Tracy McAndrew was born on November 6th, 1973, in Leeds, England, to a
working-class family. Tracy was ever the athletic one and throughout
childhood, dreamed of becoming a policewoman. Working in a bank after
she finished school, McAndrew realized that she had a higher calling,
and it was modeling, not law enforcement, that lay in her future.
Moving to London, McAndrew aggressively shopped her look around. It
was The Daily Star newspaper that first put her on its front cover.
Not much time passed before other publications were asking about this
new face, and, after entertaining a few other offers, McAndrew took on
her first big job as the real-life representation of the video game
character, Lara Croft. Following in the footsteps of such established
models as Rhona Mitra, McAndrew toured as the Tomb Raider heroine for
over a year, attracting attention at conventions and in print. This
experience was regarded by McAndrew as invaluable, though a sour note
was left after being denied the opportunity to appear at the British
movie premiere of Tomb Raider, starring Angelina Jolie. After all,
McAndrew was partly responsible for making Lara Croft the cult figure
she is.
In 1999, she served as co-host of the entertaining British game show,
It's a Knockout. The hosting job lasted two seasons while ratings
remained high. At the same time, McAndrew served as a VJ on VH1's
Spice, continuing to beat down the stigma that Lara Croft models'
careers go downhill once the gig is up. Even fashion companies,
Triumph lingerie and Adidas both included her in ad campaigns, with
the former signing her on as a spokeswoman. Even Jockey underwear took
up business with her, but that went under the radar as her Play..boy
cover in 1999 made headlines. She became the first British woman in
over 30 years to get a cover spot on the popular men's publication.
Ever the active woman, McAndrew flattered fellow celebrities as she
became an entertainment reporter for The Big Breakfast, another
British show. During this time, she graced the covers of Loaded and
Front as well. With little rest after a grueling adventure Down Under,
McAndrew toured around while promoting her new calendar and then
settled down to film an exercise video, which was a project she had
always wanted to do. Called Nell McAndrew's Peak Energy, the DVD has
sold solidly since its UK release in late 2002.