Biography - Katie Piper

Who is Katie Piper?

Katie Piper has been through a lot in her life. From being an acid attack and rape survivor to a national presenter, she is now the new face and activist for burn victims. Read on to learn more about the courageous woman, the mother of two!

Katie Piper – Age, Parents, Siblings

Katie Piper was born on 12 October 1983in Andover, UK. Her birth name/ full name is Kate Elizabeth Piper. Her mother’s name is Diane Piper and her father’s name is David Piper, a barber. She has two siblings. Her older brother’s name is Paul Piper and her younger sister’s name is Suzy Piper.

Education, Ethnicity

Katie Piper went to Harrow Way School and Portway Junior School from where she completed her high school.

Her ethnicity is English.

Katie Piper – Initial career

After Katie Piper graduated from school, she took training to become a beautician as she was always interested in fashion and beauty. Soon she also started modeling and took part in beauty pageants and contests. She secured the position of the second runner-up in Miss Winchester's 2006 beauty pageant and also was a contestant in Maxim magazine's Little Black Book contest in the same year 2006.

As she was able to earn a living for herself, Piper moved to the Golders Green area of North London and rented a flat along with her friends.

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Katie Piper – Sexual Assault, Acid attack

Katie Piper had met a guy through Facebook, named Daniel Lynch. Lynch had been tracking her on social media. The two met in person in Reading, Berkshire and initially, Piper was pleased with the relationship.

But two weeks into the relationship, her world crashed. Lynch and Piper had booked a hotel room after a date. In the hotel room, Lynch raped her, beat her, and stabbed her several times in her arms. He also threatened to cut her with a razor knife and hang her. After 8 hours at the hotel, they drove back to Piper’s flat.

She was treated for her wounds at Royal Free Hospital but was too afraid to tell police and doctors what had actually happened. Lynch apologized to Katie Piper over the phone.

Two days later on 31 March 2008, Lynch persuaded her to go to an internet café to receive a present from him. But he had actually set her up for an acid attack from Stefan Sylvestre.

The attack was caught on CCTV and both Lynch and Sylvester were arrested. Lynch received two life sentences and will serve a minimum of 16 years in prison. Stefan was given a life sentence and a minimum of 12 years in prison.

However, after 9 years in prison, Stefan was released in 2018 citing he had shown empathy and remorse for the victim, avoided anti-social behavior within the prison, avoided violence, gained employment-related skills, improved his education, and his relationship with his family has improved. 

As the attacker has been released, Piper had said it is a 'really difficult time for me'.

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Katie Piper – Recovery, Thereafter

Immediately after the attack, she ran into a local café, and an ambulance was called. She was taken to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital where she was treated. As she had swallowed some of the acids, she was blinded in her left eye which had caused partial thickness and full thickness burns. She was in an induced coma for 12 days.

To date, she has undergone 250 surgeries to improve her physical functionality, help her breathe through her nose, and countless hours of psychological therapy for the trauma she had faced.

Piper has been very active in raising awareness of the situation for burn victims. Her documentary Katie: My Beautiful Face was aired on 29 October 2009 which shows her building the Katie Piper Foundation and moving out of her parent's home to London.

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In May 2010, it was announced that she will have a new series titled Katie: My Beautiful Friends. In the series, she met disfigured, disabled, or physically challenged people as a result of an assault, accident, illness, injury, or surgery.

On 7 February 2012, Katie: The Science of Seeing Again was aired. The series showed Katie Piper preparing to undergo stem-cell surgery in hopes of getting her vision in her left eye back.

Undo Me aired on 30 January 2014 and was later renamed Bodyshockers which gave advice on surgical and cosmetic procedures to restore a more natural look.

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Katie Piper – Writing

Her autobiography was published on 17 February 2011 and was titled Beautiful and the second part Beautiful Ever After was published on 1 September 2014. Her other books include Things Get Better: If you believe then you will survive (May 2012), Confidence: the Secret (2016).

She had written in her book:

"I spotted a young guy in a hoodie crossing the road and coming towards me, with his arms outstretched and a coffee cup clasped between his two hands. He looked like a drug addict or a beggar. 

I felt sorry for him. I rested my mobile in the crook of my neck and reached into my bag to give him some money.

Splash. He chucked the contents of the cup over my face. For a moment, I didn’t understand what had happened. And then the pain hit me – an explosion of agony, unlike anything I had ever experienced before.

It spread through my body like fire. I could feel my face burning, so hot I thought it was going to burst into flames.

I heard a horrible screaming sound, like an animal being slaughtered. Then I realised it was coming from me."

She is also a columnist and began to write for Reveal magazine in April 2011. She has also written for Now magazine, Sunday Mirror, and Sunday People. She also was a contestant in Strictly Come Dancing.

Related: Molly Qerim Rose - TV host, Reporter

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Katie Piper – Relationship, Husband, Marriage, Children

Katie Piper is now a happily married woman. She is married to carpenter and builder Richard James Sutton. The couple met through mutual friends in 2013 and have been together ever since. 

Talking about her early days with Richard, Piper shared:

"James was chatty, witty and looked me squarely in the eye. He never once mentioned my burns, and because he didn't, I didn't either. He didn't even stare at them, so I didn't feel self-conscious. He had me relaxed and buzzing with confidence." 

Their first daughter Belle Elizabeth Piper was born in March 2014. And 9 months after Belle was born, Robert proposed to her in December 2014. They then got married in a secret ceremony on 6^th November 2015.

Their second child, a daughter named Penelope Diane Piper was born on 13^th December 2017.

Also see: David Visentin - TV host, Reality TV star, Realtor

Katie Piper – Net Worth, Salary

The net worth of Katie Piper is estimated at around $15 million while the figure on her annual salary is unknown.

Katie Piper – Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

On social media handles including Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, Katie Piper is followed by thousands of followers and counting.

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