CARDI B is about to let everyone in on the story of her rollercoaster life — including working as a stripper.
I can reveal the rapper is the subject of a major new documentary from the same team behind programmes on Victoria Beckham, Pamela Anderson and Coleen Rooney.
Production company Dorothy Street Pictures is secretly working on the special, in which she will speak about her rags to riches story.
Cardi, who wore this eye-popping pink catsuit and matching hat for a performance in New York on Sunday, has quite a backstory, so I’m sure it will be riveting viewing.
She started off her working life as a stripper, and would entice men to hotel rooms and steal their money.
Her fortunes changed when she became a viral sensation a decade ago on apps such as Vine and Instagram, and eventually got signed to a label and scored hit songs including Wap and I Like It.
Cardi has not been short of controversy during her time in the showbiz spotlight, famously throwing a shoe at rival Nicki Minanj during a spat in 2018.
She has also had a difficult love life, getting married to Migos rapper Offset in 2017, and having four kids with him before they separating in 2023.
A source said: “Cardi is one of the most in-demand rappers in the world and is also one of the most interesting.
“She has lived her life in the public eye to some degree. But there’s a lot that she’s never opened up about, and this is her chance.
“Next year will mark a decade since she released her major-label debut single Bodak Yellow and so there’s a documentary in the works which will mark that.
“There’s a lot to talk about and she wants the public to see who she really is, because she often feels misunderstood.
“It’s expected to air on a big streaming service like Netflix, but the deal is still being hatched out.”
Cardi released her long-awaited second album Am I The Drama? last year and then went on a tour across North America.
And I won’t be surprised if we see her back on stage at British festivals next summer.
KOJO: LADIES RULE
Kojo Funds has worked with acts ranging from Wizkid and Tion Wayne to Kano and Bugzy Malone since bursting on to the music scene a decade ago.
But the British singer has saluted the work ethic of top women in the industry and says they have inspired him.
His biggest chart hit to date is 2017 collaboration Finders Keepers with Mabel, and has also worked with Raye on a 2018 track called Check.
Kojo said in an exclusive interview: “Female artists who are operating at that level take their craft seriously. Put effort into what you’re doing, don’t do it anyhow.
“They’re very hard-working, I respect them for that. The work ethic… that’s the kind of thing I took from them.”
Kojo’s new single How Many will be on his EP Hello It’s Me Again, which is out on August 21.
And one person who’s bound to be giving it a spin is Cardi B.
Recalling how the US rapper discovered his music, he said: “Her first time in London, she went to a club and they were playing my music.
“Dun Talkin’ came on and she saw how people were hyping her up while she was moving to it.
“The next morning, she’s on Instagram singing it, with her hair messy, a little bit tipsy.”
They’ve since performed together and hung out, so I’m hoping a collaboration with her is on the cards next.
DANCING On Ice beauty Vanessa Bauer has been tipped for a career in Hollywood by Football Factory and The Business actor Tamer Hassan.
She has re-trained after the ITV show was axed, and plays Tamer’s girlfriend in new film Rise Of The Footsoldier: Retribution.
On how great she was playing Isabella Chaika opposite his character, Colonel Sullivan, he told me: “Vanessa has a future in films, 100 per cent.
She looks great, she carries herself well.
“She’s definitely got some chops to be an actress.”
Vanessa joined Dancing On Ice in 2018 when the show was revived.
She won with Jake Quickenden, and was a runner-up several times with celebs including Diversity’s Perri Kiely and Towie’s Joey Essex.
But the show ended again in 2025 and now she is exploring new paths, having also appeared in Netflix’s The Thursday Murder Club.
THE race for No1 is hotting up.
Shakira’s Dai Dai now is just 118 copies ahead of Sam Fender and Olivia Dean’s Rein Me In – closing the gap from 609 copies the previous day.
The World Cup anthem will be her third chart-topper if she can hang on to the lead until Friday.
But if Rein Me In can clinch it, it will become the longest-running No1 of all time, with 19 weeks at the top.
