Early life on the road
Coleen, one of eight children (six girls and two boys), is the daughter of Maureen and Tommy, who met while performing in Dublin.
Both were singers and they formed a family act with their children, though the boys would later drop out.
In fact, before Coleen was born on 12th March 1965, they moved to Blackpool and toured the working men's clubs of the north of England.
Speaking about her unique childhood, Coleen said: “For most kids, childhood involves singing in front of the mirror with a hairbrush and saying, 'I want to grow up and be famous.'
“But singing was something I had always done."
The Nolan Sisters
Coleen, alongside sisters Maureen, Anne, Bernie, Linda, and Denise, made their television debut in 1974 on the show It's Cliff Richard.
They performed Stuck on You.
Later that same year, The Nolan Sisters released their debut single But I Do, with Coleen singing lead vocals.
Despite this, however, Coleen did not go on to become a full-time member of the group until 1980, when she was 15-years-old - although she does appear in the music video for I’m In The Mood For Dancing (1979).
She said of performing alongside her sisters: "You have to be really close. If you don't get on there's no way you can do it. We did have our rows and squabbles but ultimately we loved each other.
“Sometimes you'd walk past our dressing room, hear us all screaming, and think, 'Oh my God, they're going to split up.' But five minutes later we'd all be laughing and saying, 'Can I borrow your brush?'"
An abusive father
Coleen, along with her sisters and mother, was badly beaten on a regular basis from an early age by her father, Tommy.
Speaking in her autobiography, she said: “If he'd been sinking the pints he had the shortest fuse in the world and could become aggressive or violent in the blink of an eye.”
Describing one particularly vivid memory of Tommy attacking her older sister Anne, she said: “He was brutal, hitting her repeatedly in the face, spitting: ‘You will cry.’
“But she just sat there saying: ‘I won’t,’ while he continued to hit her in the mouth.”
Coleen later discovered that her father had sexually abused Anne.
“At times Dad had been a monster,” she said. “He was a bully and a drunk. I knew he'd made mum's life hell and sexually abused Anne.
“His behaviour repulsed me. But I also loved him.”
Teenage abortion
When Coleen was 16-years-old, she lost her virginity to 23-year-old Robin Smith - and fell pregnant.
“Intuitively I’d known I was pregnant,” she said in her autobiography. “I woke one morning to a strange feeling of nausea, and in the back of my mind was the niggling reminder that I had lost my virginity to my boyfriend Robin Smith, the keyboard player in our band, four weeks earlier and we hadn’t used anything.”
When she told Robin, he proved to be very understanding - and helped her to find a private doctor in Harley Street, paying for everything.
When the doctor asked her why she didn't tell her parents or sisters, Coleen said: “’I just couldn't. I felt such a bloody let-down. Would my family have understood? I like to think so now, and I'm sure my sisters would have, but my parents... I don't know.
“I wasn’t doing it lightly and knew it was something I could never go back on, but it was the right thing to do.”
Marrying Shane Richie
Coleen first met Shane Richie in 1986 when he was engaged to be married. He told Coleen that it was over but that he just hadn't "got round to telling her yet”.
The couple - who tied the knot in 1990 - went on to have two children together, Shane Roche (born 2 December 1988) and Jake Roche (born 16 September 1992).
Shane’s affair
While Coleen struggled to cope at home with their two sons, Shane’s star began to rise - and he landed the role of Danny in the musical Grease, meaning that he was rarely at home.
Rumours circulated that he was seeing a dancer from the show called Claire, but Coleen could find no evidence. "Shane always had a reason if I asked where he'd been or why he couldn't come home -- he was busy working, he was tired, he'd been out with his mates.
"He seemed to want me to think I was just being paranoid, silly or a nag. But, deep down, I knew it was much more than that."
After years of suspicion, Coleen eventually caught Richie out as their new computer had accidentally recorded his phone calls.
It turned out that all of her suspicions had been bang on the money; Shane had been having an affair with Claire for two years.
Divorce
Despite trying to save their marriage, Coleen eventually left Shane Richie in 1999.
"It took a massive amount of strength, because of the children, because I felt such a massive failure, because I believed in marriage and I didn't believe totally in divorce.
"For me, when I got married it was for life. I didn’t want to be that one in three. I didn't want my kids to be from a broken home."
Loose Women
In 2000, Coleen Nolan became a regular panellist on ITV’s Loose Women.
Despite announcing in 2011 that she was leaving the show for good, she returned in 2013 as a regular on the show.
Ray Fensome
In 2000, Coleen met guitarist Ray in Blackpool - and the pair quickly fell in love. On 19th June 2001, they welcomed their daughter Ciara.
However her work with Loose Women and This Morning did put a strain on their marriage.
