Andrea Roche
Encyclopedia
Andrea Roche is an award-winning Irish
model, socialite
and occasional television personality. She took part in the RTÉ One
reality sports television series Celebrity Bainisteoir
in 2009 and features on a weekly basis on the TV3 show Ireland AM
. Despite retiring from full-time modelling in 2008, she is still regarded as "the most famous of the Irish Models" and has been credited herself with discovering models such as Jenny Lee Masterson, Sarah Morrissey, Pippa O'Connor and Miss World 2003
Rosanna Davison
.
shortly after being crowned Miss Ireland
. Roche also has a post as beauty editor with VIP
and is the fashion editor of South East Wedding magazine and appears weekly on TV3's Ireland AM as their fashion expert. Roche reduced her modelling to dedicate more time to the Miss Universe Ireland
pageant when Mags Humphries, her business partner at the Assets agency, departed for Australia
.
Roche met Mick Jagger
of The Rolling Stones
at the MTV Europe Music Awards 1999
in Dublin, claiming that he was "really smarmy and he gave it a fair try at chatting me up". She has also met and knowsBono
quite well and has witnessed U2
's concerts on several occasions.
Roche took part in the second series of the RTÉ One reality sports television series Celebrity Bainisteoir in 2009. She was described as being "among the less likely contestants" to take part, even confessing in the first episode that she had very little knowledge of the Gaelic Athletic Association
–"I barely know the format of a game". However, to learn more, she read Kean to Succeed, A Trip Into the World of GAA by Gerald Kean
, the celebrity solicitor who participated in the first series. She expressed her dislike of wearing "mucky wellies" and having to do without cosmetics during training and got through it by shouting "Go on lads!" repeatedly. Roche managed Rockwell Rovers GAA from County Tipperary
. Her team played in the second quarter-final of the series against St Michael's GAA of County Roscommon
, who were managed by John Waters
. Roche and Waters were seen training with GAA All Stars
winners Tony McManus
and Declan Browne
.
She has been described as "a great beauty" by the ageing veteran broadcaster Derek Davis
and as both "a recession-busting beauty" and "Ireland's greatest beauty" by the Irish Independent
.
In July 2010, she settled a libel action against the Irish Daily Mail and Ireland on Sunday over false allegations they published about her in June and July 2006. The two papers "unreservedly" apologised for "distress, embarrassment and damage" caused by them and Andrea said she was "just happy" her name and reputation had been rescued.
in 2008 and is always listed as one of the most stylish females in Ireland.
, County Tipperary
. She sat her Leaving Certificate
at Rockwell College
after attending the Loreto Secondary School. Roche moved to Carlow
to do Business Studies at the Regional Technical College, then moved to Dublin to pursue her modelling career. Despite this she has not "dropped her bogger accent for a D4 bray". Her mother, Marion, has battled cancer
, with Roche returning home on a regular basis during her chemotherapy treatment. Roche has selected her favourite quote as being credited to Gandhi: "Freedom is not worth having if it doesn't include the freedom to make mistakes. Because I think people beat themselves up too much when they make mistakes: we are human, after all".
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
model, socialite
Socialite
A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....
and occasional television personality. She took part in the RTÉ One
RTÉ One
RTÉ One is the flagship television channel of Raidió Teilifís Éireann , and it is the most popular and most watched television channel in Ireland. It was launched as Telefís Éireann on 31 December 1961, it was renamed RTÉ Television in 1966, and it was renamed as RTÉ One upon the launch of RTÉ...
reality sports television series Celebrity Bainisteoir
Celebrity Bainisteoir
Celebrity Bainisteoir is a prime-time reality programme produced for Radio Telefís Éireann, which was produced by Animo Television/Kite Entertainment...
in 2009 and features on a weekly basis on the TV3 show Ireland AM
Ireland AM
Ireland AM is Ireland's only breakfast television programme. The show is broadcast live every weekday morning by TV3 and 3e.- Early years :...
