{{short description|British singer}} {{Use British English|date=July 2019}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Vernie Bennett | background = solo_singer | birth_name = Vernett Bennett | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1971|5|17|df=y}} | origin = London, England | genre = R&B | occupation = Singer, lawyer | years_active = 1992–present | instrument = Vocals | associated_acts = Eternal }}
'''Vernett "Vernie" Bennett''' (born 17 May 1971) is an English singer.<ref name="Vernie Bennett | TVmaze" /> She is a founding member of R&B girl group Eternal, with her sister Easther Bennett also a member. The original line up included Kéllé Bryan and Louise Nurding.<ref name="Vernie Bennett | Life and style | The Guardian" /><ref name="Mirror Online 2021-07-07">{{cite web|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/eternal-now-top-lawyer-flamingo-24471591|title=Where Eternal are now - Top lawyer, Flamingo, Loose Women and horror seizure|website=Mirror Online|date=2021-07-07|access-date=2023-12-31}}</ref>
Eternal were formed in 1992 and originally consisted of the Bennett sisters, Kéllé Bryan, and Louise Nurding (now known as Louise Redknapp). They became a trio in 1995 when Nurding quit the group to start a solo career, and a duo in 1998 when Bryan was controversially dismissed. The group eventually disbanded in 2000 after selling 10 million records worldwide.<ref name="Female">{{cite news |title=Whatever Happened To...Eternal? |url=https://www.femalefirst.co.uk/music/features/Whatever+Happened+ToEternal-6852.html |access-date=7 February 2021 |work=Female First |archive-date=14 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210214090046/https://www.femalefirst.co.uk/music/features/Whatever+Happened+ToEternal-6852.html |url-status=live }}</ref> After the split, Vernie went back to university to complete her law degree and has since settled down to family life with her husband and two children. She has occasionally appeared on British television shows, both as a presenter and as a guest.<ref name="Mirror Online 2021-07-07" /><ref name="Vernie Bennett | TVmaze" />
==Life and career== Born in 1971, she was brought up in Croydon, South London. As a child, she sang in a gospel choir with her sister, Easther.<ref name="Vernie Bennett | Life and style | The Guardian">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2000/feb/12/weekend7.weekend2|title=Vernie Bennett {{!}} Life and style|work=The Guardian|date=2000-02-12|access-date=2023-12-29}}</ref>
===Eternal=== The band was formed in 1991{{cn|date=December 2023}} and released their first single "Stay" in 1993 which achieved their first top ten hit in the UK and their first top 20 hit on the American ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/eternal|title=Eternal|magazine=Billboard|access-date=2019-10-08}}</ref>
Nominated for four Brit Awards, the band performed on the soundtrack for Disney's m ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame'', and had several hit songs. They sang for the Pope in the Vatican, took part in the anti-apartheid movement by performing at one of Johannesburg's largest outdoor concert with Midnight Oil, Sting and other well-known artists in South Africa<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/articles/music/Eternal_The_British_RB_group_with_a_millionselling_debut/40273/p1/|title=Eternal: The British R&B group with a million-selling debut - Eternal|website=crossrhythms.co.uk|access-date=2019-10-08}}</ref> and featured on a Pepsi campaign. The band sold over 10 million records and achieved their first number one in 1997.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.asmtalent.com/verniebennett|title=Vernie Bennet|website=asmtalent|language=en|access-date=2019-10-08}}</ref>
A total number of five albums were released throughout the band's career: ''Always and Forever'', ''Power of a Woman'', ''Before the Rain'', ''Greatest Hits'', and ''Eternal''. In 1998,{{cn|date=December 2023}} Kéllé Bryan was dismissed by the Bennett sisters' solicitor,<ref name="Female" /> and the latter self-entitled album and its lead single "What'cha Gonna Do" only included Vernie and her sister, before the group disbanded altogether. In December 2013, it was announced that Eternal would be reforming for the second series of the ITV2 reality-documentary ''The Big Reunion''.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.itv.com/news/2013-12-27/the-big-reunion-2014-line-up-revealed/|title=The Big Reunion 2014 line-up revealed|date=27 December 2013|work=ITV News|access-date=27 January 2014}}</ref> The reunion on ITV2 led to the group performing a number of select gigs in 2014. In September 2023, Louise Redknapp and her team reported that Easther and Vernie had refused to perform at a number of LGBTQ+ Pride events as part of an Eternal reunion tour.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-09-25 |title=Louise Redknapp pulls out of Eternal reunion over LGBTQ row |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-66910604 |access-date=2023-09-26}}</ref> Denis Ingoldsby stated the Bennett sisters have supported the LGBT community and played many events.