How TV beauty Laura Whitmore makes more money when she’s OFF television screens
Irish stunner Laura rakes in the cash at parties and premieres — often with an enviable piece of A-list arm candy in tow
SHE’S quit I’m A Celeb and has no new telly projects in the pipeline – but TV presenter Laura Whitmore is busier than ever.
Instead of looking for the 31-year-old Irish beauty on the box, you will find her at premieres, parties, launches and promo events — often with some famous arm candy in tow.
Most times Laura is paid good money to appear at these events by brands looking for promotion.
Earlier this week all eyes were on her at the Glamour magazine awards in London.
Not only did she turn up in a risque red frock with lace-up sides that hinted at a lack of underwear, but she left with freshly divorced rapper Professor Green.
The next night she was out on the town again at a House of Dior launch, flashing her fabulous legs in a skimpy skirt. And she was recently snapped in a flirty off-the-shoulder number at the Audi Polo Challenge.
All this partying isn’t because Laura loves wild nights, in fact she barely drinks and celebrated her birthday with friends at a Secret Cinema event.
She said: “I’m such a goody two-shoes. People probably think I am this wild party girl, I’m not.
“I’ve never touched a drug in my life. I like to go to bed early.”
Instead these appearances are part of a two-pronged attack to further her career. They keep her in the public eye, as part of her plan to appear on the upcoming Strictly Come Dancing, and they are incredibly lucrative.
Much of her income comes from endorsements and DJ sets for companies including Samsung, Magnum and Hugo Boss rather than from TV work. She was paid five figures to fly to Spain and teach Rafa Nadal to find his way around the decks to promote Bacardi.
Professor Green is not the first famous man the girl from County Wicklow has been seen out with, either.
In February she caught the eye of Leonardo DiCaprio on the Baftas red carpet, where she was reporting for EE communications firm.
I’ve never touched a drug in my life. I like to go to bed early
Leo picked up the Best Actor gong for The Revenant and Laura was among the select party helping him celebrate in his hotel room until 5am.
She has also been linked with One Direction’s Niall Horan, Scots soul boy Paolo Nutini, model David Gandy, indie musician Miles Kane, The Coronas frontman Danny O’Reilly, Sunset Sons rocker Rory Williams and Game Of Thrones actor Richard Madden.
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But it was Danny, a massive star in her homeland, who really broke her heart — twice. He ended things in December 2012 after three years together then again in November 2015, just six months after they had rekindled their relationship.
That second time she was in Australia with Ant & Dec filming for I’m A Celebrity . . . Get Me Out Of Here Now! and her mum Carmel had to fly out to comfort her.
Laura said: “My break-up was really, really hard. And I went through that massive break-up when I was doing live TV every day, on the other side of the world.
“My mum flew over. And I wasn’t well because of the stress of everything that was going on.
“I lost a lot of weight. My dad rang up and said, ‘You’re too skinny’. My dad saying I’m too skinny must mean I’m too skinny.”
Golden girl ... Laura Whitmore at bash ahead of the 2016 BAFTA Awards
But a spot of public heartbreak does not always have to be a bad thing when it earns yet more exposure and tugs on the heart-strings.
Friends say Laura is hardly satisfied with being a household name in Ireland and wants to become as successful as her idols Tess Daly, Claudia Winkleman and Holly Willoughby.
To get there she is following in the footsteps of close pal Caroline Flack.
LORRA LAURA DOSH
CELEBS and TV stars often top up their bulging pay packets with endorsements, personal appearances and ad campaigns and Laura Whitmore is no exception.
She has swelled her coffers by DJing at showbiz bashes, opened designer stores and hosted fashion events.
Here are some of her top earners, according to an industry insider . . .
PONDS: £60,000
LAURA became the face of Ponds moisturiser in 2013 and as a Ponds ambassador hosted a posh do at The Dorchester in London.
EE: £50,000
AT the Baftas in February she was the “official red carpet host” for communications firm EE, sharing pictures from the star-studded event on her social media accounts.
