Ex-Spice Girl turned designer Victoria Beckham describes herself as someone who “desperately wanted to be liked” in a new three-part documentary about her life.
In the Netflix series due to launch on Thursday, the 51-year-old once known as “Posh Spice” recounts her battle to reinvent herself as a fashion designer after the British girl band split.
“People thought I was that miserable cow that never smiled,” she said, referring to her straight-faced public persona.
Performing had been her “dream”, she said, but when the band came to an end she found fashion to be a “creative outlet”.
Beckham, who frequently becomes emotional in the series by director Nadia Hallgren, said she struggled to establish herself as she came up against a world that said, “she’s a pop star, she’s married to a footballer, who does she think she is?”
Former Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour admitted to initially having her own doubts.
“Most of the celebrities who get involved in our world are not true designers,” Wintour said.
“I was sceptical. I think we can all be a little bit snobby in the fashion business, and think maybe this is a side gig, but Victoria was one that totally proved us wrong,” she said.
Designer Tom Ford said his first reaction on hearing that Beckham planned to start her own fashion label was astonishment.
“I wanted to call her and say, ‘Why? Why would you do this? Do you understand this business is so tough?’,” he said.
“I think a lot of people thought, ‘Oh, OK, Victoria Beckham is starting a collection. Someone else will probably design it. She’ll stick her name on it,” he added.
The series, titled “Victoria Beckham”, traces the celebrity’s early life and pop career, and follows her as she prepares for a high-stakes catwalk show at Paris Fashion Week.
Reflecting on her school days, Beckham said she did not fit in but always yearned to be valued.
“That uncool kid at school who was awkward, that was me. But I desperately wanted to be liked, have a sense of worth,” she said.
Beckham, a mother-of-four who is married to English former star footballer David Beckham, also touches on her eponymous brand’s well publicised financial difficulties.
The clothing label has not made an operating profit since it was established in 2008.
In 2024, however, the label reported its fourth year of sales growth in a row.
“We were millions in the red” at one point, she said.
The Spice Girls stormed to worldwide fame in 1996 after the release of their first single “Wannabe”, spreading their message of girl power and eventually going on to sell 85 million albums worldwide.
Only two of their 11 singles failed to reach number one on the British charts, while their first three singles all hit the US top five.
The five-piece split in 2000 but reunited for a world tour in 2007. Another reunion tour went ahead in 2019 without Beckham.
