Kirsty Bertarelli
Encyclopedia
Kirsty Bertarelli is a song writer, former Miss UK and wife of Ernesto Bertarelli
, a Swiss billionaire who was the owner of biotech giant Serono
until 2007 and winner of the America's Cup in 2003 and 2007 with his yachting syndicate Alinghi
.
In the Sunday Times Rich List 2010
ranking of the wealthiest people in the UK, she and her husband were placed 4th with an estimated fortune of £5,950million.
Born in England, Bertarelli spent her childhood in Staffordshire
. Her family ran one of the world’s major manufacturers of ceramic products, Churchill China
.
She was crowned Miss UK in 1988, at 17, and then moved to London, where she began to write music and was signed on to Warner Records.
After meeting her future husband she co-wrote "Black Coffee"
. The song was recorded by the All Saints band and became a worldwide hit. It was number one in the UK chart and featured in international charts for 20 weeks.
Kirsty married Ernesto Bertarelli in 2000. The couple and their three children live in Switzerland, where she supports several charities, notably Smiling Children Foundation and the Fondation Bertarelli. She has also created a line of clothing for women under the Alinghi
brand and has designed a collection of jewelry for Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet
.
Always interested and involved in music, Bertarelli has always continued to write songs. She recorded some of her songs for the UK-Swiss charity Smiling Children Foundation and Le Matin described her as having a "golden voice".
Universal Music liked the songs and decided to sign her. The first single "Don’t Say" was released digitally through online stores on 9 December 2009. Her debut album "Elusive" was published on 15 January 2010, entering the Swiss charts in the 20th position.
Throughout 2010, Bertarelli published two more singles in Switzerland ("Elusive" and "More than anything"). She also had a few successful live performances, including the Montreux Jazz Festival and opening acts for Simply Red in Edinburgh
and Zurich.
In 2011 a remix of her conservation song "Green" was chosen by the WWF to be their anthem to mark the Fund's 50th year of conservation at their annual Panda Ball. Bertarelli donated all proceeds from the single to WWF to support their ongoing conservation projects around the world.
Bertarelli is also very active in her support to different charity organisations and events. She is involved in the philanthropic projects of the Bertarelli Foundation, which have recently included a research Centre for Neuroprosthetics at the EPFL in Lausanne, a partnership with the British government for the Marine Reserve in Chagos, a joint research and education programme in neuroscience between Harvard Medical School and EPFL, the Swiss Sailing Grants in partnership with the Swiss Sailing Federation; and the Henna Pre-School in South Africa.
Ernesto Bertarelli
Ernesto Bertarelli is a Swiss-Italian billionaire and entrepreneur.Together with his extended family, Bertarelli was ranked 81st in the 2011 annual ranking of the world's wealthiest people compiled and published by Forbes magazine, The family's wealth was estimated at US$10.0...
, a Swiss billionaire who was the owner of biotech giant Serono
Serono
Serono is a biotechnology company headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The company was founded as the Serono Pharmacolodgical Institute by Cesare Serono in 1906 in Italy. A key step in its development was the discovery of a method of extracting urinary gonadotropins by Dr Piero Donini allowing...
until 2007 and winner of the America's Cup in 2003 and 2007 with his yachting syndicate Alinghi
Alinghi
Alinghi is the syndicate set up by Ernesto Bertarelli, racing under the colors of the Société Nautique de Genève, to challenge for the America's Cup. Bertarelli had raced several smaller yachts named Alinghi previously, but 2003 was his first attempt at the America's Cup...
.
In the Sunday Times Rich List 2010
Sunday Times Rich List 2010
The Sunday Times Rich List 2010 was published on 25 April 2010.Since 1989 the UK national Sunday newspaper The Sunday Times has published an annual magazine supplement to the newspaper called the Sunday Times Rich List...
ranking of the wealthiest people in the UK, she and her husband were placed 4th with an estimated fortune of £5,950million.
Born in England, Bertarelli spent her childhood in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
. Her family ran one of the world’s major manufacturers of ceramic products, Churchill China
Churchill china
Churchill China PLC is a British pottery manufacturer based in Stoke-on-Trent in the United Kingdom.-History of the Company:Churchill China can trace its origins back to 1795 and the foundation of its first factory in the heart of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England.The Company also markets...
.
She was crowned Miss UK in 1988, at 17, and then moved to London, where she began to write music and was signed on to Warner Records.
After meeting her future husband she co-wrote "Black Coffee"
Black Coffee (All Saints song)
"Black Coffee" was the second single released from the Saints & Sinners album of All Saints. It became their fifth and most recent #1 single in the UK. Its total sales are of 212,707.-Background:...
. The song was recorded by the All Saints band and became a worldwide hit. It was number one in the UK chart and featured in international charts for 20 weeks.
Kirsty married Ernesto Bertarelli in 2000. The couple and their three children live in Switzerland, where she supports several charities, notably Smiling Children Foundation and the Fondation Bertarelli. She has also created a line of clothing for women under the Alinghi
Alinghi
Alinghi is the syndicate set up by Ernesto Bertarelli, racing under the colors of the Société Nautique de Genève, to challenge for the America's Cup. Bertarelli had raced several smaller yachts named Alinghi previously, but 2003 was his first attempt at the America's Cup...
brand and has designed a collection of jewelry for Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet
Audemars Piguet
Audemars Piguet is a manufacturer of prestige Swiss watches which compete with Patek Philippe, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Vacheron Constantin.-Foundation:...
.
Always interested and involved in music, Bertarelli has always continued to write songs. She recorded some of her songs for the UK-Swiss charity Smiling Children Foundation and Le Matin described her as having a "golden voice".
Universal Music liked the songs and decided to sign her. The first single "Don’t Say" was released digitally through online stores on 9 December 2009. Her debut album "Elusive" was published on 15 January 2010, entering the Swiss charts in the 20th position.
Throughout 2010, Bertarelli published two more singles in Switzerland ("Elusive" and "More than anything"). She also had a few successful live performances, including the Montreux Jazz Festival and opening acts for Simply Red in Edinburgh
and Zurich.
In 2011 a remix of her conservation song "Green" was chosen by the WWF to be their anthem to mark the Fund's 50th year of conservation at their annual Panda Ball. Bertarelli donated all proceeds from the single to WWF to support their ongoing conservation projects around the world.
Bertarelli is also very active in her support to different charity organisations and events. She is involved in the philanthropic projects of the Bertarelli Foundation, which have recently included a research Centre for Neuroprosthetics at the EPFL in Lausanne, a partnership with the British government for the Marine Reserve in Chagos, a joint research and education programme in neuroscience between Harvard Medical School and EPFL, the Swiss Sailing Grants in partnership with the Swiss Sailing Federation; and the Henna Pre-School in South Africa.
External links
- Bertarelli Foundation
- Kirsty website
- Bertarelli Family
- Former Miss UK lands a billionaire life and enters Rich List in sixth - Times Online Rich List
- Le triomphe discret de Kirsty Bertarelli
- Daily Star: From Miss UK to the richest Mrs in Britain
- Daily Mail: "The former beauty queen who married into a £5billion pharmaceutical fortune and became Britain's richest woman"
- Bilan: "Kirsty Bertarelli en pleine lumière"
- Evening Standard (13 Aug 2010): "The ballad of the billionaire"