Natalia Kills' controversial past includes burning down an ex-boyfriend's house and living in a cult.
Natalia Kills' controversial past includes burning down an ex-boyfriend's house and living in a cult.
Until a few days ago, she was an almost-unheard-of singer who had enjoyed moderate success for her musical offerings.
However, thanks to her comments on The X Factor New Zealand, where she starred as a judge before getting fired for her "bullying" remarks to a contestant, Natalia Kills has turned into a global hate figure.
Born in Bradford, and married to fellow judge Willy Moon, Kills - who is also known as Natalia Noemi Keery-Fisher - has catapulted into the headlines, and was unceremoniously sacked from the show.
But there are some critics who were surprised she was ever offered the role in the first place.
Twenty-eight-year-old Kills is a self-professed bad girl. In fact, she once revealed in an interview that she felt that "doing good" was against her inner nature.
She is a woman who, having run away from home at the age of 14, has faced brushes with the law, once tried to set her boyfriend's house on fire and even spent a few years in a religious cult.
And she isn't as well known as her her X Factor counterparts around the world either - who include the likes of Cheryl Fernandez-Versini and Mel B on the UK show, and Ronan Keating on the Australian programme.
In fact, not only is she not as recognisable, she hasn't shared anywhere near as much musical success, receiving just marginal praise for her two albums - Perfectionist and Trouble.
Natalia had broken free from a career in acting in 2003 to pursue music after stints in the BBC's All About Me and the Radio 4 soap The Archers. She had also made appearances in Casualty, Doctors and Coronation Street.
She has previously said of her child stardom: "I didn't really like being on television at all."
But, even after having changed her moniker on several occasions to appeal to a new audience - working under Verbalicious and Natalia Noemi Cappuccini (thought to be her real name) - she never managed to break into the mainstream.
Her biggest coups to date have been supporting Katy Perry and the Black Eyed Peas.
In 2014, it seemed things could be looking up for the singer, as Madonna had taken her under her wing and was working with Kills in the studio. It has since been revealed that she worked on her track Rebel Heart.
However, Kills could not replicate the success of the Queen Of Pop in her own career.
Yesterday it was revealed Natalia had been dropped from her record label before her stint on X Factor even started. A rep for Cherrytree Records told Daily Mail Australia: "Natalia and Cherrytree parted ways months ago."
Furthermore, it seems that perhaps her wild ways should have been recognised before the TV show began filming.
Talking about her "bad girl" past, Kills said: "I moved out when I was almost 15 and spent my whole teenage years with no money, fighting with my boyfriend, joining a cult and getting in trouble with the police."
She has also spoken about having suffered with depression and having been suicidal in her younger years.
When in 2013 she released her album Trouble, she told Life and Times that she wanted to use it to confess all the bad things she had ever done.
According to Kills these included: "Stalking my ex-boyfriend, trying to set fire to the house with us both in it, getting taken away by the police, leaving home at 15, making out with strangers and running away to Paris."
She told Digital Spy: "I remember when I was 19, I loved my boyfriend who didn't love me back so much - disturbingly much - that every time he hurt me I just desperately wanted to jump off the highest bridge I could find, or walk into the fastest truck."
Speaking again of the incident where she tried to set the house on fire she told Swagger New York: "I tried to set the house on fire with me and my boyfriend in it after an argument when I was 18.
"I just want to apologise right now to my management or anyone else who probably would advise me not to say any of this stuff."
Natalia Kills' controversial past includes burning down an ex-boyfriend's house and living in a cult.
She continued: "But I tried to set fire to the house with us all in it after a really big, crazy argument - don't worry he totally deserved it - and the police came, and of course it was all taken care of and no one got burned to death which is great."
Kills describes her childhood, in which her father was jailed when she was just 12, as having been like an episode of Jerry Springer.
She told Clean: "My life used to be like Jerry Springer. I come from a family that was very judged. I used to watch Jerry Springer and see people like my family where the audience was like, 'How could you do that?' and, 'You need therapy, you need this and that!'
"I was just like those kids on the programme. Like, "f*** the police, f*** life, f*** boyfriends, let me do what I want."
Her have-a-go attitude was one which has stuck with her all the way through to the X Factor.
Kills has previously revealed how she once ran away to Paris and how when she launched her msuic career in Los Angeles she spent her time sleeping in dodgy $25 a night hotels.
