Maria Whittaker

Maria Whittaker
Born	7 October 1968 (1968-10-07) (age 43) Hounslow, London, England
Spouse(s)	Michael West
Height	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Hair colour	Brunette
Ethnicity	Caucasian

Maria Whittaker (born 7 October 1968^[1] in Hounslow, Middlesex, England) is a former English glamour model and Page Three girl.

Modelling career

Whittaker made her début as a Page Three girl in British newspaper The Sun in 1985, at the age of 16. With her brunette hair, good looks and natural 36DD breasts, she became one of the most celebrated glamour models of the 1980s alongside Samantha Fox and Linda Lusardi.

In 1987, Whittaker appeared on the cover of Palace Software's computer game, Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior, along with Michael Van Wijk (also known as Wolf) from the Gladiators television show. In 1988, they appeared again on the cover of Barbarian II: The Dungeon of Drax. In an interview, Palace Software stated that should Barbarian 3 have been released, they would have used model Debee Ashby, for reasons that were not given.^[2]

Whittaker was also the star of Maria Whittaker's X-Mas Strip Poker, a computer game released in 1988 for the Commodore 64 and 128.^[3]

She soon became one of the most popular models to appear in the feature and was named Page 3 Girl Of The Year in 1989. Her younger sister Lisa (b. September 1970) also appeared on Page Three, and the sisters posed together for topless photo shoots.

Maria is ranked as Glamour Girl No. 80 in Glamour Girls: An Illustrated Encyclopedia.^[4]

Music and television

Before breaking into modelling, Whittaker appeared as a Hill's Angel in two episodes of The Benny Hill Show (1983). In 1986, she appeared in the movie version of Whoops Apocalypse. She made her second screen appearance in the film Tank Malling in 1989.

Whittaker was a singer in the band The Rhythm Zone. In 1990, following in the footsteps of fellow Page Three girl Samantha Fox, she attempted a music career with a single called Stop Right Now. The single unceremoniously flopped and Whittaker returned to modelling, doing nude pictorials for Mayfair and other men's magazines.

Now married to rapper Michael West, Whittaker has two children. She has an older brother David who is an accountant in the City of London.

References

1. ^ Maria! The Intimate Story of Britain's No 1 Topless Beauty by Maria Whittaker and Madeleine Pallas (London: Star Books, 1988), p11)
2. ^ GTW64 – Steve Brown speaks to GTW about 'Barbarian 3'
3. ^ Allgame – Maria Whittaker Strip Poker
4. ^ Glamour Girls: An Illustrated Encyclopedia: Sullivan, Steve. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 1999

External links

• Maria Whittaker at the Internet Movie Database
• Forgotten Beauties – Maria Whittaker Interestment.co.uk

Persondata
Name	Whittaker, Maria
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	7 October 1968
Place of birth	Hounslow, London, England
Date of death
Place of death