She said: “Ray was at home with Shane Jnr, Jake and a new daughter and I was at work all the time. It definitely put a strain on our relationship and it would have been easy for Ray to walk away but he didn’t and I still admire him for sticking with it.”
Ray proposed to Coleen on her 40th birthday and, in 2007, the couple tied the knot at Hazelwood castle.
Family feud
Relations between Coleen, Anne and Denise first broke down in 2006 after Anne had a row with Coleen’s husband Ray.
Speaking about it, Coleen said: "Things are said that you can't move on from and you can't forgive just because it's family. It's hard at the moment because it's been two years now, but it's still quite raw -- it really hurt and it really hurt Ray, then I became very protective of him.
"At the end of the day, Ray and my children are my immediate family; they're my top priority. Obviously I still love my brothers and sisters, but they all have their own families and I don't know if we can ever come back from it."
Child abuse revelations
In 2008, Anne Nolan decided to go public on the catalogue of sexual abuse she suffered as a child at her father Tommy.
Despite the fact that Coleen and Anne were no longer on speaking terms, Coleen still said that she was proud of her older sister for speaking out.
She told The Mirror: “I think it’s fabulous for Anne that she has done this book. Anne kept the abuse to herself for so many years and never confronted Dad and when he died I think she was filled with rage she had never told anyone. Her book was a form of counselling for her.”
Speaking about her dad, she continued: “It’s weird because Ray can’t bear me talking about him. He can’t bear anyone who’s done that – Dad was a paedophile really – but I can’t think of him as that.
“Even talking about it now is like talking about a stranger. I understand why Anne hates him but I can’t not love him, I can’t. I have sat at home and tried. I hate him for what he did to her but I still love him.”
Dancing On Ice
Beginning on 11th January 2009, Coleen took part in the fourth series of Dancing on Ice on ITV.
Before appearing on the show, she said: "I've never really skated. When I was 14, I used to go to Disco Beat in Blackpool with my friend.
“We'd skate round once, hanging on to each other, and spend the rest of the night posing, like 14-year-old girls do. I could only go forwards, I couldn't stop!"
Coleen might not have been a natural, but she proved popular with viewers; she wasn’t eliminated from the show until week ten, finishing in fourth place.
Celebrity Big Brother
On 15 August 2012, Nolan was announced as the eleventh celebrity to enter the Celebrity Big Brother house on Channel 5.
And, despite sparring with Julie Goodyear on the show, Coleen was named the runner-up of the whole series - just behind Brian Dowling.
"To be second is unbelievable," she said.
"Thank you so much everyone that voted. The whole experience is so different to how you see it at home. It was hard for me."
Bernie Nolan’s tragic death
Bernie lost her battle with breast cancer at the age of 52.
She died at her home in Surrey surrounded by family, including her younger sister Coleen, who made sure to pay tribute to the late star.
She said: "I am utterly heartbroken. We feel like a light has gone out for ever."
Coleen also took to her Twitter page on Thursday to thank fans for their kind messages, writing: "Words fail me at this time, we are heartbroken, but each and every one of your kind comments about our beautiful sister bring great comfort... Thank you."
The family feud continues
Despite the fact that she and her sisters grieved together for Bernie, Coleen has since revealed that the rift still continues between her and Denise - although she and Anne have since made up.
She said: “I believe Denise continues to resent the success I’ve worked hard to achieve away from the band and I’m not sure how we can get over that.
“People say that life’s too short to spend it squabbling with those you love. It is – Bernie taught us this. But it’s also too short to spend your life being made to feel sad or guilty by somebody who supposedly loves you.
“I’m not going to do it any more and I feel that chapter is finally closed.”
Jake Roche and Little Mix’s Jesy Nelson
Coleen Nolan was over the moon when, in 2015, her son Jake popped the question to Little Mix’s Jesy Nelson.
And, speaking to Loose Women, she spilled all the details about the happy event, which took place at the Key 103 Summer Live concert.
“I’m emotionally drained. It was just fabulous – Jesy had no idea it was going to be happening,” she revealed.
“They [Little Mix] were on stage doing the soundcheck and then Ed [Sheeran] just appeared from nowhere – he came all the way up from Suffolk in the morning – and played their favourite song, Tenerife Sea.
“Jesy turned round at one point and said, ‘Oh, it’s my favourite song’ then Jake came up behind her and went down on one knee.”
When asked about Jesy, Coleen added: “I really, really like her, she’s such a lovely girl, so down to earth. We just all click.”
A first-time grandmother
On 7th September 2015, Coleen dropped a baby bombshell on Loose Women.
She said: “I’m not pregnant… but I am, in January, going to be a granny. It’s my eldest son Shane and Emma.
“They’re not actually together sadly but they’re really good friends and they’re both going to be great parents and we’re all so excited and she has asked me to be with her at the birth. I’m so excited.”