 2016. One of the tracks, "Resentment," was even picked up by Beyoncé for
her 2006 album "B'Day". While her music career was coming to a close, Victoria was starting
to grow her family even more when she and David Beckham had their second child, Romeo, in 2002.
"We've always had a really close family unit and me and David really do respect each other."
In 2005, David and Victoria Beckham welcomed their son, Cruz. The third Beckham child was
born in Madrid, Spain because David played for the local football club at the time,
Real Madrid. Before the birth, the Beckhams had met Tom Cruise and,
according to David, he loved the actor's last name. The idea stuck with him,
and the couple decided to use the Spanish spelling of the word for their child's name.
Once he became a teen, Cruz took after his mother and became interested in music,
singing and taking guitar lessons. Victoria even
acknowledged that Cruz was taking after her, telling Vogue Australia in 2022,
"The baton has gone over to him."
Still, she had reservations about her third son trying
to become a famous musician after her own experiences. Victoria went on to explain,
"You want to offer your support and do what you can to help them. But it
makes you a bit nervous because, you know ... you don't ever want anybody
to be anything other than kind and love what your children do."
On the professional side of things, a year after giving birth to Cruz,
Victoria released her second book, titled "That Extra Half an Inch: Hair,
Heels and Everything in Between." In the book, she revealed the secrets to her often-excellent
fashion and beauty choices. Her popularity expanded beyond just the United Kingdom,
as the book was also sold in America, Europe, Japan, and China.
During her time as Posh Spice, Victoria was always known as the fanciest and
more fashion-forward member of the girl group. She revealed to Vogue Australia,
"The other Spice Girls weren't really into fashion,
so I was fortunate to be able to take up most of the budget."
Beyond just clothes, Victoria also developed a love for Hermès handbags — specifically,
the French luxury brand's famous Birkin bags. After splitting up from the Spice Girls,
Victoria sold most of her wardrobe from that era for charity. However,
she did keep her most prized possessions. She told the outlet,
"I don't really miss those outfits, but those Birkins stand the test of time."
Beckham also decided to become more than just a consumer for luxury fashion when
she started designing clothes. First, in 2004, she teamed up with denim brand Rock & Republic
for a collaboration called VB Rocks. Then, in 2008, she launched her own fashion line
during New York Fashion Week. This was also soon after the Beckhams moved to
America so that David could play with the Los Angeles Galaxy. While living in L.A.,
Victoria admitted to The Sun that she became a total gym rat and would run four miles a day.
"Like I said, this is about enjoying myself this time and doing what I want to do."
By 2022, her fashion label was still going strong: Victoria presented for
the first time at Paris Fashion Week, with her whole family in attendance.
In 2011, David and Victoria Beckham had their fourth child and first daughter,
Harper Seven. According to David, Victoria's favorite book is "To Kill a Mockingbird" by
Harper Lee, which is part of the reason for their daughter's name. Following the birth,
Victoria posted on X, formerly known as Twitter,
"Baby Harper is the most beautiful baby girl I have ever seen,
I have fallen in love all over again!!!"
While Cruz began following in Victoria's musical footsteps, Harper seems to have taken after her
dad in terms of being a gifted athlete, as she became interested in ice skating.
Beyond growing their family even more, the Beckhams made quite the entrance as attendees
of the 2011 royal wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton at Westminster
Abbey. David and Victoria were easily two of the best dressed celebs at the event. Outside of the
royal nuptials, Victoria received recognition for the continued success of her fashion brand
and won designer brand of the year at the 2011 British Fashion Awards. More impressively,
she earned the accolade against heavyweight competition from fellow British brands
Stella McCartney and Burberry, plus Tom Ford. In addition to being a mother, fashion designer,
entrepreneur, and former pop star, Victoria Beckham also became passionate about philanthropic
work. In 2014, she became a global ambassador for UNAIDS and was even a featured speaker at
the United Nations headquarters in New York City that September. She said at the event,
"It's taken me getting to 40 years old to realize I have a responsibility. As a woman,
as a mother, I have a voice that people will listen to. And I'm taking that
responsibility very seriously. This is the beginning of an incredible journey for me."
