Tribute to former actress and model who died in Eastbourne after globe-trotting career

Angela Ross passed away from lung cancer on Sunday, April 27 at the age of 71, with her husband, Ken, by her side.

The former page 3 model enjoyed a long globe-trotting career, having been the face of several top brands throughout her career, including: Gossard, Brut, Whitehorse Whisky and Heineken Larger.

In a tribute, Ken said: “It was one of things you never believe: ‘love at first sight’.

“I had to court her in the old-fashioned way, meeting her mum, flowers and boxes of chocolates – the whole thing.

"But in spite of my very privileged life style at the time, I had [fallen] for this young girl who looked totally beautiful in just jeans and a shirt, without even trying.”

Angela was born in a mining community in Sunderland but had ‘hoped and dreamed of better things’, Ken said.

“She never wanted to stand as her mother had, out in all weathers, to help her weary coal miner husband home after digging out the coal on a twelve hours shift,” he said.

After entering the National Miss Variety Club of Great Britain, Angela was ‘discovered’ by a modelling agency in Manchester, and was later given an exclusive contract by a top agency in London.

Ken added: “Her modelling success was astronomical, the local newspapers fell in love with her… Angela’s face was everywhere.”

Angela was soon travelling the world, starring in TV shows and adverts, and even enjoyed tea with members of the Household Cavalry at Buckingham Palace – who later convinced her to parachute out of a plane. During this time, her photos appeared in popular magazines, on the sides of London buses and on tube station posters.

Angela and Ken married in 1982, and their wedding photograph was featured in every national newspaper. Together, they went on to produce a glossy celebrity magazine in Spain and ‘mixed with countless celebrities and stars’, according to Ken.

After a long career, the pair settled down in Eastbourne – a town Angela ‘both loved and respected’.

In her later life, Angela would say: “What more can I ask? I have lived and I have shaken life by the tail.”

A private cremation will be held on May 20 in Eastbourne.