Sophie Gradon

Sophie Hannah Gradon (25 October 1985 – 20 June 2018) was an English model and marketing manager. In 2008, she won Miss Newcastle. In 2009, Gradon won the title Miss Great Britain.[1] In 2016, Gradon was a contestant on the second series of ITV2's Love Island.[2]

Sophie Gradon
Gradon (right), with Love Island costar Zara Holland, speaking about social media bullying at Elland Road stadium in 2018
Born	Sophie Hannah Gradon 25 October 1985 Newcastle, England
Died	20 June 2018 (aged 32) Ponteland, Northumberland, England
Cause of death	Suicide
Education	Dame Allan's School
Occupation	Model Marketing manager
Years active	2008–2018
Television	Love Island (2016)

Early life and education

Gradon was born in Newcastle, England.[3] She was educated at Dame Allan's School where she completed GCE Advanced Levels. She obtained a 2:1 degree in Media, Culture, and Society from Northumbria University.[4]

Career

In 2008, Gradon won the title Miss Newcastle.[5] In 2009, she won the Miss Great Britain.[6] Gradon worked as a marketing manager.[7] She was a promoter of the NE1 campaign in Newcastle City Centre, through which she raised money for charities. In this capacity, Gradon successfully solicited financial support from Calum Best for the Great North Run in 2011. Thousands of pounds were raised to send children with cancer on a trip to Crete. Chronicle Live reported that Calum agreed to support this charity after he saw the work Gradon did for the Sara's Hope Foundation. In 2011, Gradon appeared on Sky Sports in support of the campaign, "The Great North Fitness Revolution."[4]

She was a contestant on Love Island in 2016. During her time on the reality TV series, Love Island, Gradon began a relationship with barman Tom Powell before coupling up with glamour model Katie Salmon, Love Island's first same-sex pairing.[8]

In 2018, Gradon was part of a talk on social media and its impact on children.[9] In a March 2018 interview with Radio Aire, Gradon revealed that she was the victim of intense cyberbullying and internet trolls.

She reported in the interview:

"It was horrific. I think when you get so many comments on the scale we did coming out of thousands of followers."[10]

She added:

"There are fans and positive comments but people would focus on the negatives. Sometimes I would look for it...There would be so many negative comments. They are commenting on the way you look, the way you talk. They would come up with an opinion of you on a TV show where they’ve watched you for 45 minutes."[10]

Personal life

In 2008, Gradon dated Wayne Lineker, brother of Gary Lineker. In 2013, Gradon dated rugby player Danny Cipriani.[11][7] In 2016, reports stated that Gradon was "openly bisexual."[12] She was widely known among the social scene in Newcastle.[13]

Death

Gradon was found dead on 20 June 2018 at the age of 32.[14] A spokesperson for the Northumbria Police reported that there did not appear to be suspicious circumstances and a cause of death was not initially revealed.[15] Officials later stated the cause of death was likely suicide; Gradon had hanged herself.[16] Her death sparked a response among media outlets, with the organisation of Miss Great Britain and several members of the cast of Love Island expressing condolences.[9] Her funeral was held on 5 July 2018.[17]

According to an inquest in April 2019, Gradon took her own life after taking cocaine and alcohol.[18] About twenty days after her death, Gradon's boyfriend, Aaron Armstrong, took his own life.[19]

References

1. Hutchinson, Lisa (22 June 2018). "Who is Sophie Gradon? Love Island star to Miss Newcastle". nechronicle. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
2. Association, Press (21 June 2018). "Former Love Island contestant Sophie Gradon dies aged 32". The Guardian.
3. "Love Island star Sophie Gradon's shock death stuns fans". The New Zealand Herald. 21 June 2018.
4. Hutchinson, Lisa (22 June 2018). "Who is Sophie Gradon? Love Island star to Miss Newcastle". nechronicle. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
5. Eden, Tom (22 June 2018). "The beautiful pictures of Sophie Gradon modelling just weeks before tragic death". nechronicle. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
6. Duke, Simon (22 June 2016). "Love Island: Sophie finally reveals Miss Newcastle & Miss GB past". Retrieved 4 July 2017.
7. Daly, Emma (30 May 2016). "Love Island 2016: meet Sophie Gradon". Radio Times. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
8. Dosani, Rishma (13 July 2016). "Love Island's Sophie Gradon admits she 'faked it with Katie Salmon' to win". Retrieved 4 July 2017.
9. "Love Island star Sophie Gradon dies". BBC News. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
10. Lam, Katherine (21 June 2018). "Sophie Gradon, 'Love Island' star and former Miss Great Britain, dead at 32". Fox News Channel. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
11. Binding, Lucia (24 May 2016). "Love Island 2016: Meet the contestants from Miss Great Britain to Danny Cipriani's ex-girlfriend". Retrieved 4 July 2017.
12. Duke, Simon (4 July 2016). "Is Sophie about to be part of Love Island's first same sex couple?". nechronicle. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
13. Seddon, Sean (22 June 2018). "Newcastle rocked after losing its 'King and Queen' in three weeks". nechronicle. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
14. Wright, Minnie. "Sophie Gradon dead: Love Island star dies aged 32". Daily Express. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
15. Kaplan, Llana. "Late Love Island star Sophie Gradon posted heartbreaking tweet days before her death". The Independent. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
16. Salo, Jackie (10 July 2018). "Reality star's boyfriend found dead – weeks after her suicide". New York Post. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
17. Warner, Sam. "Love Island star Sophie Gradon laid to rest as boyfriend pays tribute". Digital Spy. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
18. "Love Island star killed herself after mixing drugs and alcohol, inquest finds". The Guardian. 18 April 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
19. Parveen, Nazia; Donald, Kevin (19 March 2019). "Boyfriend of Love Island star killed himself, coroner rules". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 December 2020.

External links

• Sophie Gradon at IMDb