. Despite retiring from full-time modelling in 2008, she is still regarded as "the most famous of the Irish Models" and has been credited herself with discovering models such as Jenny Lee Masterson, Sarah Morrissey, Pippa O'Connor and Miss World 2003
Miss World 2003
Miss World 2003, the 53rd Miss World pageant was held at Crown of Beauty Theatre, Sanya, People's Republic of China on 6 December 2003. The pageant was presented by Phil Keoghan, Amanda Byram and Angela Chow. The contestants also visited Beijing, the national capital of People's Republic of China,...
Rosanna Davison
Rosanna Davison
Rosanna Diane Davison was the winner of the Miss World 2003 title. She is the daughter of musician Chris de Burgh. The song "For Rosanna" was written by her father in her honour for his 1986 album, Into The Light.-Education:Her primary education was at Aravon School, in Co...
.
Career
Roche began her career as a model, "constantly in the papers, doing a lot of commercial work, being photographed and sharing the Catwalk with Tyra Banks, Naomi Cambell, Sophie Dahl and Yasmin Le Bon. Andrea was a top ten contender in Miss UniverseMiss Universe
Miss Universe is an annual international beauty contest that is run by the Miss Universe Organization. The pageant is the most publicized beauty contest in the world with 600 million viewers....
shortly after being crowned Miss Ireland
Miss Ireland
Miss Ireland is a national beauty pageant held in the Republic of Ireland each year, to celebrate the country's most beautiful women. Winners of the contest represent Ireland at the Miss World pageant. Other winners, including Roberta Brown and Siobhan McClaffey have also been delegates at rival...
. Roche also has a post as beauty editor with VIP
VIP (magazine)
VIP is both the title of a magazine and a publishing group owned by the Irish publisher Michael O'Doherty. It was launched in 1999, the second of O'Doherty's business ventures with his friend and business partner John Ryan, following Magill and before TV Now...
and is the fashion editor of South East Wedding magazine and appears weekly on TV3's Ireland AM as their fashion expert. Roche reduced her modelling to dedicate more time to the Miss Universe Ireland
Miss Universe Ireland
Miss Universe Ireland is an annual national beauty pageant that selects Ireland's representative to the Miss Universe pageant since 2002.The reigning Miss Ireland Universe is Rozanna Purcell who was crowned on July 9, 2010 in Dublin by Diana Donnelly, Miss Universe Ireland 2009...
pageant when Mags Humphries, her business partner at the Assets agency, departed for Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Roche met Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
of The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
at the MTV Europe Music Awards 1999
MTV Europe Music Awards 1999
The 1999 MTV Europe Music Awards was held in Dublin at The Point with Ronan Keating returning as host. The all-star line-up included Mariah Carey performing "Heartbreaker", Britney Spears performing "...Baby One More Time" and " Crazy" and picking up four awards...
in Dublin, claiming that he was "really smarmy and he gave it a fair try at chatting me up". She has also met and knowsBono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
quite well and has witnessed U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
's concerts on several occasions.
Roche took part in the second series of the RTÉ One reality sports television series Celebrity Bainisteoir in 2009. She was described as being "among the less likely contestants" to take part, even confessing in the first episode that she had very little knowledge of the Gaelic Athletic Association
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
–"I barely know the format of a game". However, to learn more, she read Kean to Succeed, A Trip Into the World of GAA by Gerald Kean
Gerald Kean
Gerald Kean is an Irish celebrity solicitor from County Cork. He is regularly the subject of social columns, particularly in the Sunday newspapers which have reported his lavish spending sprees and sun holidays involving his wife and other people, with The Irish Times once describing him as having...
, the celebrity solicitor who participated in the first series. She expressed her dislike of wearing "mucky wellies" and having to do without cosmetics during training and got through it by shouting "Go on lads!" repeatedly. Roche managed Rockwell Rovers GAA from County Tipperary
County Tipperary
County Tipperary is a county of Ireland. It is located in the province of Munster and is named after the town of Tipperary. The area of the county does not have a single local authority; local government is split between two authorities. In North Tipperary, part of the Mid-West Region, local...
