Biography

My Background

I've had an extraordinary life. Here are the basics:

I grew up in a small Ohio farming community. My father was a farmer-turned- inventor from Indiana and my mother was a Kentucky coal-miner's daughter. I have an older sister named Gloria.

In addition to our extremely unusual home life, we had a very sheltered and isolated upbringing. Feeling like a complete misfit, I always knew there was another life waiting for me far away from the cornfields of the Midwest.

When I was six years old my parents bought me a Barbie doll, which served to fuel my escapist fantasies. In my imagination I dreamed of a happy and glamorous life for my doll. Through Barbie I could glimpse an alternative destiny.

The popularity of the Beatles and resulting "British Invasion" of music and fashion in the early sixties made a big impression on my childhood dreams. My Barbie doll's imaginary life was also impacted by this period in history. In my mind she moved to London, where it was all happening.

As a teenager, I put away my dolls and turned my attention to creative pursuits. My intense interest in art and photography was an early indicator of the profound awareness of visual presentation to come. I was never popular in high school, unlike the pretty girls who got to be cheerleaders and date football players. Looking back, those things don't seem as important as they did at the time.

After graduating from high school, I trained as a professional photographer and attended art college. When I decided to continue my studies in London, I spent a year and a half working in a factory and pumping gas so I could buy an airline ticket, pay my school fees and have some money to live on for awhile. I left for England in April 1977 with two suitcases and $600. I never went back.

Here in London, my bohemian appearance led to my being invited to singing backup vocals for a punk band in the early eighties. Before long I was fronting my own band and writing most of the songs to boot. For nearly 10 years, I was in one rock band or another, going on to record Wild Thing with the lead singer of The Troggs and Glad All Over with one of the Dave Clark Five. I got to meet a lot of my rock and roll heroes and had some incredible experiences. (Last year, in true Blues Brothers style, I put the band back together.)

In 1988 I was left a small inheritance which enabled me to begin having cosmetic surgery. Little did I know at the time that this was to be the turning point that would ultimately make all my childhood dreams come true and change my life forever.

My incredible true-life story is revealed in its jaw-dropping entirety in my autobiography. Signed copies of Living Doll can be ordered from this site.

My Life Now

I still live in London, England with my three cats, Cato, Pip and Claude. Cato is an F2 (or second generation) "Bengal," a wildcat hybrid created by crossing Asian Leopard Cats with domestic cats. He looks just like a small leopard. Cato has appeared on numerous television shows and is regularly featured in newspapers and magazines.

Here's Cato with his namesake, my friend Burt Kwouk, who played Inspector Clousseau's sidekick Cato in the Pink Panther movies. They're both famous for pouncing out of nowhere and looking rather debonair in black tie. Last year Cato and Burt even acted together in a major UK television series about famous pets in 2002.

My cat Pip is a Bombay, known as the "miniature panther." They're the result of crossing Burmese cats with black British Shorthairs. Like all Bombay cats, Pip is jet black, slinky and shiny with golden eyes. Despite being teased about his oversized ears since he was a kitten, Pip has a very sweet and loving nature.

Claude, my third cat, is also a black cat, but with green eyes. Claude turned up in my garden one Christmas morning and made himself at home. Now he's part of the family.

Every day starts around 7 a.m. with Cato's "call of the wild," a special alarm meow he uses to announce that hungry cats want their breakfasts. Other than that, no two days are ever the same. A typical week includes several days dedicated to cosmetic surgery research and reviewing case histories. I normally do at least one media interview and photo session every week somewhere or other - my unique vocation has taken me literally around the world. Giving formal lectures at international medical conferences and speaking at women's groups rounds off my schedule.

In addition to my books, I also regularly write commissioned features for major publications such as The Daily Telegraph, The Daily Express, Cosmopolitan, the Times and Tatler, to name a few. Many of these articles have been globally syndicated.

Since the spring of 2002 I've returned to my musical roots and now spend time working with my rock band, The Dollz.

In my spare (!) time I model clothing for top European designers and pose for fashion spreads. I've had the honour of sharing the catwalk with Jerry Hall, and the pleasure of modelling jewellery for Ivana Trump.

I'm also a keen organic gardener and dedicated vegetarian.

Part of my time and income is spent actively supporting my favourite charities: Amnesty International, Born Free Foundation, Cats Protection League, Children in Crisis, Macmillan Cancer Care, David Shepherd Foundation, Friends of the Earth, National Kidney Research Fund, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty and the RSPCA. Cato often accompanies me on these occasions and brings smiles to a lot of faces.