Melanie Jayne Chisholm (born January 12, 1974) is a British pop singer who was a member of the Spice Girls, where she was known as Sporty Spice or Mel C. She has also enjoyed relative success as a solo artist.

Born in Liverpool, she answered an advertisement for an all-girl vocal group, and with fellow applicants Geri Halliwell, Victoria Adams and Melanie Brown formed the nucleus of what later (with the addition of fifth member Emma Bunton) became the Spice Girls. The biggest pop phenomenon of the mid-1990s, the Spice Girls enjoyed a series of chart-topping singles like "Wannabe", "Say You'll Be There" and "2 Become 1"; as the tracksuit-clad Sporty Spice, Mel C was widely considered the "most musically talented" Spice Girl.

In the fall of 1999 she made her solo debut with "Northern Star". Featuring the #1 hits "Never be the same again" and "I turn to you", the album mixed a lot of influences, especially Grunge, and turned out to be a commercial success in Europe. It was certified x3 platinum in the UK and sold 5 million copies worldwide. It sold 83.000 copies in the US, entering at #208. The album enabled Melanie to embark on a worldwide tour, which is where her true skills come to light. Melanie is highly regarded as an outstanding live performer, putting on a great show for her fans, and winning over cynics and critics alike.

After a long break, Melanie C returned to the music scene in February 2003 with the album "Reason", which despite initially entering the charts at number five, failed to make a lasting impact on the charts, selling only 80.000 copies in the UK, and around 700,000 worldwide. Critics didn't like the album either, slating it as "watered-down guitary pap". A knee injury sustained in a tv show unfortunately ensured Melanie did not have the sufficient time to prove the record's merits. Following the dissapointment of this record, Melanie parted from her record company Virgin Records a few months later.

Her third album "Beautiful Intentions" is due for release in April 2005 on her own label "Red Girl Records". Preceding the album will be a new single entitled, "Next Best Superstar", set for release in the UK and other European and Australiasian markets. The showcasing of material off the forthcoming album was received well, with many regarding the new songs as her best material yet. Melanie plans to heavily promote the album over 2005/6, and hopes to tour worldwide. The northern star of England seems to be shining quite contently once again.