. Her team played in the second quarter-final of the series against St Michael's GAA of County Roscommon
County Roscommon
County Roscommon is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the town of Roscommon. Roscommon County Council is the local authority for the county...
, who were managed by John Waters
John Waters (columnist)
John Waters is a columnist with The Irish Times and a former editor of Magill magazine. His career began in 1981 with the Irish political-music magazine Hot Press. He went on to write for the Sunday Tribune and later edited In Dublin magazine and Magill...
. Roche and Waters were seen training with GAA All Stars
GAA All Stars Awards
The All Stars Awards, currently sponsored by Vodafone, are given annually since 1971 by the Gaelic Athletic Association to the best player in each of the fifteen positions in Gaelic football and Hurling in Ireland. Additionally, one player in each code is selected as the player of the year...
winners Tony McManus
Tony McManus
Tony McManus is a Scottish Steel-string guitarist of Irish descent born in Paisley, Scotland. English guitarist John Renbourn described him as "the best Celtic guitarist in the world". His first self-titled album was released in 1996 on Greentrax Recordings...
and Declan Browne
Declan Browne
Declan Browne is an Irish Gaelic football player who played at inter-county level for Tipperary for 11 years. He currently plays his club football for Moyle Rovers. He represented Ireland against Australia in the 2003 and 2004 International Rules series.-Playing career:Browne made his championship...
.
She has been described as "a great beauty" by the ageing veteran broadcaster Derek Davis
Derek Davis
Derek Orlando Davis is an Irish broadcaster. On television, he has co-hosted Live at 3, presented Out of the Blue and won Celebrity Bainisteoir.-Early life:...
and as both "a recession-busting beauty" and "Ireland's greatest beauty" by the Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...
.
In July 2010, she settled a libel action against the Irish Daily Mail and Ireland on Sunday over false allegations they published about her in June and July 2006. The two papers "unreservedly" apologised for "distress, embarrassment and damage" caused by them and Andrea said she was "just happy" her name and reputation had been rescued.
Awards
Roche won the VIP Most Stylish Woman award at the VIP Style AwardsVIP Style Awards
The VIP Style Awards is an annual awards ceremony which takes place in the Republic of Ireland...
in 2008 and is always listed as one of the most stylish females in Ireland.
Personal life
Roche was raised outside ClonmelClonmel
Clonmel is the county town of South Tipperary in Ireland. It is the largest town in the county. While the borough had a population of 15,482 in 2006, another 17,008 people were in the rural hinterland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian army which sacked both...
, County Tipperary
County Tipperary
County Tipperary is a county of Ireland. It is located in the province of Munster and is named after the town of Tipperary. The area of the county does not have a single local authority; local government is split between two authorities. In North Tipperary, part of the Mid-West Region, local...
. She sat her Leaving Certificate
Leaving Certificate
The Leaving Certificate Examinations , commonly referred to as the Leaving Cert is the final examination in the Irish secondary school system. It takes a minimum of two years preparation, but an optional Transition Year means that for those students it takes place three years after the Junior...
at Rockwell College
Rockwell College
Rockwell College, founded in 1864, is a private Catholic secondary school near Cashel, South Tipperary in Ireland. It offers day as well as full boarding. Rockwell is run by the Holy Ghost Fathers.-Politics:...
after attending the Loreto Secondary School. Roche moved to Carlow
Carlow
Carlow is the county town of County Carlow in Ireland. It is situated in the south-east of Ireland, 84 km from Dublin. County Carlow is the second smallest county in Ireland by area, however Carlow Town is the 14th largest urban area in Ireland by population according to the 2006 census. The...
to do Business Studies at the Regional Technical College, then moved to Dublin to pursue her modelling career. Despite this she has not "dropped her bogger accent for a D4 bray". Her mother, Marion, has battled cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
, with Roche returning home on a regular basis during her chemotherapy treatment. Roche has selected her favourite quote as being credited to Gandhi: "Freedom is not worth having if it doesn't include the freedom to make mistakes. Because I think people beat themselves up too much when they make mistakes: we are human, after all".