Growing up as the daughter of a Spice Girl has meant that Phoenix Brown, whose mother is Melanie Brown – aka “Scary Spice” – has long been used to the spotlight.
She is now 27 and building her own name in the music world as a DJ, but being in the public eye has always felt “normal” to her.
“You grow up in it and think everyone else has it,” she tells HELLO!.
The other Spice Girls – Lady Beckham, Geri Halliwell-Horner, Emma Bunton and Melanie Chisholm – were like part of her family. “I saw them all as aunties,” says Phoenix, who DJ’d at the London nightclub Koko for Mel C’s 50th birthday in 2024.
Mini Spice
As a child, she was a “mini Spice” alongside Sir David and Victoria Beckham’s sons, Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz.
While Phoenix is happy to discuss her childhood with the Beckham boys, she won’t be drawn on the recent breakdown in relationships, after Brooklyn publicly disowned his family in a series of Instagram posts in January.
© Getty Images“We were born in the same hospital – I literally grew up with them,” she says.
“I have so many good memories of me and the boys. We were around each other’s houses a lot. It was like having brothers, as I was an only kid for a long time. We’re still in touch, but everyone is busy and has their own life, so we see each other when we can.”
“Music is in my blood; it’s a big therapeutic outlet for me”
The mother-daughter bond
But it is her relationship with her mother, Mel, 50, that is one of the most important bonds in her life.
“Mum and I started off as friends,” she says. “We both forget we’re family sometimes because we’ve been through so much together, and she had me so young [at 23]. She took me everywhere with her.”
© POUR MOIPhoenix’s father is the Dutch dancer Jimmy Gulzar, whom Mel met during the Spiceworld Tour in 1998 and married shortly after; the couple divorced after 16 months in 2000.
“I give her advice and fill the motherly role because I want to protect her,” she says. “You only have one mum and want to make sure she’s OK. We view each other as little girls; we know we’re always going to be there for each other.
“I love that she’s the loudest person in the room and oozes confidence. She’ll talk back and say it how it is. She’s honest and true to herself. She’s a mama bear, and I grew up with her being a powerhouse. It was a lot, but [it] teaches you very quickly to grow up. In our woman-run household, being confident and loving yourself were top priorities.”
© HELLO!She’s a frequent visitor to Mel’s new farm in Yorkshire. “Mum and I get on so well,” she says. “We’ll sit by the fire, go on nice walks and have a glass of wine.”
Phoenix even walked her mother down the aisle for the second ceremony of her wedding to her third husband, the hairdresser Rory McPhee, in Marrakech last August, which was covered exclusively by HELLO!.
“It was lovely that I got the chance to do that for her. It was great to see her happy and really glowing.”
DJ life
Phoenix is carving her own path, inspired by her mother.
“My mum was like, ‘I work, but it doesn’t mean that you don’t have to.’ As a teenager I worked in a hairdresser’s and loved it. I grew up with that mindset, did chores, made my bed.
“You have to make your own money, learn skills. Mum did it too. She wasn’t born a Spice Girl, she made her way like the other girls, and I respect her for that. She’s worked hard and it’s paid off big time.”
© HELLO!That work ethic has rubbed off on Phoenix, who taught herself how to DJ online during the Covid pandemic. Now, she has been a professional DJ for two years.
“Music is in my blood; it’s a big therapeutic outlet for me,” she says. “I grew up in a non-stop music household and was dancing before I could even walk.
Model looks
Although Phoenix says she doesn’t consider herself a model, her striking looks have made her sought-after with fashion designers.
At London Fashion Week in 2025, she made her runway debut for the streetwear label Sprayground.
Looking to the future, she reveals that she has “massive plans”: “More DJing; a residency and playing bigger clubs and festivals.”
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