She initially gained recognition as a singer after releasing her debut single " Because We Want To " at age 15, which made her the youngest female singer to enter the UK Singles Chart at number one.
Her follow-up single " Girlfriend " also entered at number one. In , Piper announced that she had ended her music career to focus on acting. Piper appeared in the BBC One sci-fi series Doctor Who as Rose Tyler , companion to the Doctor , as a regular between and , and made guest appearances in and In , she appeared in the series' 50th anniversary special as a separate character, though still credited as Rose Tyler.
Piper has starred in five plays since and won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Play for her performance in Yerma , described as a "generation's best". Piper was born in Swindon , Wiltshire , on 22 September Two years later, she appeared in soft-drink commercials for American TV before taking a role as an extra in the film Evita. She later landed a role in a television commercial promoting the pop magazine Smash Hits. She was offered a record deal at the age of 15, and in , became the youngest artist to debut at number one in the UK Singles Chart with " Because We Want To ", released under the stage mononym "Billie".
Piper's debut album Honey to the B was released immediately afterwards, and entered and peaked at number 14 on the UK Albums Chart , selling more than , copies in the United Kingdom alone along with a platinum certification, and a double-platinum certification in New Zealand, where it peaked at number three on the New Zealand Albums Chart.
However, Honey to the B found limited success in other territories, such as Australia, where it entered and peaked at number 31 on the ARIA Albums Chart despite the success of " Honey to the Bee ", and in the US it went almost completely unnoticed, peaking at number 17 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart. She then released " She Wants You " as the third single from the album. The song reached number three. In , Piper was nominated for two BRIT Awards and won two awards at the Smash Hits Poll Winners' party, although she was reduced to tears at the latter ceremony after being booed by fans of Ritchie Neville , whom she was dating at the time.
