Michelle Keegan has pulled off the ultimate career coup by winning over Reese Witherspoon and is now said to be the star’s ‘first choice’ for a major film role.
The former Corrie favourite, 38, was pictured with Reese at a London Literature Festival last Friday celebrating Gone Before Goodbye – a new thriller by the Legally Blonde star and legendary crime writer Harlan Coben.
Michelle’s role in the Netflix adaptation of Coben’s Fool Me Once introduced her to a global audience and with Reese’s backing, her film career could be about to take off.
It’s quite the trajectory for the new mother who was a check-in girl at Manchester Airport before landing the role of Tina McIntyre in Coronation Street.
She described herself back then as a ‘proper chav and well proud of it’, and when she joined the soap in 2008, her style was typical noughties soap star: big hair, fake tan and bodycon dresses.
She’s since developed a more sophisticated look, which has prompted fan speculation that she’s had a nose job and other tweaks – something Michelle denies.
There is no doubt, however, that she’s cultivated a whole new look to match her ascent to stardom – and her rumoured project with Reese and Harlan Coben couldn’t come at a better time.
Michelle Keegan, 38, is on the road to hit big time as she ‘plans to scoop the lead role’ in Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben’s new crime thriller, Gone Before Goodbye
Throughout her years on television screens Michelle has showcased the remarkable evolution of her face and figure through health and fitness (pictured in 2009)
Michelle recently wrapped up seven seasons on Sky with fan-favorite series Brassic, and confirmed last year that she would consider re-locating to the US if the perfect role came along.
In an interview with The Guardian she said: ‘I went to America when Mark was out there. Didn’t like it. But let’s see. If a job comes up… I guess?…
‘I’ve never thought beyond what I’m doing right at that moment. And I think that’s how I live now as well. I don’t think in terms of goals. I live in the moment.’
Here, the Daily Mail charts Michelle’s path from the Corrie cobbles to the bright lights of Hollywood and how her style has transformed along the way.
Corrie star
Michelle is pictured in 2010 as bar maid Tina McIntyre in Coroantion Street
Michelle said ‘platforms make me feel like I’m going to topple over, so I stick with my Uggs,’. Pictured in 2009
Michelle is the daughter of a police inspector dad, 62, and school facilities manager mum, 59.
They split when Michelle was 11, and both remarried.
‘The divorce didn’t affect me. They were both always around,’ she told the Mirror in 2008.
In fact, such is Michelle’s closeness to he parents that even after landing her role in Corrie, aged 21, she kept living at home with her mum.
‘I looked at apartments in Manchester but I’d miss the home comforts. And Mum keeps me grounded,’ she said at the time.
Aged 20, she gave herself two years to get an acting job.
She was cast on Coronation Street after her second ever audition – her first was for Hollyoaks, a role she didn’t get.
The star soon leaned into glamour with a slew of red carpet appearance in the noughties. Despite her glowing colour she said she didn’t wear fake tan and said her orange-tone was du to her ‘Spanish heritage’. Her maternal great-grandmother was Gibraltarian
She went on to have a hugely successful six years on the show, starring in almost 900 episodes, still going to acting classes despite calling the cobbles an ‘amazing training ground’.
Before working on the show, she had jobs in Selfridges and on the check-in counter at Manchester airport where she even met her future on-screen boyfriend Jack P Shepherd, who played David Platt in Corrie.
‘I was a check-in girl and met him and his girlfriend as they flew to Florida. I was really star-struck when I saw him in the queue,’ she said.
As Tina, Michelle played a character having an abortion, grieving her murdered father, and surviving a gas explosion as well as carrying a surrogate child .
She left the soap opera in 2014 to pursue other acting roles and has since described the decision as a ‘risk’, particularly as her character was killed off, ending any chance of a return to the role.
After leaving the cobbles, she landed a role in BBC’s Our Girl, a working class girl who joins the British Army.
She went on to star in Brassic, one of Sky’s most successful ever comedies, before landing the Fool Me Once gig.
Transformation
Michelle has long-been famed for her ripped physique and stunning good looks, along with her acting prowess
Michelle has often posted throwback snaps which underline the remarkable change in her stunning looks – with clever make-up and sleek cosmetics taking her look from the cobbles to the bright lights of Hollywood
Michelle has long-been famed for her ripped physique and stunning good looks, along with her acting prowess.