And she wrote a song Daddy's Girl about her father's time in prison, revealing that before their family became destitute he had showered her mother with diamonds and fur coats.
She previously said of their life of destitution following her fathers arrest: "Good people do bad things for good reasons, but you can't have everything forever.
"One day the police came, then my Dad was gone. They'd lost everything... and then, eventually, by 15, I'd left home.
"You can't live in someone else's madness forever - at some point you have to go out into the world and make your own."
She said on her website: "My teenage years were spent trying to survive in London on my own and rebelling against the abnormality.
"I tried to grow up too fast and create some stability, but I always got it wrong."
And it seems Kills - who previously worked as an actress - has been hell bent on creating her own madness.
In fact, her bizarre attack on X Factor contestant Joe Irvine wasn't even the first time she had been on trouble on the New Zealand version of the show.
When she first joined the programme, she was criticised after one round of auditions in Auckland where she apparently swore and screamed at audience members, which included children.
At the time, a representative for the show confirmed the incident saying: "During a long day of filming, The X Factor NZ judge Natalia Kills expressed frustration at the behaviour of some sections of the audience.
"Her words were not well chosen, and both Kills and TV3 apologise for any offence caused."
Kills launched into a tirade at Irvine on the first of the live X Factor shows at the weekend, saying: "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm just going to state the obvious, we have a doppelganger in our midst.
Natalia Kills and Willy Moon during their tirade against Joe Irvine on The X Factor NZ.
"As an artist who respects creative integrity and intellectual property, I am disgusted at how much you've copied my husband."
Kills' comments seemed to be based around the fact that Irvine had his hair slicked back and was wearing a suit, a look favoured by her fellow judge - and husband of 10 months - Moon.
She said: "From the hair to the suit, do you not have any value for respect for originality?"
She added: "You're a laughing stock. It's cheesy, it's disgusting, I personally found it artistically atrocious.
"I am embarrassed to be sitting here in your presence having to even dignify you with an answer of my opinion."
Irvine, who was appearing on the first live episode looked visibly upset by her comments and at one point seemed to be fighting back the tears.
Her husband Willy Moon, from Wellington, who she married last May, added: "To me it feels just a little bit cheap and absurd.
"It's like Norman Bates dressing up in his mother's clothing, it feels a little creepy and I feel like you are going to stitch someone's skin to your face and then kill everybody in the audience."
X Factor UK judge Louis Walsh hit back at Natalia and her husband saying: "Number one, I don't know who they are. It's cruel, it's not right. These shows are supposed to be fun.
"People sit back and they want to be entertained, they don't want to hear people taking people to pieces."
He added: "She obviously has no class, no taste, she'll never work again I reckon, honestly. I mean, who's going to hire her? Nobody.
Natalia Kills and Willy Moon at the launch party for X Factor NZ.
"It wouldn't happen on The Voice of Ireland or The Voice UK and it definitely wouldn't happen on The X Factor [UK]."
Kills has previously revealed she sometimes feels remorse over her actions, telling Electrocutie Music her album Trouble was inspired by her rocky life: "You know what? I do have regrets.
"The album is actually full of regret. There was a point where I left home and was trying to be a grown-up. I had an awful boyfriend who treated me badly.
"I wound up in a religious cult that I was in for a few years. It kind of shaped my mind to be good and do the right thing. I felt like "doing good" went against my inner nature."
However, the singer, who has fled to Los Angeles with Moon, does not seem to feel that way about her stint on the X Factor.
Defending herself and the idea that her actions could have been a publicity stunt, she told MTV.com: "I feel like everyone needs to put the idea of it being a manufactured conspiracy theory behind them, there's really nothing to it.
"I love my husband with all of my heart, we'll stick together no matter what.
"There are many sides to this story and I am not about to get an entire industry in trouble that has been going on for years and years entertaining the masses, so thank you absolutely everyone for your support, thank you to all of my fans, thank you to my husband.
"I would like to wish Joe Irvine and my boys' category all the best on the show.'
Natalia has since taken to Twitter to issue a second statement saying: "A lot goes on behind-the scenes of a reality show and what you see isn't always the whole story.
"The show bought me on to bring my passion, dramatic expression and perspective. I was encouraged to be outspoken and things got out of hand. Joe, I hope you can forgive me and I wish you all the best!
"Be natural, be unconventional and be you! Love Natalia Kills.'
