Lady Victoria Frederica Isabella Hervey (born October 6, 1976 in Paris, France) is an English model, socialite, aristocrat and former "It girl". She is known for her intense coverage by tabloid media in UK. Since 2004 she appeared on television shows "The Farm", "Celebrity Farm", and "Love Island." Lady Victoria is the elder daughter of the 6th Marquess of Bristol and his third wife Yvonne Marie Sutton . She is the older sister of the 8th Marquess of Bristol and of Lady Isabella Hervey. Her older half-brothers were the 7th Marquess of Bristol and Lord Nicholas Hervey, both deceased.
For the first two years of her life she lived at Ickworth House, the family seat in Suffolk, before her parents went into tax exile in Monaco. Educated at Benenden School, she spent a gap year in Florence and worked at advertising agencies in London. After turning down a place to read French and History of Art at Bristol University, her mother stopped her allowances and Hervey reluctantly became Michael Winner’s receptionist. She became a part-time catwalk model in a career move she hoped would take her into television presenting, but with her statuesque 6-foot height she took to the career full time, ultimately modelling for Christian Dior. In April 2000, she and friend Jane Blight opened Knightsbridge fashion boutique Akademi. Frequented by Victoria Beckham, Meg Mathews and Martine McCutcheon, it closed in 2001 with debts estimated at £350,000. Hervey was reportedly only £20 out of pocket by the business failure but in the year following the closure, Hervey owed a series of personal debts.
It was during the launch phase of Akademi that Lady Victoria wore a risque dress to a party, which garnered high tabloid press attention. With no It girl to fill the gossip columns left empty by the cocaine-led downfall of Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, Lady Victoria became the new press It girl. With party invitations and resulting photographs made her a staple of the British photo-tabloids and cover girl for men's magazines. Lady Victoria added to her own media publicity by penning the Party Animal diarist column in The Sunday Times.
For the first two years of her life she lived at Ickworth House, the family seat in Suffolk, before her parents went into tax exile in Monaco. Educated at Benenden School, she spent a gap year in Florence and worked at advertising agencies in London. After turning down a place to read French and History of Art at Bristol University, her mother stopped her allowances and Hervey reluctantly became Michael Winner’s receptionist. She became a part-time catwalk model in a career move she hoped would take her into television presenting, but with her statuesque 6-foot height she took to the career full time, ultimately modelling for Christian Dior. In April 2000, she and friend Jane Blight opened Knightsbridge fashion boutique Akademi. Frequented by Victoria Beckham, Meg Mathews and Martine McCutcheon, it closed in 2001 with debts estimated at £350,000. Hervey was reportedly only £20 out of pocket by the business failure but in the year following the closure, Hervey owed a series of personal debts.
It was during the launch phase of Akademi that Lady Victoria wore a risque dress to a party, which garnered high tabloid press attention. With no It girl to fill the gossip columns left empty by the cocaine-led downfall of Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, Lady Victoria became the new press It girl. With party invitations and resulting photographs made her a staple of the British photo-tabloids and cover girl for men's magazines. Lady Victoria added to her own media publicity by penning the Party Animal diarist column in The Sunday Times.