Ellie Kildunne: 11 things to know about Sports Personality of the Year nominee
Red Roses star Ellie Kildunne with Rugby World Cup medal.
World Cup winner Ellie Kildunne has been shortlisted for the 2025 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award following a blockbuster year for the Red Roses.
The full-back is the first-ever female rugby player to be up for the prestigious award and the first English rugby player since Jonny Wilkinson and Jason Robinson in 2007.
The 26-year-old has become a global name after consistently superb showings for club and country, with this nomination richly deserved for both her and the Red Roses.
Great privilege
“It’s a great privilege to be shortlisted for BBC Sports Personality of the Year,” Harlequins and England full-back Kildunne said following the announcement on Thursday.
“Whenever you step out on to the field as a Red Rose, you understand the personal responsibility that comes with representing your country and what it takes to achieve something together.
“Winning the World Cup with your best mates is a feeling I can’t really describe. There are so many good people around me that have helped guide me on my journey over the past year and I am truly grateful to every single one of them.
“The support from the fans has been incredible. The cowboy hats in the crowd, the amazing messages on social media, the handwritten letters, people turning out in their thousands to watch us… it’s why I love this sport. There is now an expectation for us to keep going and keep striving for greater things. It makes me excited for my personal journey ahead but also what’s to come for the Red Roses and women’s rugby.”
The 2025 BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards will be hosted by Clare Balding, Gabby Logan and Alex Scott and will be broadcast live from the home of BBC Sport at MediaCity, Salford, on Thursday, December 18, from 7pm to 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
Ellie Kildunne reveals secret behind Rugby World Cup form in ‘world first’
To vote for Kildunne as BBC Sports Personality of the Year for 2025, head to bbc.co.uk/spoty. The voting for the main award will open and close during the live show.
Ahead of the big night, we have cobbled together 11 things to know about Kildunne as she flies rugby’s flag at the awards ceremony.
11 things to know about Ellie Kildunne
When did she start playing rugby?
Kildunne revealed that she began playing the sport aged six when she tagged along with her neighbours to the local club in Keighley. She would enjoy both rugby union and league during her early years, playing on Saturday and Sunday, and this is where her love of the game and rugby journey started.
How she managed to play at school
In a recent interview with the Guardian, Kildunne revealed that her parents made sacrifices to educate her privately at Woodhouse Grove School. However, whilst there she was pushed towards netball and it took her former rugby coach to persuade the school to allow her to play in the B team with the boys.
Personal and team achievements
The rest is history, as they say, as Kildunne has flourished in the sport. Since making her England debut in 2017, she has gone on to lift Six Nations titles and was part of the side that won a seventh successive championship this year, and on a personal note excelled in 2024, being named the Women’s Six Nations Player of the Tournament, World Rugby Women’s 15s Player of the Year and was a Team GB Olympian in Rugby Sevens in Paris. Obviously, her biggest achievement is the Red Roses’ recent Rugby World Cup triumph on home soil.
What’s the significance of the cowgirl hat?
It was scooter rides “being cowboys” on a holiday to Zante and then later the WXV tournament in New Zealand in 2023 where this all started. It has since kicked on to try celebrations involving a lassoing motion and donning cowgirl hats after games, with fans also buying into it and wearing these in support of Kildunne and her team-mates in the crowd.
Family rugby connection
Kildunne’s brother, Sam, is also a handy rugby player who has represented England Sevens and currently plays for Ampthill in Champ Rugby with his favoured position being wing.
Face of many brands
You might remember Kildunne being the face of Asahi Super Dry, serving as ambassador for the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025. Her brand success doesn’t end there too as she has designed her own signature rugby boots and clothing for Canterbury and also appears in campaigns with O2/Virgin Media and others.
Has her own Barbie
That leads on to Kildunne having her own Barbie! Kildunne’s doll was one of four created for the “Team Barbie” campaign in October, as she joined Ilona Maher (USA), Portia Woodman-Wickliffe (New Zealand), and Nassira Konde (France) in being honoured. The drive is to inspire confidence in girls, and the dolls are set to be on sale in 2026.
What makes her such a special player
Where to start? Kildunne’s ability to beat a defender is second to none in the sport as she glides past would-be tacklers and then leaves them for dead with her searing pace. She’s become a shining light of not just this England team but for the women’s game and combines her attacking talents with rock solid defence. Kildunne is also a fantastic personality who is not afraid to be different and has certainly gained many supporters because of this.
Which football team does she support?
She is a big Liverpool FC fan and her favourite past players are Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.
Why “chaos”?
Kildunne was diagnosed with ADHD in 2024 and when asked to describe herself she gave the Guardian just one word, “chaos”. The flying full-back also admitted she’s the most likely England star to forget her boots and can sometimes not sleep so ends up painting her bedroom.
Off-field passions
In that same interview Kildunne revealed she purchased a tattoo gun off Amazon for £30 and experimented on her body with ink on her fingers, leg and a “s***” one on her ankle. She’s also tattooed some of her team-mates and most notably outgoing Red Roses head coach John Mitchell after their Rugby World Cup win. Kildunne also has a passion for photography.
