Lovely Maria Whittaker packed more into her formative years than most people squeeze into a lifetime!
She was one of a select band of Page 3 Girls who never seemed to be out of the headlines. If not an overnight success, Maria certainly got on the fast track to fame and fortune and had one hell of a ride.
It was actually Maria’s mother who first sent holiday snaps of the pretty 16-year-old London schoolgirl to The Sun.
Maria had already told her careers advisor she wanted to be a Page 3 girl and shortly after landing the World Championship Dancer title, that dream would become true.
In September 1985, Maria posed topless for the first time in a national newspaper - the News of the World.
Of course, she was destined for more and Page 3 appearances and ultimately fame followed. It was actually Maria who jumped out of The Sun's huge cake as the newspaper celebrated its 18th birthday, while in May 1988 she appeared topless alongside her younger sister Lisa.
Like many Page 3 girls, one of Maria's ambitions was to appear on TV and later that year she graced the small screen for the first time, making an appearance in a comedy sketch for Summertime Special and then alongside Little and Large.
This was Maria's vintage year, and after twice finishing runner-up she finally won the Page 3 Girl of the Year competition. Kathy Lloyd was voted second.
At the peak of her success Maria retired and made the first of a number of failed attempts to become a pop star. Three years later she was the subject of what must rank as one of the world's least likely stories when she was reported to be working on a collaboration with rap pioneers NWA.
The group had a very different image to then boyfriend and former Brother Beyond star Nathan Moore, with whom Maria was filmed romping around in the California desert to promote his "sexy" new look for the single Say the Word.
Fans did not have to wait long for her comeback.
"Quitting Page 3 was the worst mistake I ever made," declared newly single Maria after splitting with long-term boyfriend and fiancé Jason Wright - who later set up home with Maria's fellow Page 3 star Gaynor Goodman.
Sadly for Maria, the romances that followed never seemed to last very long. She split with Wright and was then linked with Watford star Andy "Mad Dog" Kennedy, EastEnders star Steve McFadden and Newcastle United hero Andy Cole.
Then her financial world started to crumble too. In 1994 Maria posed on Page 3 for the very last time after being pictured signing on the dole - she later claimed the real reason she quit Page 3 was because of cruel jibes about her 'thunder thighs' and told how she regained her confidence by using an anti-cellulite cream.
And then nothing, Maria, of whom thousands of words had been written disappeared from the headlines until…
In 1999 Maria gave birth to baby Joseph, son of record producer Mike West - ex-rap star Rebel MC who was behind hits Street Tuff and Tribal Base.
As much as any Page 3 Girl before or since Maria has certainly lived a life - and after some rocky times it seems she might be enjoying it again.
Happy endings hey?