HUGO BOSS: £20,000
SHE flew into Dublin for the opening of the posh clothing firm’s store there and would have made five figures simply for turning up.
BACARDI: £15,000
THE rum brand flew Laura to Spain to teach tennis ace Rafa Nadal how to spin the decks, then mix cocktails and DJ at their Champions Party.
GALAXY: £8,000
AS the face of the chocolate brand’s With Love From Galaxy campaign she made easy money just for being snapped next to a heart-shaped choc bar collage.
BRITISH HEART FOUNDATION & PANDORA: £0
BUT it’s not all about raking in pots of dosh.
Big-hearted Laura hosted jewellery company Pandora and the British Heart Foundation’s Wear It Beat It Afternoon Tea party for charity.
She would not have earned a penny and generously donated her time for free.
Laura took over hosting I’m A Celeb’s ITV2 spin-off show from Caroline. And last month, on her friend’s advice, she announced her intention to quit after five years. Now she is fiercely campaigning to take part in this year’s Strictly — after Caroline won the hit BBC1 dance contest last year.
A source close to the star said: “Caroline has told Laura to do Strictly because it’s the best way to leap from digital channels like MTV and ITV2 to a mainstream, prime-time show.
“She’s really hopeful she’ll end up in this year’s line-up and be able to grow her audience and fan base. And if she’s single when it airs she’ll even be up for a romance.”
In the meantime, Laura has endorsements galore to keep her busy.
She has been the face of Ponds, fronted Galaxy chocolate’s With Love From campaign and graced red carpets in designer clothes, happily sharing her fashion inspiration with her 381,000 Twitter followers and 467,000 friends on Instagram.
She had an unconventional upbringing in Bray, County Wicklow. Her civil servant mum Carmel Whitmore and her businessman father Sean McIvor had a ten-year relationship yet never lived together.
Laura said: “They went out together for ten years but lived in their own houses.
“It’s quite weird to think of now, but I never thought of it at the time. I always had everything I needed.”
She graduated with a first-class honours degree in journalism at Dublin City University and got her big break after winning a competition to become an MTV presenter while working for an Irish radio station.
She revealed: “I know it sounds really cheesy but a couple of months earlier I’d broken up with a long-term boyfriend and I was trying to decide what road to go down.
“I was flicking TV stations one night when MTV News came on and said they were looking for a presenter. I swear to God, a few weeks before I’d written a list of the five jobs I wanted and MTV presenter was number one.”
The next thing Laura did was borrow a video camera from a pal and make an audition tape.
I’d written a list of the five jobs I wanted and MTV presenter was number one
She recalled: “I did this thing about Posh Spice being a gay man trapped in a woman’s body — it was s***!”
Yet two months later she had got the job after beating 3,000 wannabes. She said: “I was trying on underwear in a changing room when my phone rang.
“It was MTV and they said, ‘Can you talk?’ It was such a weird situation. It was Valentine’s Day and I was single and miserable. Suddenly it was a case of, ‘Who needs a man?’”
A week later she moved to London and got her first assignment, interviewing Coldplay in Los Angeles.
From there her career has soared, taking in an FHM cover in 2011, a branded clothing range with an online retailer and last year’s launch of The Laura Whitmore Jewellery Collection.
Along the way she has found herself in some very high places. One of her biggest fans is Princess Diana’s brother Earl Spencer, who she met at a Ralph Lauren dinner at the Spencer family home, Althorp House, in Northamptonshire.
Laura said: “It was completely out of my league. Earl Spencer was hosting it with the Lauren family.
“So I’m sitting there when Kitty Spencer, the Earl’s daughter, says to me, ‘Nice to meet you. I have to tell you something really embarrassing. You are my dad’s crush’.
“I said, ‘What?’ And she said, ‘My dad’s favourite show is I’m A Celebrity . . . ’ I went, ‘Jesus!’ Then Earl Spencer came over, and said he loves the show.”
All in all, the bosses at Strictly could do a lot worse.
Additional reporting: AOIFE BANNON