11 November 2009, London

Banqueting House played host to the glamorous Cosmopolitan Ultimate Women of the Year Awards on 11th November 2009. The annual Awards, sponsored by Olay and hosted by Fearne Cotton, celebrated the remarkable stories of the nation’s ultimate celebrities and real-life women. The evening was a star-studded affair with guests from the worlds of TV, music, radio and sport. All guests obeyed a one-minute silence to mark Armistice Day.

In between mentoring ‘The Girls’ in her third series of The X Factor, Dannii Minogue picked up her award for ‘Ultimate TV Personality’. Pixie Lott was crowned by sponsor Olay as the ‘Ultimate Newcomer’ and Holly Willoughby received the accolade ‘Ultimate TV Presenter’. Real-Life winners included ‘Ultimate Sports Star’ Jessica Ennis honoured for her sheer determination, which saw her win Britain’s first-ever heptathlon gold medal at the World Championships this year. Amanda Jones won ‘Ultimate Green Queen’ for her ingenious water-purification system that has the potential to change the lives of millions of people around the world and the honour of ‘Ultimate Family Girls’ went to Melissa and Laura Shields for their courage and determination in helping free their brother, Michael Shields, and ensure he was vindicated for a crime they always believed he didn’t commit.

Presenter and judge of the awards, Fearne Cotton said “I am delighted to have hosted and judged The Cosmopolitan Ultimate Women of the Year Awards for its fourth year. The winners are truly inspirational and I am honoured to be able to celebrate their achievements and give them the national recognition they all deserve.”

Cosmopolitan’s Editor Louise Court commented, “This year’s Awards have once again opened our eyes to many extraordinary and inspirational women (and men). It’s an honour to be able to meet so many deserving people and celebrate their achievements, from those who have overcome adversity to those who have made a significant impact on other people’s lives. All of our winners embody the ‘Fun and Fearless’ spirit of the magazine.”

The real-life winners were selected from hundreds of nominations by a panel of judges:

• Sarah Brown, wife of Prime Minister Gordon Brown
• Fearne Cotton, TV and radio presenter
• Alesha Dixon, Singer and TV presenter
• Vernon Kay, TV and radio presenter
• Karren Brady, Cosmopolitan’s Business Woman of the Year 2006 and adviser to Sir Alan Sugar in the forthcoming series of The Apprentice
• Louise Court, Editor of Cosmopolitan

Celebrity Winners

• Ultimate Woman’s Woman Kimberley Walsh
• Ultimate TV Presenter Holly Willoughby
• Ultimate Celeb Who Made Us Care Brooke Kinsella
• Ultimate Love-Your-Body Champions Caryn Franklin & Erin O’Connor
• Ultimate Newcomer (Olay’s Award) Pixie Lott
• Ultimate TV Personality Dannii Minogue
• Ultimate Funny Woman Ruth Jones
• Ultimate Man of the Year Andrew Flintoff
• Ultimate TV Actress Lacey Turner
• Ultimate Music Star Leona Lewis
• Ultimate Film Actress Megan Fox
• Ultimate Hottie Ricky Whittle

Real-life Winners

• Ultimate Family Girls Melissa and Laura Shields
• Ultimate Young Fashion Entrepreneur (Olay’s Award) Kate Fearnley
• Ultimate Fearless Female Karen Darke
• Ultimate Green Queen Amanda Jones
• Ultimate Inspirational Woman Justice Williams
• Ultimate International Angel Sarah Spencer
• Ultimate Love Story Rebecca Shone-Walker & John Walker
• Ultimate Sports Star Jessica Ennis

Notes to Editors:

- The Cosmopolitan Ultimate Women of the Year Awards celebrate Cosmopolitan’s core mission – to inspire women ‘To Be The Best They Can Be’. Reflecting Cosmopolitan’s brand pillars, they are the only awards to combine celebrities with real-life winners and truly recognise inspirational women who embody the ‘Fun and Fearless’ spirit of the magazine.

- The Cosmopolitan Ultimate Women of the Year Awards are sponsored by Olay. This is the fourth year that Olay has sponsored the awards.

- Cosmopolitan is the largest selling women’s magazine in the world. In the UK it has a circulation of 441,663 and a readership of 1.7 million.

Guests included:

• Kimberley Walsh
• Dannii Minogue
• Pixie Lott
• Vernon Kay
• Alesha Dixon
• Fearne Cotton
• Holly Willoughby
• Lacey Turner
• Ruth Jones
• Andrew Flintoff
• Brooke Kinsella
• Caryn Franklin
• Brian Friedman
• Sarah Brown
• Little Boots
• George Lamb

For more information and images, please contact:
Samantha Cunnington or Chloe Lecash @ Outside Organisation

Tel: 02074363633

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