Bio -Mary HD (Singer/Songwriter, Ex-Fashion Model)
Mary HD’s ambitions began at the age of 3. She was enrolled for dancing lessons at The Astra Dance Club and then progressed onto Pat Eakets School of Dance. Mary excelled in poetry at an early age, which ultimately developed into song writing. Mary always showed a natural ability in acting and later received an A* for her GCSE performance playing the role of a teen runaway. She then continued to pursue her acting career and landed various roles in tv/film such as Hollyoaks, Clocking off and The Parole Officer-to name a few.
Mary also embarked on a career in modelling, which she began at the age of 15. She took part in various charity fashion shows and was recruited by a number of model agencies. Over the next few years Mary was photographed for a wide range of magazines including: Marie Claire, Elle, Cosmopolitan, Ok Magazine, Company and Glamour. Her first major advertising campaigns came at the age of 19. Mary fronted many campaigns for leading brands, such as SOS and Jonny Q, which saw her travel to Italy and Spain. Additionally, Mary was booked for TV commercials, including the now very famous GHD hair straighteners! Mary participated in TV shows, which were aired on channel 4/E4 and she won the ‘Most popular’ title due to her endearing personality. As a result, Mary was invited to present ‘Shop Manchester’ for Channel M. Throughout this period, Mary relentlessly continued her song writing, which unbeknown to her was to become her true path.
Mary caught the attention of Fred Jerkins of Darkchild Entertainment Campus (Michael Jackson (R.I.P) Mariah Carey..) who immediately recognized the potential in Mary after viewing her website and saw that she loved to perform and song write. Consequently, he requested to hear her vocals and she completed a demo- which he liked. Mary continued to record her songs, with musicians and record producers (including Uniting Nations) and musicians, who have previously worked with a diverse range of artists including James Brown (R.I.P), Sugarbabes, Atomic Kitten, Sugarbabes, Happy Mondays and Nigel Kennedy. She then met with her friend Nathan (Boys2 men) who gave her some invaluable advice and further encouraged Mary.. Dance act Uniting Nations then contacted Mary again to perform on a Europe tour with them. Upon her return, Mary continued to perform doing shows throughout the UK, including Sheffield Christmas lights switch on with Real Radio, interfaith and charity events. Mary then finished up working on completing her debut album, entitled, ‘Beautifully Unexpected.’ The album is made up of RnB/Pop/Soul genre, integrating Jazz/Hip-Hip and Rap. The music video to accompany this song is now complete, directed by New York’s finest music video director; Chase Johnson-Lynch (Alicia Keys, Wu Tang Clan) and was premiered at The ACE Centre in Nelson. Shortly afterwards it additionally was showcased at Manchester’s KinoFilm Festival.
Mary HD formed her own company, ’Mary HD Entertainment Ltd,’ earlier this year whereby several months later she was nominated for the, ‘Business Personality Of The Year’ 2009 award, due to the ethos of Love, Hope, Peace and Charity that Mary has integrated as a theme throughout her music. Which consequently, pushes the boundaries which music brings today.
This philosophy is an important part of Mary HD’s life, and something that goes far beyond her role as a singer-songwriter. She is an active volunteer for the British Red Cross and Amnesty International and she also works very closely with Women’s Voice, which aims to empower women and to promote community cohesion. In May of this year, she travelled to Palestine in connection with her charity activities and her second music video, ‘True,’ which was filmed in Edinburgh and Liverpool, features several children whom Mary volunteered to mentor as part of a local initiative organised by the John Bury Trust, which she is now the official Patron for the charity. |
