Mel B's daughter Phoenix Chi reveals she was bullied growing up

Mel B's daughter Phoenix Chi has revealed how she was bullied growing up and found life as the daughter of a Spice Girl harder than people might think. 

The DJ, 25, explained that despite having a famous mother, she was not popular in school and struggled to make friends - but has since been able to develop a successful career thanks to her status as Mel's daughter. 

The aspiring artist told The Mirror in an exclusive interview that having celebrity parents made her time at school difficult because she couldn't bring Mel B, 49, to parents evenings or events. 

She added that at one point, the bullying got so bad a 'We hate Phoenix club' was set up at her school in the US.

Despite the difficult time at school, Phoenix admitted that it got easier as she got older and she developed a thicker skin but believes she was also targeted because of her race. 

She said: 'I was a coloured girl, I had big hair, I was loud. Some kids just don't like that and I was bullied all throughout schooling. It sucked.'

Now she explained, she can look back on those difficult experiences and see how they have shaped her.

Phoenix is Mel's firstborn, conceived during Mel's short-lived marriage to Dutch back-up dancer Jimmy Gulzar.

The pop star has a further two children, both girls: Angel Murphy Brown, 17, with Eddie Murphy and Madison Brown Belafonte, 11, with her ex-husband Stephen Belafonte.

Leeds native Mel has previously described her eldest child Phoenix, who grew up in the US, as 'very wise'.

The women share a close bond, with Phoenix frequently dressing up as Mel in her Scary Spice heyday.

Speaking about her new Channel 4 documentary, Born In The Limelight: Nepo Babies UNTOLD, Phoenix readily admits that her position as the daughter of someone famous has given her a huge leg up in life. 

She said it's allowed her to pursue her dream of becoming a DJ but notes that for others who want to pursue a creative career it can be much more difficult. 

And that's why the daughter of Scary Spice goes undercover in her latest show to reveal how skewed the creative landscape is. 

Phoenix was shocked to find how far her name took her and the show follows her as she makes thousands of pounds from her paintings despite having no artistic background.  

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For the show, the musician invited 90 'nepo-babies' to take part but all of them declined except Jack Keating, son of Boyzone's Ronan. 

And the reaction to her documentary from other famous children frustrated her. 

The star said: 'The fact that people are kind of shying away from the fact I feel like it's a bit ridiculous.'

And while not everyone was pleased about her documentary, Phoenix was glad to have made it to help her mother understand her experience. 

Phoenix explained that Mel B has struggled to reconcile her parenting style of keeping her children grounded, with the perks of a famous parent. 

She said: 'She doesn't really like to think of it like that because she didn't get through life like that. So it was hard to make her understand in a way.' 

Phoenix hopes that her documentary will make people more understanding of nepo-babies. 

She added: 'Don't always be mad at nepotism babies because if you were in there shoes you might do the same thing.'

Phoenix's new show comes off the back of her stint on Celebrity Gogglebox with her mother earlier this year.

Phoenix appeared alongside Mel on the latest series of Celebrity Gogglebox, series six, which aired in June and July.

And now, according to The Sun, she is set to star in a Channel 4 documentary following new artists as they attempt to break into the industry.