Nicola Maria Roberts (born 5 October 1985) is an English singer, songwriter, actress, and entrepreneur. Roberts rose to fame in 2002 after auditioning for the ITV reality television programme Popstars: The Rivals and winning a place in the girl group Girls Aloud. The group was one of the few UK reality television acts to achieve continued success, amassing a joint fortune of £25 million by May 2009. With Girls Aloud, Roberts has been successful in achieving a string of 20 consecutive UK top ten singles (including four number ones), two UK number one albums, and received nominations for five BRIT Awards, winning Best Single in 2009 for “The Promise”. Girls Aloud announced that they would partake in a hiatus to pursue solo projects. Nicola Roberts has become well known for her red hair and fair skin. She created her own make-up range entitled Dainty Doll, targeted towards people with pale skin tones. She advocated a ban on the use of sunbeds by minors.