Amanda Holden is an English actress who is well known for her role as Sarah Trevanion on Wild at Heart her marriage to Family Fortunes presenter Les Dennis and for being a judge on Britain's Got Talent.

Holden was born in Bishop's Waltham, Hampshire. She was brought up in the village of Waltham Chase in Hampshire by her mother Judith Mary (Harrison) Collister and her stepfather Leslie Drew Collister. She joined the Bishop's Waltham Little Theatre Company when she was nine and credits Angie Blackford as influential in her early stage career. At 16 the family moved to Bournemouth, Dorset and ran a small B&B while Amanda herself studied Drama and English literature A levels with Terry Clarke and Charles Lamb at the Jellicoe Theatre, part of The University of Bournmouth. She successfully auditioned for the independent drama school Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in the Wood Green area of North London when she was 18 and left in July 1992 with an agent.

Her first television appearance was as a contestant on the UK game show Blind Date in 1991, since which she has become a familiar face on British television. Holden is well known for her role in the ITV drama Wild at Heartas Sarah Trevanion. She is also known for being a judge on Britain's Got Talent alongside Piers Morgan and Simon Cowell She has also appeared on various British comedy and drama series such as Smack the Pony, Eastenders, Heart and Bones, Cutting It and as a co-star with Harry Enfield in comedy series the Celeb.

Holden has appeared in several stage musicals and in 2004 was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in the West End production of Thoroughly Modern Millie, which closed because she wouldn't take a pay cut, even though the rest of the cast had all agreed in order to keep the show running. Her most recent TV appearance was in the ITV1 drama Wild at Heart alongside Stephen Tompkinson. The first series aired in 2006 and a second series followed in early 2007. Series three ran from 20 January to 9 March 2008, after which Holden left the program.

Holden's other TV credits include three series of the hit comedy Kiss Me Kate alongside Caroline Quentin, three series of the ITV comedy series The Grimleys, Celeb with Harry Enfield, the critically acclaimed BBC series Heart and Bones alongside Damian Lewis the Jonathan Creek episode "The Problem at Gallowes Gate" and a Boxing Day special Marple alongside Geraldine McEwan and John Hannah. She also co-starred with Bill Nighy and Sir Tom Courtenay in Ready When You Are, Mr McGill, Jack Rosenthal's classic comedy drama.