Toyah Willcox's Biography

Who is Toyah Willcox?

She has had a diverse career which not only includes her 13 Top 40 singles and a No.1 album 'Anthem', but also a variety of acting and presenting roles.

Toyah Willcox began acting before she launched her music career. After starting out at the Old Rep Drama School in Birmingham, Toyah Willcox took the role of Emma in Tales from Vienna Woods in the National Theatre in 1977.

A year later Toyah appeared as Mad in Derek Jarman's Jubilee, Bessie Watty in Cukor's The Corn is Green, and Monkey in Quadrophenia.

At roughly the same time Toyah Willcox launched into the music world. The excellent official Toyah Willcox website stated that her band officially formed on 12 June 1977.

It was a busy period for Toyah who was also presenting Look Here on the BBC.

At the tail end of the seventies and through the eighties, Toyah's music became more prominent than her acting. This period proved commercially successful, however in the late eighties Toyah had a yearning to be more experimental with her music.

The BBC asked Toyah what was it like being such a star in the 1980s when she had hits like It's A Mystery and I Want To Be Free, and she replied:

"It was back-breaking! It's more fun now [2006] because I'm not having to churn out hit after hit. These days I just go out and enjoy it."

In 1987 She formed a full-time band project Fripp fripp with husband Robert Fripp - they changed their name in 1989 to Sunday All Over the World.

The 1990s saw Toyah come full circle with acting and presenting emerging to rival the importance of music in her life. Toyah Willcox presented on shows like Holiday, Songs of Praise and Watchdog.

In 2002, Toyah Willcox joined local residents protesting in Worcestershire against one of three planned accommodation centres for asylum seekers.

In 2003, Toyah Willcox had a long-standing role as Calamity Jane. She also appeared on ITV's I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!

In 2006, Toyah Willcox toured the UK with Martin Fry of ABC and Howard Jones on The Hitmakers Tour. She also recorded an album with Suggs.

In 2007, The Sunday Times revealed that Toyah Willcox had bought a 19th century home near Nice.

When asked how much money she made in 2006, Toyah Willcox told The Times:

"I'm earning more now than I've ever done. In terms of acting, singing and writing, I made around £400,000. I have just over £2m in investments if you include all my properties, but the income from that is about £75,000 a year – shockingly low. I think I'll need an investment portfolio worth more like £8m to retire with the kind of lifestyle I'm used to now."

In 2017, Toyah Willcox, was once again acting in Jubilee, but this time a stage version, at the Royal Exchange theatre.

In 2024, Toyah was selected to be one of the celebrities on Strictly Come Dancing. She was partnered by Neil Jones. They were the second couple to be voted off.