STECKBRIEF


Adele Silva (born 19 November 1980 in Croydon, Surrey) is an English actress, television personality and sometime glamour model. She was educated at the Sylvia Young Theatre School and has been on stage and television since she was a child.

Career

She is best known for playing the role of Kelly Windsor in the television soap opera Emmerdale. She first played this role from 1993 to 2000 before returning to the soap in 2005. Her plotlines have been amongst the most daring in the soap opera, including a semi-incestuous relationship with her step-brother and running off with one of her school teachers. When she returned in 2005, she promised to be the “biggest bitch” in British soap. Her first TV appearance was as Squeak in the 1989 Doctor Who story Survival. As a young girl she also appeared in Mr Majeika, The Bill, and EastEnders. During her period away from Emmerdale, Adele Silva appeared on Is Harry on the Boat?, Mile High, The Courtroom and the independent film Jam. However, Silva remained in the public eye more for her modelling appearances than her acting. She has appeared in men’s magazines like Front, Maxim and FHM, sometimes alongside her friend and fellow model Jakki Degg. It is known she had breast implants during her period away from Emmerdale as she commented on them in a 2005 issue of FHM. Silva has also made appearances in the reality television shows Celebrity Fear Factor, The Salon, I'm Famous and Frightened! and Celebrity 5 Go Dating. On the personal front, her name has often been linked romantically to those of a number of footballers. Silva was linked in December 2005 with singer Antony Costa from the group Blue, but in November 2006 they split up. She also recently appeared on "Celebrity Weakest Link" and alongside her Emmerdale cast mates on a celebrity version of the TV show Family Fortunes in December 2006. In August 2007, she appeared as a celebrity guest on Big Brother's Big Mouth. She is leaving Emmerdale in late 2007 to pursue other roles but has promised fans that she will return to play Kelly in late 2008. She appeared in the third series of Hell's Kitchen where she came second to Barry McGuigan.