Victoria Beckham has revealed how her humble childhood shaped her work ethic, doubling down on her claim that she has working class roots.
Speaking in her new Netflix documentary, the Spice Girl turned renowned fashion designer reflected on her formative years growing up with parents Tony and Jackie Adams and her siblings Christian and Louise in Hertfordshire.
Victoria’s parents also appear in the Netflix film, talking proudly about their close relationship with the superstar and how their enduring bond was forged from their family work ethic.
The star, who has a combined fortune of £500million with husband David, explained how her electric wholesaler dad ‘started with nothing’.
‘He used to sit me and my brother and sister in a little production line, we would build things, plugs and electrical things,’ before the family piled in her dad’s van to ‘deliver what we had built… Dad worked so, so hard and he expected me to be the same.’
The Spice Girl’s first love was dance, but she admitted in the documentary that she didn’t have a natural talent and that her dad pushed her to work hard to stand out, particularly once she was accepted to theatre school – a venture he remortgaged the family home for.
Victoria Beckham has revealed how her humble childhood shaped her work ethic as she shared rarely seen photos from her teenage dance years in her Netflix documentary
Sharing rarely seen photos and video footage, Victoria explained how it wasn’t until she joined The Spice Girls aged 19 that she ‘accepted who I am and how I look.
Tony and Jackie are seen showing the Netflix cameras around the garden of the home they still live in, after Tony renovated the run down house during Victoria’s childhood.
In one moving moment from her documentary, Victoria explained how despite inheriting her dad’s work ethic, she knew she was never going to fit in or excell at her dance school.
‘I didn’t look like a lot of the other girls. That’s where I started getting a lot of criticism about my appearance, my weight,’ she remembered.
‘I remember the principal of the theatre school saying to me “at the end of the show, we’re gonna just fly you girls in at the back” meaning that we weren’t looking as aesthetically pleasing as some of the others.’
‘I remember phoning my mum crying “I wanna come home” and my mum said “come home, we’ll go and buy a new pair of shoes” but then my dad would come on the phone and he’d say “you stay there. You work hard”.’
The references to how her family ‘came from nothing’ come two years after the viral moment in David Beckham’s 2023 Netflix documentary which saw the footballer poke fun at his wife’s claim about her ‘very working, working class’ roots.
That documentary saw an incredulous David interrupt and ask Victoria to be honest to which she replied: ‘I am!’ He then repeatedly asked Victoria to reveal what car her dad used to drive her to school in.
The Spice Girl eventually gave in and said: ‘OK. In the ’80s, my dad had a Rolls-Royce.’ ‘Thank you.’ David replied, and immediately left and closed the door behind him, his job done.
‘I was definitely a loner at school, I was bullied, I wasn’t particularly sociable. I just didn’t fit in, at all. But when you’re on stage, for that moment you’re somebody else’ she said
Victoria’s parents also appear in the Netflix film, talking about their close relationship with the superstar and how their enduring family bond was forged from their working class roots
Tony and Jackie are seen showing the Netflix cameras around the garden of the home they still live in, after Tony renovated the run down house during Victoria’s childhood
Victoria’s first love was dance, but she admitted in the documentary that she didn’t have a natural talent and had to work hard to stand out
‘I didn’t look like a lot of the other girls. That’s where I started getting a lot of criticism about my appearance, my weight,’ she remembered
‘The principal of the theatre school saying to me “at the end of the show, we’re gonna just fly you girls in at the back” meaning that we weren’t looking as aesthetically pleasing’
The documentary features rarely seen photos and home video footage, as Victoria explained how it wasn’t until she joined The Spice Girls aged 19 that she ‘accepted who I am and how I look,’ after a difficult time at school.
She found solace from school bullying in weekend dance and theatre classes, explaining: ‘I used to enjoy the sense of escapism. You become someone else.’
‘I was definitely a loner at school, I was bullied, I wasn’t particularly sociable. I just didn’t fit in, at all. But when you’re on stage, for that moment you’re somebody else.
‘I didn’t really wanna be me, I didn’t like me. I desperately wanted to be liked.’
Victoria’s work ethic paid off. It was revealed this week that Victoria made over £1.7million from her music career last year despite not having released a song in years.
The fashion designer, 51, continues to rake in a very healthy sum thanks to her royalties from the Spice Girls and her short-lived solo career.
‘I remember phoning my mum crying “I wanna come home” but then my dad would come on the phone and he’d say “you stay there. You work hard”‘
Victoria revealed how she dreamed of attending ‘one of those American theatre schools but the reality was dance classes in the village hall’
The references to how her family to ‘came from nothing’ come two years after the viral moment in David Beckham’s Netflix documentary which saw the footballer poke fun at his wife’s claim about her ‘very working, working class’ roots
That documentary saw an incredulous David interrupt and ask Victoria to be honest to which she replied: ‘I am!’ He then repeatedly asked Victoria to reveal what car her dad used to drive
Victoria shared the now infamous Rolls Royce snap in her documentary as she mused how her electric wholesaler ‘dad started with nothing’
And the work ethic paid off. It was revealed this week that Victoria made over £1.7million from her music career last year despite not having released a song in years
The girl group reissued their debut album Spice on vinyl in October and their song song Never Give Up on the Good Times was used in a Chistmas ad.
In accounts filed for her company Moody Productions Ltd., Victoria also had a £338,174 at the end of 2024.
Victoria’s fashion company has also been performing well as of late after it racked up losses of over £66 million since it launched in 2008.
At the end of 2023, the star turned a profit for the first time in 15 years – with the help of an £890 clutch bag, a £30 eyeliner and a carefully orchestrated social media strategy which saw her post make-up tutorial videos on TikTok which are watched by millions.
Victoria Beckham is streaming on Netflix now.
