May 14: Canadian Natalie Appleton of All Saints and Appleton, is 40-years-old today.

Natalie Jane Appleton Howlett is a Canadian pop singer and actress who first came into the public eye as a member of the band All Saints. For the five years after All Saints split up, she was a member of Appleton with her younger sister Nicole.

Natalie was born in Mississauga, Ontario. The family lived in Toronto, New York City, and London while the girls grew up. She attended high school in Ellenville, New York and eventually quit to sing at a Borscht Belt country club at age fifteen.

In 1983, Appleton moved to London to enlist in the Sylvia Young Theatre School. A few years later - after Natalie married then divorced -  Melanie Blatt's father told her sister Nicole that Melanie was looking for a new member for her group. After auditions, the group added Nicole, and she convinced the band to also add Natalie. Natalie and Melanie where classmates at the Sylvia Young Theatre School. 

In 1996 both sisters joined Blatt and Shaznay Lewis in forming the band All Saints.

The band was originally called Spice but after talks with ZTT Records they quickly renamed themselves All Saints 1.9.7.5 after the street where they met and their year of birth.

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All Saints split acrimoniously in 2001. During their five years together, they were one of the most successful British pop groups of the 1990s, with nine Top 10 singles, five number ones, two platinum albums, two gold albums and record sales in excess of 10 million worldwide.

Natalie and Nicole formed a new band they called "Appleton."  They released their first single and video in September 2002 called "Fantasy" which features Natalie doing a stage dive. Initially it was to be Nicole doing the stage dive, but she backed out at the last minute The album Everything's Eventual was released in early 2003 and coincided with the documentary Appleton which provided an inside look into the life of the sisters.

Despite their differences, All Saints reunited in early 2006 and released their third studio album titled Studio 1 on November 13, 2006.

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