| Leilani Dowding | |
| Birth Date: | 30 January 1980 |
| Birth Place: | Bournemouth, Dorset, England |
| Miss Great Britain 1998 | |
| Competitions: | Miss Great Britain 1998 (Winner) Miss Universe 1998 (Unplaced) |
| Alma Mater: | Royal Holloway, University of London |
| Yearsactive: | 1998–present |
| Occupation: | Glamour model |
| Height: | 1.68m (05.51feet) |
| Hair Colour: | Brown |
| Eye Colour: | Brown |
| Spouse: | Richard Palmer (divorced) |
| Relatives: | Chris Dowding (father) Zena Dowding (mother) Melanie Dowding (sister) |
Leilani Dowding (born 30 January 1980) is an English former beauty pageant titleholder, former glamour model, media personality and conservative commentator. After winning Miss Great Britain 1998 and representing the United Kingdom at Miss Universe 1998, she dropped out of college to pursue a career in glamour modelling, appearing as a Page 3 girl in The Sun and featuring in men's magazines such as Maxim and FHM. She later appeared on US and British reality television programmes including Tough Love Miami and The Real Housewives of Cheshire. She has become known as a conservative commentator and anti-vaccine campaigner. She also contributes to media associated with Mark Steyn.
Dowding is multiracial, with a Filipina mother and a British father. She grew up in Bournemouth, where she attended St Peter's Catholic School. After attaining eleven GCSEs and three A-levels,[1] she began an economics degree at Royal Holloway, University of London, with the intention of becoming a city trader. At age 18, she entered and won the 1998 Miss Great Britain competition.[2] She represented Britain in the Miss Universe pageant in Hawaii later that year.[3]
Following her success in beauty pageants, Dowding dropped out of university to pursue a full-time modelling career. She started appearing as a Page 3 girl in The Sun in 1999.[1] In 2003, she was rated #89 on the FHM Sexiest Women in The World list.[4]
Dowding has featured as a guest on various television shows, modelling on The Big Breakfast and This Morning, and appearing on Faking It, Celebrity Wrestling and Celebrity Fear Factor. She appeared on a charity Page 3 episode of The Weakest Link, competing on behalf of the RSPCA and breast cancer charities.[5]
She has featured in pantomime, playing Tiger Lilly in Peter Pan. She has competed in celebrity poker tournaments and has done promotional work for Ladbrokes.[6] [7] Her reality television work has included the US show Tough Love Miami and the British programme The Real Housewives of Cheshire. She also established her own clothing line, the Leiluna Collection.[8] Since 2022, she has been a conservative commentator on media hosted by Mark Steyn.[9]
Dowding has dated a number of footballers and became known as a "WAG" in the British tabloid press.[10] She was engaged to former Wimbledon and Northern Ireland defender Mark Williams but ended their two-year relationship after he allegedly had an affair with glamour model Linsey Dawn McKenzie.[11] Williams and McKenzie subsequently married.[12] Dowding was also engaged to former Arsenal, West Ham and Middlesbrough attacker Jérémie Aliadière.[13] [14] [15]
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Dowding stated on twitter that "fat people cause the most strain on the NHS" and blamed them for, "making lockdown longer".[16]
She lived in the United States for over a decade, where she was briefly married to American actor and restaurateur Richie Palmer, a former husband of actress Raquel Welch.[17] [18] While living in California, she began dating Billy Duffy, lead guitarist of British rock band The Cult. She became engaged to Duffy in 2020.[19] The couple moved back to the UK and live in Manchester. She has stated that she wishes to remain childfree.[20]