Eva Ulrika Jonsson (born 16 August 1967 in Sollentuna, Sweden) is a Swedish-British television presenter in the United Kingdom, who became famous as a TV-am weather presenter and moved on to present Gladiators and became a team captain of the show Shooting Stars.
Ulrika Jonsson may not be well famous Stateside, but with a private life plagued with scandal and sadly unverified sex tape rumors, the blond bombshell’s track record shows that she is a woman of all tastes – having gone from dating Gladiators bodybuilder James ‘Hunter’ Crossley to bedding Waldo look-a-like ex-England soccer manager Sven-Goran Eriksson.
Jonsson began her TV career on TV-am in 1989 where she worked as a weather presenter. From 12 September 1989, she was also the weather presenter for Swedish TV3, broadcasting from London.
In 1991, Jonsson co-presented the short-lived daytime quiz show Who's Bluffing Who? and starred in the critically acclaimed French film, The Annunciation of Marie. In 1992 she moved into mainstream presenting and played host to numerous shows including Gladiators', The National Lottery – plus two major international broadcasts in 1998 and 1999, the Eurovision Song Contest and Miss World respectively.
Ulrika Jonsson also modelled for Playtex Lingerie during this period and was a team captain on the BBC TV quiz show Shooting Stars.
In 1997, Ulrika Jonsson interviewed the then British Prime Minister John Major for the BBC2 programme, The Enormous Election. She interviewed the then-Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown in 1998, for her BBC2 programme Ulrika in Euroland.
Ulrika Jonsson presented Dog Eat Dog (reality game show) from 2001–2003, on BBC1 and The Joy of Text in 2001. In 2002, Jonsson presented TV makeover show Home On Their Own.
In 2002 she was also the subject of a Channel 4 documentary, Ulrika Jonsson: the Truth About Men. The programme featured a candid interview with Jonsson, received heavy press attention and attracted 2.8 million viewers. After intense media attention relating to events in her personal life, she decided to return to Sweden. The Swedish television network TV3 offered her the role as hostess of the Miss Sweden beauty pageant.
In March 2003, Jonsson was a contestant on the BBC's Comic Relief does Fame Academy. In 2005, she appeared with four other celebrities on Channel 4's daytime show Come Dine With Me. On 20 January 2007 she joined 10 other celebrities to take part in the ITV reality TV show Dancing On Ice, where she was partnered with Pavel Aubrecht.
In 2007 Ulrika Jonsson appeared in the confessional TV show, Ulrika: Am I A Sex Addict?, broadcast on Channel 4. The show charted Jonsson's personal journey to uncover the truth about sex addiction. She has also appeared on BBC1's Would I Lie To You? in same yerar.
In March 2009, she appeared in the new ITV series Piers Morgan's Life Stories, each episode included a celebrity figure and a one-to-one interview with Morgan about their lives. In April 2009 it was confirmed that Jonsson would return to Shooting Stars as team captain for a full series airing that autumn. She presented the new series of BingoLotto, on Virgin 1 every Sunday night at 7 pm which started on 13 September 2009.
From 2 to 23 January 2009, Ulrika took part in the Channel 4's Celebrity Big Brother. Jonsson eventually won with 57% of the final vote during the 23 January final.
Her debut novel, The Importance of Being Myrtle, which focuses on relationships was published by the Penguin Group on 1 September 2011.