Kate Groombridge was born February 9, 1980, and raised in a small village in the region of Kent, England. Her upbringing in the English countryside allowed for an abundance of horseback riding and fishing, but was hardly the most opportune environment in which to be discovered as a model.

Nevertheless, a family friend recognized the market value of the young Kate’s beauty and suggested that she show her photos to agencies. This advice proved well founded, and by age 14, Kate was modeling professionally.

The bulk of Kate’s early career consisted of posing for teen magazine shoots, a market that provided her with steady work for five years. By her 19th birthday, Kate was prepared to take on jobs that were more suited to her blossoming physique, and her first major contract, with Gossard Lingerie, was just this.

Her August 1999 contract with Gossard made Kate the ambassador for the company’s new “Ultrabra Superboost” bra, a garment that promised “The Biggest Cleavage Ever or Your Money Back.”

The “Ultrabra Superboost” proved an instant hit among British consumers, and the high volume of sales proved beneficial to the company and its spokesperson alike. Kate’s face and body were plastered on billboards throughout the United Kingdom, and a bit of controversy upped her visibility further, as the Gossard commercial campaign was deemed too racy for British households and restricted to rotation in movie theaters.

Kate’s curvaceous frame was a rare one in a sea of waifish models, and her value to Gossard was reflected in the company’s decision to extend her preliminary contract. Following the close of the “Ultrabra Superboost” campaign, Kate became the face of Gossard’s entire line of products — including the “Ultrabra Airotic,” an inflatable bra that launched in March of 2001 to a waiting list of more than 100,000.

Becoming the face of British cleavage has endeared Kate to the English public, at least the male segment of it. She has appeared in a slew of the country’s “lad mags,” which are always eager to draw attention to her love of football squad Arsenal, and has acted as the cover girl for both FHM and Esquire. Her fans will be disappointed to learn that she currently lives in Chelsea with her boyfriend, Internet entrepreneur Dan Chard. (Askmen)