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2Mv0bRIE2N/?igsh=MW1lYmZvcHh6cDFwaA== | title=Instagram }}</ref> Ingoldsby went on to state Louise has "thrown the girls under the bus" and "is trying to get the sisters cancelled".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CxlkGSCNDdX/ | title=Instagram }}</ref> Vernie stated that she had concerns about trans activists and ideology and its impact on women and children.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/louise-redknapp-accused-throwing-bandmates-31026064 | title=Eternal sisters hit back at Louise Redknapp in bitter reunion tour Pride row | newspaper=Daily Mirror | date=25 September 2023 }}</ref> In 2024 Christel Lakhdar joined the group. In an interview on BBC London radio with Jacqueline Shepherd, the sisters talked about their new member and how excited they are to be playing festival gigs in Summer 2024.<ref> [https://web.archive.org/web/20240417220358/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0hl7qvn bbc.co.uk] </ref> 2024 has seen the return of Eternal with a new band member.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/nineties-girl-band-eternal-reveal-32217275 | title=90s girl band Eternal unveil new line-up as new singer replaces Louise Redknapp | website=Daily Mirror | date=26 February 2024 }}</ref> A number of dates were planned for 2025.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.butlins.com/bigweekenders/weekends/90s-reloaded/bognor-regis-210325 | title=90s Reloaded - Bognor Regis 21/03/25 | Butlin's Big Weekenders }}</ref>
===Podcast=== Vernie launched a podcast ''Big Chat Small Talk'' on all major audio platforms including Apple Podcasts with friend and co-host Louise Anderson.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/big-chat-small-talk-podcast-with-louise-anderson/id1749041288 | title=Big Chat Small Talk Podcast with Louise Anderson and Vernie Bennett }}</ref> The podcast launched in June 2024 and within the first week of launching, secured a top ten position in the UK at the end of the week.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.instagram.com/reel/C718PseiRb4/?igsh=MW5pOWc3eDY3dGhyMQ== | title=Instagram }}</ref>
===Television===
Vernie was voted one of the top 50 sexiest women in ''FHM'', and in 1998 featured on the front cover of ''Pride Magazine''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE4MzM3ODcwNTk0MTIwNzA2?story_media_id=3482336581598762545&igsh=MWYweWNrem44NTc2dw== | title=Instagram }}</ref> She was a TV presenter for ''Songs of Praise'', Gala Bingo and at the MTV Music Awards.<ref name="Mirror Online 2021-07-07" />
On 25 November 2015, Bennett appeared with her husband Bryan on ITV's game show ''All Star Mr & Mrs'' and raised a further £30,000 for charity, which she donated to Cancer Research UK and CMV Action UK.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.itv.com/presscentre/ep8week48/all-star-mr-mrs|title=All Star Mr & Mrs Episode 8|date=6 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160106224418/http://www.itv.com/presscentre/ep8week48/all-star-mr-mrs|accessdate=15 February 2021|archive-date=6 January 2016}}</ref><ref name="Vernie Bennett | TVmaze" />
During the 2015/2016 Christmas season, she took her debut acting role on stage in ''Jack and the Beanstalk'' as the 'Spirit of the Beans',<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.paulholmanassociates.co.uk/productions/details/Jack-and-the-Beanstalk/?title=null&location=null&year=null |title=Jack and the Beanstalk Paul Holman Associates |access-date=19 August 2018 |archive-date=19 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819150026/https://www.paulholmanassociates.co.uk/productions/details/Jack-and-the-Beanstalk/?title=null&location=null&year=null |url-status=dead }}</ref> and continues to be a supporter of the charity known as CMV Action UK.
In 2018, she was a guest on the ITV game show ''Big Star's Little Star''.<ref name="Vernie Bennett | TVmaze">{{cite web|url=https://www.tvmaze.com/people/103635/vernie-bennett|title=Vernie Bennett|website=TVmaze}}</ref>
==Personal life== After the split, Vernie went back to university to finish studying law and has since become a practising lawyer. In 2006, she gave birth to her first child. In August 2010, she signed with ASM Artist Management. She lives in London with her husband and their two children.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://evkl.net/poaw/biography/vernie.html|title=The Vernie Bennett page|website=Evkl.net|last=Janssen|first=Lars|access-date=27 January 2014}}</ref><ref name="Mirror Online 2021-07-07" />
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Eternal}} {{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Vernie}} Category:Living people Category:1971 births Category:Eternal (band) members Category:20th-century Black British women singers Category:20th-century British women singers Category:British contemporary R&B singers Category:English people of Jamaican descent Category:21st-century Black British women singers Category:21st-century British women singers