"If the name Emma Bunton doesn't ring any bells what about Baby Spice? Ding, ding, ding! The former Spice Girl branched out solo at the dawn of the new millennium with a solo album that proved she wasn't all sugar, spice and everything nice like her former alter ego proclaimed her to be.Emma Lee Bunton hails from Barnet in north London and began modeling and acting in television commercials at a young age, an extracurricular activity that proved as a welcome distraction when her parents divorced when she was 11-years-old. Bunton attended St. Teresa's Roman Catholic primary school before attending Sylvia Young's Theatre School and then studied drama at Barnet Technical College. When Bunton was just 17 she joined the Spice Girls as Baby Spice in 1993 and the bubbly teenager was instantly swept up in the Spice Girl mania that took over the world for the next five or so years.When Emma Bunton emerged out of the Spice Girls machine in the 2000s she was no longer the wide-eyed teen who entered into the realm of pop stardom and decided to launch a solo career that mirrored her maturity. Bunton wasn't the only Spice Girl to embark on a solo career, however; Melanie C. (aka Sporty Spice) released the successful solo album, A Northern Star, in 1999, Geri Halliwell (aka Ginger Spice) and Melanie B. (aka Scary Spice) released solo efforts and we all know what has been happening with Posh Spice (hello David Beckham!). Bunton guest starred on Tin Tin Out's ""What I Am"" in 1999 and released her debut solo album, A Girl Like Me, in 2001. The album's lead single, ""What Took You So Long?"" soared to the top of the charts and remained there for two weeks, making her the only Spice Girl to have a solo single remain atop the charts for longer than a week. Subsequent singles ""Free Me"" and ""Maybe,"" from her sophomore solo effort Free Me were also successful and in 2004 ""I'll Be There"" signaled another hit for Bunton. In 2006 Bunton issued her third solo album, Life in Mono. "