Vernie Bennett
Birth nameVernett Bennett
Born (1971-05-17) 17 May 1971
OriginLondon, England
GenresR&B
Occupation(s)Singer, lawyer
Instrument(s)Vocals
Years active1992–present

Vernett "Vernie" Bennett (born 17 May 1971) is an English singer.[1] She is a founding member of R&B girl group Eternal, with her sister Easther Bennett also a member. The original line up included Kéllé Bryan and Louise Nurding.[2][3]

Eternal were formed in 1992 and originally consisted of the Bennett sisters, Kéllé Bryan, and Louise Nurding (now known as Louise Redknapp). They became a trio in 1995 when Nurding quit the group to start a solo career, and a duo in 1998 when Bryan was controversially dismissed. The group eventually disbanded in 2000 after selling 10 million records worldwide.[4][5] After the split, Vernie went back to university to complete her law degree and has since settled down to family life with her husband and two children. She has occasionally appeared on British television shows, both as a presenter and as a guest.[3][1]

Life and career

Born in 1971, she was brought up in Croydon, South London. As a child, she sang in a gospel choir with her sister, Easther.[2]

Eternal

The band was formed in 1991 and released their first single "Stay" in 1993 which achieved their first top ten hit in the UK and their first top 20 hit on the American Billboard Hot 100 chart.[6]

Nominated for four Brit Awards, the band went on to sing the soundtrack for the Disney film The Hunchback of Notre Dame and achieve several top ten hits. They sang for the Pope in the Vatican, took part in the anti-apartheid movement by performing in Johannesburg's biggest ever outdoor concert with Midnight Oil, Sting and other well-known artists in South Africa[7] and featured on a Pepsi campaign. The band sold over 10 million records and achieved their first number one in 1997.[8]

A total number of five albums were released throughout the band's career: Always and Forever, Power of a Woman, Before the Rain, Greatest Hits, and Eternal. In 1998, Kéllé Bryan was controversially dismissed by the Bennett sisters' solicitor,[4][5] and the latter self-entitled album and its lead (and only) single "What'cha Gonna Do" only included Vernie and her sister, before the group disbanded altogether.

Post Eternal

Soon after the group disbanded, Vernie Bennett returned to her studies and completed her law degree. She went on to complete her Bar finals and has since settled down to family life with husband Bryan.[3] Vernie was voted one of the top 50 sexiest women in FHM, and in 1998 featured on the front cover of Pride Magazine. She was a TV presenter for Songs of Praise, Gala Bingo and at the MTV Music Awards.[3]

In December 2013, it was announced that Eternal would be reforming for the second series of the ITV2 reality-documentary The Big Reunion.[9] Louise Redknapp chose not to take part, but wished her bandmates all the best.[10] Vernie, Easther and Kéllé did the reality show without her. The reunion on ITV2 led to the group performing a number of select gigs in 2014 before disbanding one last time.

In 2014, Vernie talked to The Express newspaper about her anguish over losing her brother to lung cancer.[11] That same year, she walked half a marathon for charity on the 'Shine Walk' raising money in his honour. On 25 November 2015, Bennett appeared with her husband Bryan on ITV's game show All Star Mr & Mrs and raised a further £30,000 for charity, which she donated to Cancer Research UK and CMV Action UK.[12][1]

During the 2015/2016 Christmas season, she took her debut acting role on stage in Jack and the Beanstalk as the 'Spirit of the Beans',[13] and continues to be a supporter of the charity known as CMV Action UK.

In 2018, she was a guest on the ITV game show Big Star's Little Star.[1]

Personal life

After the split, Vernie stepped out of the limelight and went back to university to finish studying law and has since become a practising lawyer. In 2006, she gave birth to her first child. In August 2010, she signed with ASM Artist Management. She currently lives in London with her husband and their two children.[14][3]

Controversy

In September 2023, Vernie and Easther Bennett caused controversy after reports they refused perform at a number of LGBTQ+ Pride events and London festival Mighty Hoopla as part of Eternal's planned reunion tour.[15] The Bennett sisters said they "can’t support the LGBTQ community now it has an alliance with the trans community".[16] Vernie has been publicly critical via social media of trans right campaigns and stated that she believes that the gay community is being "hijacked" by the transgender community.[17] In response fellow band members Bryan and Redknapp withdrew from the reunion, each posting messages of support to the LGBTQ+ community.[18][19]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Vernie Bennett". TVmaze.
  2. 1 2 "Vernie Bennett | Life and style". The Guardian. 12 February 2000. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Where Eternal are now - Top lawyer, Flamingo, Loose Women and horror seizure". Mirror Online. 7 July 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  4. 1 2 Ingham, James (26 January 2014). "Louise Redknapp's Eternal strife is 'over' - a reunion is on the cards". Daily Star. Northern & Shell. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  5. 1 2 "Whatever Happened To...Eternal?". Female First. Archived from the original on 14 February 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  6. ↑ "Eternal". Billboard. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  7. ↑ "Eternal: The British R&B group with a million-selling debut - Eternal". crossrhythms.co.uk. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  8. ↑ "Vernie Bennet". asmtalent. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  9. ↑ "The Big Reunion 2014 line-up revealed". ITV News. 27 December 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  10. ↑ Eames, Tom (27 January 2014). "The Big Reunion's Eternal: Louise Redknapp wished us good luck". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  11. ↑ Symons, Jane (2 September 2014). "'I'll always regret not spending time with him': Vernie Bennett on her brother's cancer". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  12. ↑ "All Star Mr & Mrs Episode 8". 6 January 2016. Archived from the original on 6 January 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  13. ↑ "Jack and the Beanstalk Paul Holman Associates". Archived from the original on 19 August 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  14. ↑ Janssen, Lars. "The Vernie Bennett page". Evkl.net. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  15. ↑ "Louise Redknapp pulls out of Eternal reunion over LGBTQ row". BBC News. 25 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  16. ↑ "Louise Redknapp responds to reports she 'quit' Eternal reunion over LGBT+ row". The Independent. 26 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  17. ↑ McLaughlin, Charlotte (25 September 2023). "Louise Redknapp drops Eternal reunion over bandmates 'not doing LGBT+ events'". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  18. ↑ "Louise Redknapp responds to reports she 'quit' Eternal reunion over LGBT+ row". The Independent. 26 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  19. ↑ "From firings by fax to trans rows: the surprisingly wild history of Eternal". The Telegraph. 26 September 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
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