"You want to be the best wife, the best mom,
the best professional, and just be good and kind to yourself."
That same year, Beckham also became a spokeswoman for the Ban Bossy initiative created by Sheryl
Sandberg, who was then the chief operating officer at Facebook. The initiative's goal
is to encourage young women to embrace their qualities and to pursue leadership roles.
Meanwhile, Beckham also continued to prioritize her fitness routines.
She reportedly spent around $36,000 on her home gym in England in 2012,
in addition to expanding the fitness machines at her Los Angeles residence.
As a longstanding celebrity in England, Beckham received the prestigious Most Excellent Order
of the British Empire, or OBE, in 2017. Prince William awarded her the honor for her 17 years of
contribution to the fashion industry. According to the BBC News, Victoria said of the event,
"It was an absolute pleasure to be at Buckingham Palace today. I'm proud to be British,
honored and humbled to receive my OBE from the Duke of Cambridge."
With her parents and husband David Beckham, who previously received the same honor,
in attendance, she acknowledged their longtime support and added,
"If you dream big and work hard, you can accomplish great things."
However, to get to this point, Victoria certainly had to deal with her share of criticism,
especially when it came to her physical appearance. She told to Vogue Australia,
"I've had 'Porky Posh' on a headline, I've had 'Skeletal Posh.' After I had Brooklyn,
there was a picture on the front of a newspaper pointing to every single part
of my body as to where I had to focus on losing the weight from."
The fashion designer also recalled an uncomfortable and arguably sexist interview
during her Spice Girl days, where the host asked her to get on a scale and weigh herself. A clip
from the 1999 "Don't Forget Your Toothbrush" interview shows host Chris Evans asking
Victoria if her weight was back to normal soon after giving birth to her first child. He then
pulls out a scale from under his desk. '90s fans were ecstatic when the Spice
Girls announced a reunion tour in 2019. But unfortunately, it wasn't a full lineup return,
as Victoria Beckham revealed she would not be joining the four other singers. During
an interview on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" that November, Victoria explained that her fashion line
and personal life contributed to her decision to sit out of the tour. She told the host,
"I had so much fun, and I'm still close with the girls, and I was so proud of
them and everything that they did. It was a huge success. But for me, I loved it when I did it."
Victoria added that her Spice Girl phase was over, noting,
"I feel like a very different person now. I've got four children,
and I'm really busy doing what I'm doing."
In addition to supporting the rest of the group's reunion tour efforts,
Victoria said on "Live with Kelly and Ryan,"
"I will always be a Spice Girl."
Branching out beyond fashion, Victoria also started to get into beauty around this time.
After a collaboration with Estée Lauder, the former singer launched her Victoria Beckham Beauty
line in 2019. In September 2023, she expanded the range of products to include perfumes,
which were named after memorable personal events shared between herself and husband.
As of 2023, Victoria is nearing 50 years old and still looking stunning as always. That said,
part of this is due to her routines in diet and exercise. She told The Guardian in 2019,
"I am very, very disciplined in the way that I work out,
in what I eat. That's how I'm happiest. I expect a lot from my body. [...] I've got four kids,
I work a lot, I travel. For me to do all that, I have to eat healthily and work out."
This includes getting up before 6 am to run around four miles in about 45 minutes on the
treadmill. Victoria explained that this is also the perfect time to watch TV. She'll also spend
half an hour just on legs and another 30 minutes on arms, in addition to extra exercises for her
core — all on top of taking her kids to school. Victoria noted of this routine,
"It's part of who I am now, and I really enjoy it."
And while the star once would often wear multiple
layers for a more fashion-forward look, she opened up to Grazia in 2022 about her
decision to include more form-fitting pieces in her clothing line, saying:
"Post-COVID, I wanted a change. I wanted to feel sexy again."
Meanwhile, the former Spice Girl is also clearly dominating as an entrepreneur.
Per Celebrity Net Worth, she and her husband are worth an estimated
combined $450 million — more money than the other four Spice Girls have combined.