And since hitting the spotlight at the tender age of 20 playing Tina McIntyre in Coronation Street, the stunning star has shown the evolution of her face and figure through health and fitness via interviews and social media.
A decade after her husband Mark proclaimed she has ‘the perfect figure’, Michelle has spoken candidly about both her diet and gym routine.
Proving herself to be the ultimate Girl Next Door, the stunner has previously spoken about her love of fast food, pizza and burgers, her penchant for melted cheese and her love of a cheeky midnight Magnum in bed.
This may be hard to believe for some, but Michelle has also confessed that her gym trips range from two to four times a week and stated that she does not believe in diets but is a staunch advocate for ‘everything in moderation’.
Aside from her body, Michelle’s face has also undergone changes, with thicker brows and a sleeker make-up look transforming her appearance – although she has always been defiant against accusations of plastic surgery.
She soon became a pin-up. Pictured on holiday in 2016
In 2018, Michelle revealed to the Sunday Express’ S Magazine that she’s flattered fans speculate over her appearance, but admitted she wouldn’t down the plastic surgery route, saying that she’s ‘scared it would go wrong’.
She said: ‘I like the fact people point out they think I’ve had a nose job. They think I’ve had new cheeks, a new chin – but I haven’t and I don’t think I ever would, if I’m being honest. I’m scared it would go wrong!’
While it may not be an option for herself, Michelle did stand up for those who do choose to cosmetically alter their features.
In a nod to the choices of fellow stars, Michelle continued: ‘It’s their face and body and it’s annoying when people slam them for it. Let people live.’
In 2015, she again spoke about surgery, saying: ‘[The speculation] doesn’t really upset me. People always say, “Have you or haven’t you?” But it’s my business. It’s my face. So what if I have or haven’t? I don’t read it when people speculate about it.’
In an interview with Alan Carr in the same year, Michelle denied she had her teeth fixed, insisting they were her own. She declared: ‘Just to say… I have 100 per cent not had my teeth done… They are MY teeth. So I’ll take that as a compliment. Thanks.’
In 2014, again faced with speculation, a spokesperson for Michelle vehemently denied the actress had undergone a breast enhancement operation.
Fool Me Once success
Michelle starred as Maya Stern in Fool Me Once, alongside Joanna Lumley in the series adaptation of Harlan’s novel, which quickly shot to the top of Netflix charts worldwide
Harlan has previously gushed over the star’s talent and has previously said he would be keen to work with Michelle again (pictured with Harlan and Reese this week)
Michelle starred as Maya Stern in Fool Me Once, alongside Joanna Lumley in the series adaptation of Harlan’s novel, which quickly shot to the top of Netflix charts worldwide.
Harlan has previously gushed over the star’s talent and has previously said he would be keen to work with Michelle again.
Her character’s demise in Fool Me Once left Harlan ‘kicking himself’ and seeking a plot, no matter how far-fetched, that could see her reprise her role in the second instalment.
A source close to Michelle previously told the Daily Mail: ‘Michelle and Harlan really bonded during the Fool Me Once filming and he thinks she’s amazing. He believes Michelle is a big part of the show’s stratospheric success.
‘They were having a real heart to heart at the National Television Awards recently and Harlan was saying that he was absolutely gutted that he killed off her character and that he’d do anything to bring her back from the dead so that they can have a much-longed for sequel.’
Mum ‘era’
Aside from her crazy work schedule, Michelle is a devoted mother and wife to her daughter Palma and husband Mark Wright
Michelle married Mark in May 2015 and the couple live together in an Essex mansion they built from scratch
Aside from her crazy work schedule, Michelle is a devoted mother and wife to her daughter Palma and husband Mark Wright.
It’s believed the couple chose the name Palma because of their strong links to Mallorca, their go-to holiday destination and the setting for their pregnancy reveal photo shoot.
Michelle married Mark in May 2015 and the couple live together in an Essex mansion they built from scratch.
Mark has described fatherhood as the ‘biggest achievement’ of his life since welcoming baby Palma into the world with Michelle on March 6.
