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England goalkeeper Mary Earps is to be immortalised in wax as the latest addition to Madame Tussauds after topping a nationwide vote.
Following the Lionesses’ stellar World Cup performance last summer, which saw the team reach the final before being narrowly beaten by Spain, Madame Tussauds opened a public vote to decide which member of the team should receive a waxwork.
The Marylebone-based wax museum announced on Tuesday Earps had won the nationwide poll “hands down”, after receiving an “overwhelming majority” of votes.
Earps, 31, described the news as “incredibly special” and said she was looking forward to showing her grandmother the finished waxwork.
The football star - who was signed by Paris Saint-Germain in July, after five years playing for Manchester United - has captured hearts across the nation in recent years.
Earps played an integral role in the Lionesses’ win at the 2022 Women’s Euros which provided a major boost to women’s football, and in last summer’s Women’s World Cup, where she was awarded FIFA’s Golden Glove for the tournament.
She named FIFA’s best goalkeeper in both 2022 and 2023, and voted England Women’s Player of the Year for the 2022-23 season. She was also chosen as the BBC Sports Personality of the Year for 2023, and was made an MBE for her services to football in May this year.
The sports star, from Nottingham, will now make history as the first-ever professional female footballer to receive a figure at Madame Tussauds.
Earps described this as “a great feeling”. “This is another first in a period of firsts for me, so this is incredibly special,” she said.
She said she had enjoyed the process of posing for the waxwork and is “really looking forward to seeing the final result”, as she thanked fans for voting for her.
“I hope they will be excited to see my figure and will take loads of selfies,” she said. “I can’t wait to be tagged in the posts!
“As Lionesses, we’re really big on inspiring as many people as possible. I want to be a pioneer for change in many ways and having this figure is another extension of that.
“I can’t wait to show my Gran the figure, that’ll be a special moment and I wonder how she’ll feel about having two of me in the world!”
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Jo Kinsey, Studio Manager at Madame Tussauds London said: “We put it in the hands of the public to vote which Lioness should be immortalised and you all responded loud and clear, making Mary Earps score the top spot in the poll.
“Mary Earps is a superstar who commits to excellence both on and off the pitch. From winning the nation’s heart to winning the nation’s vote, it was truly delightful having the opportunity to work with her for her first ever figure.
“Mary really got stuck in with the creative process, even helping with carving out the clay in the initial stages.
“It is amazing for us to honour Mary as the first female footballer to join our lineup at Madame Tussauds London. As women’s sport continues to make waves and dominate, Mary Earps is a leading figure for the next generation of aspiring young girls and she shows us that the movement is far from over.”
The new Mary Earps figure will arrive at Madame Tussauds London in autumn.
She joins other British icons in the attraction’s Culture Capital zone, such as broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough, suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst, race car driver Sir Lewis Hamilton, William Shakespeare, and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