ROMCOM TOO TOUGH FOR CHRIS
OSCAR-winning director Christopher Nolan says there’s one genre that’s too hard for him to tackle – the romcom.
The man behind movies such as Oppenheimer, Interstellar and The Dark Knight would be “terrified” at the prospect of making one.
The Brit whose new epic The Odyssey is No1 at the box office, explained: “I think doing a romcom would be incredibly difficult.
I love watching those movies. But no, I think people who direct comedy, people who do comedy . . . that’s one of the hardest things in the world, to make people laugh that way.
“If I show a film to people and maybe they don’t respond to bits of it, I’m like, ‘Ah, they don’t get it. Whatever’. There’s no hiding behind that when you do comedy, so I would be terrified.”
TYLA POPS TO UK ON TOUR
TYLA is hitting the road for a 34-date global tour following the release last week of her second album A*POP.
The Chanel singer has announced she will open the tour in Paris on October 12 before shows at London’s O2 Academy Brixton on October 15 the O2 Apollo Manchester on October 19 and O2 Academy Glasgow on October 18.
Tickets will go on sale at 10am this Friday through tylaworld.com.
Zara’s latest feet
THERE was no chance of Zara Larsson getting cold feet about her latest brand deal with these slippers.
She wore the funky footwear – designed as giant feet in flip flops – while reclining on a sofa as part of a campaign for re-sale site Depop.
Zara put 30 pieces of clothing from her own wardrobe up for sale, and they sold out almost straight away.
She said: “I’m not particularly sad about releasing anything of mine into the world because I know I’m gonna get many more beautiful things back. Fashion is fun in that way.”
Given all the designer brands desperate for her to wear their clothes, I am sure she has plenty of options.
LIFE OF RILEY FOR RAY AND DANNY
DANNY DYER and Ray Winstone are teaming up again, two decades after appearing in TV film All In The Game.
The hardmen, pictured together in 2006, have been cast in UK crime thriller Going Under, which is due to hit cinemas next spring.
Production on the film has just been completed, after being shot in secret.
It will follow Ray’s gangster character Riley and his right-hand man Don, played by Danny, trying to pull off one final deal.
Charli’s bra-t summer
CHARLI XCX is ready for our fourth heatwave of the summer – and has stripped off to prepare.
She shared this photo of her wearing a bra and sunglasses on Instagram, just as it was revealed there will be a picture of the singer going on display at the National Portrait Gallery in London.
A 2024 photo of Charli in a white crop top, which was taken by Harley Weir and used to promote her album Brat, has been added to the gallery’s collection and will be in its History Makers Now space.
Senior curator Brandei Estes said: “We are delighted to acquire this striking portrait of Charli XCX, which captures one of the defining cultural figures of her generation.”
WILD Child actress Emma Roberts has tied the knot to afellow screen star Cody John.
Emma, who appeared in American Horror Story and is the niece of Hollywood A-lister Julia Roberts, wore a Monique Lhuillier dress, and told Vogue: “I’ve been married in a movie before, and I tried out wedding dresses for that, which feels so weird. Now, it’s the real deal.
“I wanted it to feel very vintage-inspired.”
The couple started dating in 2022.
LIZ & BILLY LOVE BIRDWATCHING
LIZ HURLEY has revealed the secret to her romance with Billy Ray Cyrus is a shared love of birdwatching.
She said: “We’ve been together nearly 18 months, but we spend the vast majority of our time in the countryside, whether it’s in England or Tennessee.
“We like doing the same things, which some people would think is a little odd. We like bird watching. We’ve got binoculars, we’ve got long lenses.”
The relationship has been especially good for her son, filmmaker Damian, who has been able to meet Billy’s superstar daughter Miley.
Liz added on SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen Live in the US: “When he was a young teen, he used to love all her music. I used to have to watch her music videos like Wrecking Ball a zillion times with him, so we were very familiar with who she was, and I knew I was going to like her, and I do like her.”