Ian Wright OBE, born in 1963, is a former forward footballer, whose professional career included stints at Arsenal, Crystal Palace and West Ham.

Born to Jamaican parents, Wright had a difficult upbringing, which he broke out of when he vowed to become a pro footballer.

He credits his childhood teacher, Sydney Pigden, for being the first positive male role model in his life, setting him on the path he’s on now.

During his teen years, he went for trials at Southend United and Brighton And Hove Albion, but failed to make the teams.

Retiring in 2000, he is now a popular football pundit and television personality, appearing regularly on BBC’s Match Of The Day, competing on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here in 2019, acting in Netflix film The Kitchen, and playing himself in Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso.

A large portion of his family have become footballers, including two of his sons, his grandson, cousin Jermaine Wright and nephew Drey Wright.

Wright has been married twice – first to childhood sweetheart Deborah, marrying her in 1993 before they split in 2004.

In 2011, he married Nancy Hallam and the pair remain together to this day.

He is the father of eight children: adopted son Shaun (born 1981) and biological son Bradley (born in 1985) – both of whom have become professional footballers – with ex Sharon Phillips; son Brett from a previous relationship; Stacey and Bobbi with ex-wife Debbie; daughter Coco from a previous relationship; and Lola and Roxanne with wife Nancy.

His grandson, D’Margio Wright-Phillips, now plays for Stoke City.

For his services to football, Wright was appointed an MBE for his services to football in Queen Elizabeth II’s New Year Honours in 2000, and an OBE in King Charles III’s 2023 Birthday Honours in 2023.

Wright was also inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2022.

Wright became a semi-pro footballer by signing to Greenwich Borough in 1985, though quickly drew the attention of a talent scout for Crystal Palace.

He signed his first professional contract for the team in August that year, just before his 22nd birthday, and became the second-highest scorer on the squad that season.

In the 1990 FA Cup Final, he was celebrated for coming on as a substitute and helping the team equalise against Manchester United. (The replay would later have Palace lose).

Wright became famed for his scoring skills, landing a hat-trick in the ‘90-’91 season in just 18 minutes when playing against Wimbledon.

During his six years at Palace, he scored 117 goals for the team.

Wright left the team and signed for Arsenal in September 1991, for a reported then-record fee of £2.5million.

That year, he became the league’s top scorer, landing 31 goals across all competitions, including at least two hat-trick games.

He continued to be Arsenal’s top scorer for six years straight, helping them win the FA Cup and League Cup in 1993, and the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1994.

In 1997, he broke the club record to become the all-time top scorer – though it was beaten by Thierry Henry in 2005.

He made his last appearance for the club in 1998. In total, he scored 185 goals for the club over 288 appearances.

From there, he moved to West Ham United, spending 15 months at the club before spending time with Nottingham Forest, Celtic and Burnley, before officially retiring in 2000.

Wright made his debut for the England team in 1991.

During his eight years with the team, he only was used 33 times – with 17 appearances on the starting line-up, and being brought on 16 times as a substitute.

Despite this, he proved a vital component in some of the teams most notable wins and qualifications, scoring two goals during the qualifier for the 1998 World Cup, before helping them make it to the finals. Unfortunately he missed out on the finals due to injury.

He later performed for the team as a substitute during the Euro 2000s qualifiers, before making his final international appearance in a friendly against the Czech Republic in 2000.