Mel B‘s daughter Phoenix Brown has revealed that her mum once told her: ‘I’m the famous one and you’re not’ as she insisted she won’t be a ‘shadow’ of her success in a new interview.
Speaking to The Daily Mail the 26-year-old daughter of Scary spice said she quickly realised she had to find her own path in life as she addressed nepo baby claims.
She had never shied away from the viral term, even releasing Channel 4 documentary, Born in the Limelight – Nepo Babies: Untold, last year – which saw her explore the advantages and challenges that come from being the child of a celebrity.
The star now does DJ work and exhibits her art in London as she makes a career for herself.
She said in the candid new interview: ‘I’m discovering who I am, what I like, who I like, where I want to be. It’s a lot of questions, and I just got to figure out the answers, but I’m here for the journey.’
She credits her mother for teaching her to step out of the shadow of fame.
Mel B ‘s daughter Phoenix Brown has revealed that her mum once told her: ‘I’m the famous one and you’re not’ as she insisted she won’t be a ‘shadow’ of her success in a new interview
Speaking to The Daily Mail the 26-year-old daughter of Scary spice said she quickly realised she had to find her own path in life as she addressed nepo baby claims
Phoenix revealed: ‘My mum kind of let me know that ‘I’m the famous one and you’re not.’
‘That quickly made me realise that I got to find who I am and not be a shadow. So I’ve just had a journey with that.’
Indeed, Phoenix is well aware that the Spice Girls is the cornerstone of her mother’s fame and is the reason why she is often labelled a ‘nepo baby’.
It’s a subject she tackled head-on in her Channel 4 documentary, Born in the Limelight – Nepo Babies: Untold.
She said of the show: ‘I was so nervous to do it just because it was such a taboo subject.
‘I was like, well, it can go in one or two ways, people can absolutely hate it, mug me off, or they can actually listen and question themselves on it not just being about celebrities, it’s everywhere and it’s all-around life.’
And as for the ‘nepo baby’ tag?
Phoenix says: ‘It is what it is. I’m not going to shy away from the fact, I am a nepo baby, so go ahead, call me that. But my name is Phoenix.’
It comes as Phoenix is preparing to make her London Fashion Week debut this week for cult streetwear and travel accessory label Sprayground.
It comes as Phoenix is preparing to make her London Fashion Week debut this week for cult streetwear and travel accessory label Sprayground (seen with founder David Ben David)
She had never shied away from the viral term, even releasing Channel 4 documentary, Born in the Limelight – Nepo Babies : Untold, last year
She said in the candid new interview: ‘I’m discovering who I am, what I like, who I like, where I want to be. It’s a lot of questions, and I just got to figure out the answers, but I’m here for the journey’
She will be hitting the runway for the very first time at the brand’s debut UK show this Thursday at the Freemasons’ Hall.
‘I’ve never walked anything in my life, except from the bedroom to the kitchen,’ Phoenix joked. ‘So this is going to be another learning experience for me.’
The show, produced by Sprayground’s creative director of content, Sandflower Dyson, marks a milestone for the brand, which was founded in New York 15 years ago by David Ben David.
The brand’s gender-fluid collection will showcase 47 bold looks, complete with striking accessories, statement luggage, and ready-to-wear pieces.
Celebrity fans of David’s include Beyonce and the rapper 50 Cent, who have both been spotted wearing Sprayground’s designs.
‘I feel blessed for the opportunity,’ Ben David told The Daily Mail.
He added: ‘We’ve been doing New York Fashion Week, we did Milan Fashion Week and so the British Fashion Council invited us to do London Fashion Week.
‘It’s really an honour to do it and the timing was right to do something astronomical, because the brand has not been in the [UK] market and we recently got placed in Harrods, Harvey Nichols and Selfridges.’
‘There’s something special about the connection between London and New York. The people are very similar, and the style is similar, when I’m walking down the streets, I think I’m lost, ‘am I in Soho, New York or Soho, London?’
Elsewhere in the interview Phoenix opened up on mum Mel B’s second wedding to husband Rory McPhee in Morocco last month, voicing her joy at seeing her mother get her happy ending.
The singer, 50, exchanged vows with the hairdresser, 37, in an emotional outdoor ceremony in the exotic surroundings of Marrakesh last month, just weeks after their first wedding at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
Eldest daughter Phoenix has now revealed how she encouraged her mum to have another ceremony, while giving insights into how the big day unfolded.
She said: ‘I was just like, ‘well, if you’re going to do it once, you have to do it twice, right? Go bigger or go home.’ It’s always that way for our family.’