Chatting with his best friend and fellow dad Olly Murs on his Heart Breakfast show, Mark recalled the moment he first held his newborn daughter in his arms.
Mark fought back emotions as he said: ‘Mate, it’s actually hard to put into words.
‘It’s the biggest achievement of my life its all I think about but obviously hats go off to my wife she is an absolute super human, a superhero for bringing this baby into the world.’
Sharing his appreciation for Michelle, he added: ‘It makes you realise what our mums did for us and makes me have so much more respect than I already had and what women had to go through.
‘It’s the best feeling in the world. I wake up every morning just so excited to see her face.’
Recalling the first moment he held Palma, he continued: ‘That moment when I held her in my arms, it gets me emotional now thinking about it.
‘I suppose everything else goes out the window and its made me realise what life is all about and my little baby Palma I love you so much and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.
‘It’s a very special feeling. I cant really put it into words. We’ve waited a little bit of time, we’ve chased our dreams and our careers and now we’re here. We’ve got a baby.’
Current project ‘The Blame’
Michelle has been busy filming her latest project, The Blame, alongside her co-star Douglas Booth
Michelle has been busy filming her latest project, The Blame, alongside her co-star Douglas Booth.
The drama is based on the debut novel of the same name by Charlotte Langley and centres around the discovery of the body of a teenage figure skater, sending shockwaves through the town of Wakestead.
Alongside Michelle and Douglas, Line of Duty legend Nigel Boyle is set to star as a forensic technician called Brett Shergill.
Robin Hood star Joe Armstrong, who previously starred opposite Michelle in Fool Me Once, has landed the role of an ice-skating coach called Kyle Fraiser.
They will be joined by the likes of The Last Kingdom’s Ian Hart, Nathan Mensah, Passenger’s Matilda Freeman, House of the Dragon’s Gavin Spokes, Last Tango in Halifax’s Josh Bolt and White Lines star Ceallach Spellman.
The official synopsis of the show reads: ‘The drama dives into secrets, suspicion and systemic corruption – all under the surface of this seemingly quiet town.
‘The series begins when the body of teenage figure skater Sophie Madsen is discovered, sending shockwaves through the town of Wakestead.
‘As DI Crane (Keegan) and DI Radley (Douglas Booth) dig deeper, what starts as a tragic death, spirals into a tangled web of lies, institutional cover-ups, and moral compromise.
‘As the clock ticks and trust fractures, Crane must navigate both a murder investigation and the treacherous politics inside her own team.’
ITV’s Director of Drama, Polly Hill, commissioned the six-part series, which has been written and executively produced by the woman behind All Her Fault and Wolf, Megan Gallagher.
Hopes for Hollywood
Michelle could bag the role in the film adaptation of Witherspoon and Coben’s new novel (pictured together this week)
Reese and Harlan have teamed up to write the new crime thriller Gone Before Goodbye
Michelle could bag the role in the film adaptation of Witherspoon and Coben’s new novel.
The pair have teamed up to write the new crime thriller Gone Before Goodbye and as Michelle has worked with Harlan before on his Fool Me Once adaption Reese is reportedly keen to get her back on board.
Speaking at the launch of Reese and Harlan’s new novel at the London Literature Festival last Friday a source revealed: ‘Harlan has been singing Michelle’s praises to Reese and she was keen to meet her.
‘They got on really well and it was clear Reese was really taken with Michelle. The plan is to turn the book into a film and Michelle is their first choice to take on the role of the lead character, Maggie McCabe.’
Maggie is a combat surgeon, a role Michelle has experience in after she played army medic George in the BBC series Our Girl.
The source told The Sun: ‘It’s early days but Harlan and Reese think Michelle is tailor-made for this role and would love her to come on board when the time is right.’
The Daily Mail contacted Michelle and Reese’s representatives for comment.
Taking to Instagram Michelle also shared her love for the Hollywood actress as she shared a sweet snap with both Reese and Harlan.
She penned: ‘When two genuises collide.. ‘Gone Before Goodbye’ is made! (I can confirm Reese Witherspoon is everything you’d imagined her to be, what a woman)’.
Reese then replied: ‘So wonderful to meet you .. finally!’
