Keeley has scored roles in TV drama The Royals and Horrible Bosses 2 on the big screen - and she's now a US citizen
HAVING been thrust into the limelight by The Sun, Keeley Hazell is relishing realising her ambition of being a Hollywood actress.
The 31-year-old Londoner has featured on the big screen in Horrible Bosses 2 and My Funny Valentine, as well as the hit US TV show The Royals, attends high-profile Oscar parties and rubs shoulders with A-listers.
But despite living the American dream, the former Page 3 favourite admits that after nearly a decade in the States she still misses a good cuppa and riding on the Underground.
Now she can have the best of both worlds after gaining dual citizenship, as we revealed last week.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun on Sunday from LA, she said: “I always wanted to live here in America and originally moved to Los Angeles to study acting.
“Since I can remember, it had been my dream to be a Hollywood star.
“I was originally granted a visa for people of extraordinary abilities, then got a green card thanks to my modelling background and now I am officially an American with dual nationality.
“It feels really good and I’m proud of myself for achieving my goal.
"It’s also great to know I don’t have to worry about getting kicked out of the country!
“I want to come back to England for a few months in January to spend quality time with friends and family.
“I can’t wait. I still adore the pretty greenery of an English countryside, along with a cup of traditional tea!
“I miss jumping on and off the Tube and walking around Soho and Oxford Street, just wandering around the city.
"LA is built from pockets of neighbourhoods that are quite spread apart, meaning there is no centralised area in comparison to London — where getting around town is much easier.
“Plus there is no pub culture like there is in London to get a quick gin and tonic.”
Keeley first found fame after winning our Page 3 Idol competition in 2004.
In 2008 she released pop single Voyeur, then the following year achieved her childhood ambition of moving to the US to take acting classes at the renowned Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute.
Marilyn Monroe, Scarlett Johansson and Angelina Jolie are among the students to have passed through the acting school’s doors.
Her determination paid off and she won parts in films including Cashback and Like Crazy — and she just lost out for the role of Anastasia Steele in Fifty Shades Of Grey to established actress Dakota Johnson.
In 2014’s Horrible Bosses 2 she worked alongside Jennifer Aniston, who Keeley has admired since she was a child.
Keeley told us: “As a kid I was obsessed with Friends, and when I worked with Jennifer Aniston it was very surreal, but she was so lovely and an all-round beautiful person.”
The following year she landed a role alongside Liz Hurley in drama series The Royals, playing palace maid Violet.
Keeley says: “It is awesome to be regarded as a Hollywood actress and it is such a privilege.
“I feel fortunate to have been able to work on movies and TV shows and I’m so thankful.”
Her most recent screen casting seemed not far from reality — with Keeley playing an international model in US TV movie Deadly Matrimony, which aired in May. She is delighted her fame is spreading.
She says: “I was at an event in LA and a girl came up to me and asked if I was on The Royals, as she was a huge fan.
“I was very chuffed, but none of my friends was around to witness it!”
Much about her life in Los Angeles is surreal for Keeley, who grew up in South East London with her mum Amber, a dinner lady, and dad Roy, a window fitter
She admitted: “Sometimes I have to pinch myself that I’ve really made it this far.”
As well as going to Oscar parties she glides along the red carpet at Tinseltown movie premieres and mingles with celebs.
Keeley said: “It sometimes feels strange to be at these amazing celebrity events.
“They are really glitzy and well attended by all the famous actors and actresses.
“And I’m there too thinking, ‘How did I get to this point in my life?’ And that makes me really appreciate my life in LA.”
Acting is clearly a huge passion for Keeley — and being in America means she can also visit key locations from blockbusters.
She revealed: “I love going to locations where they have filmed scenes in movies and TV shows.
“When I was walking down Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, like Julia Roberts did in Pretty Woman, I had an urge to quote the famous line, ‘Big mistake. Big. Huge. I have to go shopping now!’
“I get my hair cut on Rodeo Drive and it always feels special and luxurious. It is very glam around there.”
Los Angeles is not only glam but healthy — and Keeley has embraced the lifestyle. She wears a baseball cap daily, has started calling a restaurant “bill” a “check” and takes out the “trash” rather than a “bin”.
She said: “I am so much healthier. When I first moved here my food habits immediately changed for the better.
“You can’t wander into a shop and buy a decent loaf of Hovis, so I don’t really eat bread any more.
“There is so much choice of healthier food options that just don’t exist in London.
“I enjoy going to readily available vegan restaurants and delicious dessert joints where the products aren’t full of sugar.
"It is easier to sustain cleaner eating habits here.
“I didn’t really cook either when I was in England. I used to rustle up a lot of my dinners from the trusty M&S ready-made meals section, but now I only prepare fresh produce.
“I’m obsessed with chocolate so I make super healthy mint choc truffles, chocolate pudding or key lime pie — all from natural ingredients.
“I go hiking a lot too and love taking my rescue dog, Boone, out for exercise.
“I am currently training to be a yoga instructor and hope to be qualified by November this year.
"I’m really looking forward to becoming an expert — it’s amazing for the mind, body and all-round health.
"I am super happy we live in a time where you can explore all your personal interests.
“I feel so fortunate to have been given opportunities that have allowed me to explore my own options and to not stay on the same life path.
“So I’m taking career opportunities as they come along, and will continue being passionate about wellness, fitness and clean eating.
"Although I do miss a good old Nando’s too!”
1986 – born in Lewisham Hospital, South East London.
2004 – wins The Sun’s Page 3 Idol competition, netting £10,000 worth of clothes and an exclusive modelling contract.
2006 – came second in FHM’s 100 Sexiest Women, behind Keira Knightley.
2008 – signed by Sony as the face of its PlayStation racing game MotorStorm: Pacific Rift.
2009 – moves to Los Angeles to start a career as an actress.
2014 – lands role opposite Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman in comedy Horrible Bosses 2.
2018 – stars in Whispers, a horror film about a bereaved couple who cannot escape the ghost of their daughter.