While she hopes it’s third time lucky for Mel B, who was previously married to Phoenix’s father, Dutch dancer Jimmy Gulzar, and later to film producer Stephen Belafonte, whom she has publicly accused of domestic abuse.
The show, produced by Sprayground’s creative director of content, Sandflower Dyson (right), marks a milestone for the brand, which was founded in New York 15 years ago by David Ben David
The star now does DJ work and exhibits her art in London as she makes a career for herself
The ending of that marriage led Mel B to relocate her family back to the UK, where she and Phoenix have since become ambassadors for Women’s Aid, a charity supporting women and children affected by domestic violence.
Now, Phoenix and her siblings – Angel Iris, 18, and Madison, 14 – are focused on healing and moving forward.
Gushing over Mel B’s nuptials, she said: ‘I’m happy to see her happy. It’s all I’ve ever wanted’.
Spilling details about the raucous reception, she admitted her mum had invited her to DJ, but ultimately declined.
Phoenix recalled: ‘She honestly was like, ‘do you want to get up there?’ It was just nice to dance with everyone. We had a sick DJ and I did tell them a couple of requests, but it was good.
While she confirmed the playlist included some Spice Girls classics, saying: ‘You’ve got to play homage, don’t you?
‘I’m the number one Spice Girls fan right here. I love them, they are my family. I’ve always wanted them to do a reunion, and they obviously will but I don’t know when.’
While she added that having Mel B as a mother has brought other advantages, crediting the singer for giving her to confidence to try out new things.
She said: ‘Having my mum being called Scary Spice gives me no room not to be confident. I come from a strong, women-led family—I was thrown in the deep end from birth’.
It comes after Mel B gushed that her second wedding to Rory ‘exceeded her expectations’, telling HELLO! Magazine how the couple broke down in happy tears as they tied the knot with guests including bandmate Mel C.
Mel’s children all played supporting roles in the day’s festivities: Phoenix walked her down the aisle, middle child Angel was one of Rory’s groomsmen, and daughter Madison was a bridesmaid.
She said: ‘That meant the world to me. It was the most amazing day and was so full of love. It exceeded all our expectations.’
Mel wore a stunning, sheer, red Justin Alexander gown, which was split to the thigh and hand-beaded with red crystals and bugle beads, and took six artisans more than 850 hours to make.
The dress, which was supplied by Caroline Black from London-based Evelie Bridal, was complemented by a Moroccan-inspired cathedral veil, accented with red crystals.
Speaking about her stunning dress choice, Mel said that she wanted to wear red as an ode to Moroccan culture.
She said: ‘As the sun went down, I wanted to look like a floating mermaid – a fiery red passionate one – gliding in ruby diamonds.’
‘Morocco has that very red va-va-voom – it’s passionate and spiritual.’
Later, on the dance floor, Mel B and Mel C belted out an impromptu rendition of the Spice Girls hit Holler.
Sporty Spice had been unable to attend her bandmate’s first wedding in London, which saw Emma Bunton in attendance, but jetted to Marrakech for the second ceremony to see her pal tie the knot.
‘It was great to have my fellow northerner Mel C there,’ Mel said.
‘We had the best time together and totally forgot ourselves, and went crazy when Holler came on. We’ve grown up together, all my family love her and to share that weekend with her and her lovely partner Chris was so special.’
At the London ceremony, Emma Bunton was the only Spice Girl to make an appearance, with Mel C and Victoria Beckham quick to offer up their apologies and paying tribute to Mel on social media.
Scary Spice walked down the aisle for a third time last month when she tied the knot with hairdresser Rory at St Paul’s Cathedral.
Despite the wild antics of her younger days, the wedding was a rather a low-key affair, with guests said to have headed home at 7pm.
Elsewhere in the interview Phoenix opened up on mum Mel B’s second wedding to husband Rory McPhee in Morocco last month, voicing her joy at seeing her mother get her happy ending
After the lavish ceremony at St Paul’s Cathedral, including a horse and carriage, she took pals and family to a bar at The Shard skyscraper for a bash which many expected to rage well into the early hours.
The wedding party arrived at the reception at 4.30pm, however most of Mel’s guests had headed for home by 7pm, with many having already changed into casual clothing following just over two hours of socialising.
Among the celebs on the guest list for the star-studded wedding were Mel B’s fellow Spice Girl Emma Bunton and comedians Alan Carr, Katherine Ryan and Tom Allen.
After the ceremony, guests jumped onto a boozy party bus to take them to the lavish Shangri-La hotel at The Shard.
