For much of her life, Keeley Hazell has been labelled & pigeonholed. Growing up in a poor working-class family made her a certain kind of person (the kind who scrounged for chicken and chips money and once set a car on fire). Becoming a topless model after winning the Sun newspaper’s ‘Page 3 Idol’ competition made her a certain kind of person (one with big boobs and few thoughts, to hear anyone else tell it). And as glittery as being one of the UK’s most successful glamour models may seem, Keeley’s fairytale success quickly turned into a nightmare. After becoming a victim of revenge porn and a particularly disastrous interview with a high brow British newspaper, Keeley began re-examining her life. She learned about feminism, objectification, and systemic misogyny on a wonderful journey of personal growth, and with a flick of her hair, quit modelling, walked away from a fat pay check, and moved thousands of miles away from everything she had come to know. Reinventing herself as an actress and writer, she starred in award-winning short films, as well as horrors, dramas, and comedies before facing her most challenging job on the massive hit series Ted Lasso – rewriting what it means to be Keeley both on-screen and in real life.
