Maria Whittaker: stop right now (take my number) 12″ Big boobed ’80s model does a Samantha Fox type of record! Huge tits! Check video!

It’s been over 30 years since Maria Whittaker stopped doing glamour modelling work, but she is still recognised on the street.Now a married mother-of-three who goes by the name Maria Tafari, she was one of the most recognisable faces in the UK in the late 80s and early 90s.

Maria had barely turned 16 and was a quiet schoolgirl from Hounslow, west London, when she was catapulted into the limelight after appearing topless on page three of the Sun.Today she is a nutritionist who advocates juicing and lives a peaceful life away from the spotlight with her family in Kent. She told the Mirror: “I love nothing more than being a stay at home mum.

“I like living a peaceful life with my family. “I was only 16 which was very young but it was different back then, with different vibes as it was a different time. “It all happened overnight one minute I was quiet Maria and then I was being splashed on page 3 and all over these different magazines so it was a lot to take in at the time.

Maria was just 16 when she became a model ( Image: EXPRESS NEWSPAPERS)

Maria became and overnight success

“It was quite daunting and I feel like I was thrown to the wolves but luckily I had my mum and dad with me. They protected me so I wasn’t preyed on by anyone dubious but not everyone has parents like mine so I really hope young girls are better protected now.”

Maria said she became an overnight success after her mum sent a photo to renowned agent Yvonne Paul and as they say the rest is history.

“I knew I couldn’t do catwalk modelling because I was only 5ft 4in so was happy to do underwear and swimwear but when topless was suggested I thought ‘OK I’ll give it a go’, Maria said.

Maria’s career was so successful that she had enough money to buy her parents a house at 18

“But I banned my dad from looking at any topless shots of me.”

Marie was quickly sought after and ended up being flown all around the world to take glamorous shots at the most exotic of places including Jamaica, when she was just 17, St Lucia and Seychelles.

But deep down Maria said she was shy and loved nothing more than to stay at home with her parents.

She said: “Once I started travelling I had to grow up and come out of my shell as I was also being booked for TV work and interviews.

Maria is now a mum-of-three

Maria said juicing changed her life

“At the time page three girls were hot property and I was being invited to clubs such as Stringfellows but I really didn’t want to go out.

“I wasn’t a big drinker so I’d drive myself and other models at the time around to the clubs but I’d rather have been at home with a cup of tea.

“I didn’t have a string of boyfriends either as I was single for most of my career until I met my husband in 1989.”

Maria’s career was so successful that she had enough money to buy her parents a house in salubrious Twickenham, west London, at the age of just 18.

Maria with her husband Mikail Tafari

Maria is now 53 and has barely changed

She said: “I didn’t think anything of it. That’s what you do to say thank you to your parents. They supported me and got me to where I was.”

However it would be just three years later that Maria called time on her modelling days.

“I was just 21 but I was already fed up of being the centre of attention. I wanted a peaceful life so I became an au pair to a family in Twickenham.

“I really enjoyed looking after the children, taking them to the park, and cooking and cleaning the house.

“I’d pull up in a nice car to the job which would have been the only sign I had done well financially in the past.

“The families I worked for didn’t know who I was and I absolutely loved what I was doing so it was a win win.

“I gave it up after I become pregnant with my first child and became a full-time mum.”

Maria and her husband Mikail Tafari have a son and two daughters together – Yosief who is 23, Lydia who is 21 and 18-year-old Trinity.

But neither of Maria’s daughters are keen to follow in their mum’s modelling footsteps.

She said: “My children are more creative. My son Joseph is a musician like his dad, Lydia is a singer and Trinity is a dancer who has been on Britain’s Got Talent.”

Maria had dreadlocks for 18 years

The 52-year-old is a practising Rastafarian

Mikail is better known as Rebel MC and is a successful musician and producer who had a huge UK hit with a track called Street Tuff which he recorded with Double Trouble.

Maria thanks her modelling career for meeting her Mikail as the pair first locked eyes on the late night music programme ‘Hit Man And Her’ where Maria was performing her soon to be released single ‘Stop Right Now (Take My Number).

A single that she prefers not to listen to.

“I hated singing and I hate the song,” she laughs.

“But back then it was a thing for page three girls to record a song and I was shoved into a recording studio. I dislike the song so much I eventually refused to perform it.

“If I’m telling off my children they play it on my phone to terrorise me and it works.”

Maria is now 53 and has barely changed which is why she is still recognised by her legions of fans but as a practising Rastafarian she once had long dreadlocks which meant she wasn’t as recognisable.

“Mikail is a Rastafarian so I joined him on the journey and adopted the lifestyle,” Maria said.

“We eat Ital (vegan) food like rice and peas, callaloo (similar to spinach) ackee and plantain (Caribbean fruits) as it’s all natural.

“After I had Trinity I developed post-natal depression and put on loads of weight which left me in agonising back pain due to sciatica.”

It was this unfortunate episode in Maria’s life that made her overhaul her lifestyle as she discovered juicing and now swears by it as her daily routine.

She explains: “My depression was so bad that I travelled to Ethiopia with my husband and all three children to help with my mental health.

“It was such a spiritual and uplifting experience that we ended up staying there for seven months and that’s where I found out about juicing.

Celebrating her 50th birthday

Maria is still recognised by strangers

“Everything is organic in Ethiopia and I found my mental health improved as did my sciatica so by the time I returned to the UK I had lost lots of weight and looked like a new woman.

“Unfortunately I had to cut off my dreadlocks after 18 years because my depression caused hair loss.

“People didn’t recognise me with my locks but now they do and they tell me I haven’t changed and I think that’s because of the juicing.

“It has dramatically changed my life around.”

As part of Maria’s work as a nutritionist she sells weight loss juices and is regularly recognised by customers.

She said: “Some are amazed it’s me while others tell me I was their teenage crush and now I’m helping them to lose weight.

“I think people are surprised. I love what I do and I love being a full-time mum.

“I’m Maria Tafari, a mum and a juicing advocate who wants to help people to become healthier and if they need to I will help them lose weight.”