Exclusive: Glamorous Anna
By James Weatherup
Actress and model Anna Cribb has come a long way since her dad, a vicar, discovered she was funding her university education by getting her kit off for a living when he saw a 6ft cut-out of her in a shop window in Harrow fronting a breast cancer campaign for lingerie chain Ann Summers.
During the heady days of the late 1990s and Millennium era, she went from podium dancing in clubs like the Hippodrome, Equinox and Café de Paris to starring in UK TV and blockbuster films in Bollywood, making the groundbreaking PlayStation game The Getaway, and becoming the poster girl for Loaded, FHM, Maxim, The Star, The Sun and the lad mags.
Now the glamorous mum-of-three, who is approaching her 50th birthday in August, is celebrating after qualifying as a counsellor and therapist and rolling back the years with a special anniversary shoot with Ann Summers.
Anna, who lives in Sandbanks, Dorset, and is friends with former England star Paul Gascoigne, said: "I'm in a good space right now and I'm proud of all my achievements. It's been quite a rollercoaster ride, but I don't want to get off!"
Anna shot to fame in the glamour world in the late 1990s, starring in a string of TV adverts, and now spends her time, when not doing modelling jobs, promoting women's health and mental health.
She added: "It's important for women of our age to feel good about themselves. I love empowering women to believe in themselves. It's never too late to reinvent yourself and change the future for yourself and your family.
"We should be taking our supplements, exercising and getting ourselves out there. Too many women give up when they hit the menopause and let themselves go. It's really not good for our mental or physical health or our relationships.
"If I can empower women, whoever they are and wherever they are, I just want to say there is a way through it all. It's not too late and you can start again at 50."
Anna modelled in a time when photographers only shot on film and there was limited retouching and post-production available.
She said: "I'm from the era where we had to look good all the time, rather than rely on retouching to enhance your image. The majority of girls from back in the day still have incredible bodies and skin.
"We shot on film, so we had to keep in trim and eat healthily. If you didn't look after yourself, you wouldn't have survived in the industry back then.
"In my opinion there was so much more art to it. Our hair and make-up had to be spot on as it couldn't be changed afterwards. Everyone involved in the shoot had their specialities. We worked as a team on shoots and the expectations were high.
"Today, you can change everything, but it doesn't seem real — a bit manufactured really. I think it's cheating in a way. It's hard to tell if images or people are anything like the original."
She proves she's still got the va-va-voom, posing in a series of sexy outfits in our exclusive photoshoot. To be honest, she doesn't look that different from when she was posing alongside Samantha Fox, Katie Price, Linda Lusardi, Lucy Pinder and Vanessa Upton.
She went on: "There's nothing wrong in feeling sexy and good about yourself. It was a fun time back in the day and we need to celebrate, not hide away in a dark corner — although my teenagers find it super embarrassing to hear about all the shoots and calendars I did.
"I'm proud of myself really. I navigated through the COVID lockdown as a single parent and the only adult in the house. I'm a firm believer in talking therapy. If you've got something on your mind, I believe it's good to talk and share your feelings, which some people find difficult to do.
"It's obviously a tricky time to be a teenager with all the emphasis on social media, which can cause a lot of anxiety, but it's all about balance. Go online, sure, but have a break, go for a walk, do something completely different.
"Addiction is very hard to deal with and it takes time. It's not a one-stop shop. I have given my all to parenting my three boys, who are all growing up in a difficult age. I'm proud that they have a strong mum who fights through all odds to be the best version of herself for them.
"Work hard, love hard, always be kind to others and yourself and, above all else, keep it real and be you."