Last updated: 23 December 2008
The Catatonia singer has found solace in her solo work since the demise of the band.
Listen to Cerys talking about her new album, Don't Look Down
Cerys Matthews was born in Cardiff on 11 April 1969. Her father was a surgeon, and the family moved around Wales several times - first to Swansea and later to Pembrokeshire. It was during school holidays there that she first developed her interest in music, by picking up an acoustic guitar and playing Beatles songs and Welsh folk numbers.
After leaving school, she spent some time nannying in Barcelona and studying psychiatric nursing, before returning to Wales. She met Mark Roberts in 1992 in Cardiff, and the fledgling Catatonia was born.
Following their years of success and the band's split, Cerys began to take life easier. Her first solo recording was the theme for the S4C children's show Sali Mali. And in March 2002 she appeared at the Radio 2 Folk Awards to perform a duet with Eliza Carthy.
In May 2003 she returned to the spotlight with the release of her debut solo album, the country-tinged Cockahoop. Cut adrift from mainstream musical trends, and produced by Bob Dylan's producer Bucky Baxter, it was a delightful and playful collection that proved hers was no fleeting talent.
Cockahoop was recorded in Nashville, where Cerys lived, married and gave birth to two children, Glenys Pearl Y-Felin and Johnny Tupelo Jones. However, her marriage to local musician Seth Riddell fell apart, and by October 2007 she was divorced and once again living in Pembrokeshire.
"I was always going to come back," she said. "It's a long way from Pembrokeshire to Nashville. The pull for me was my children and the freedom they have here."
The move back to Wales coincided with the mini-album Awyren = Aeroplane, Cerys' first release to be entirely in the Welsh language.
The return to the public eye was consolidated by her appearance in the seventh series of the ITV show I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, which aired in November 2007. She came fourth in the show, but proved less popular than 70s model Janice Dickinson, panto star Christopher Biggins and former Five member Jason 'J' Brown.
She has also taken part in the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Wales series Big Welsh Challenge, in which she mentored comedian Rhod Gilbert.
In October 2009, Cerys released Don't Look Down in both English- and Welsh-language versions.
