Born as Denise Outen in Basildon, Essex, her father is a security guard and her mother a child carer. Denise is the youngest of three siblings; her sister is a PA and her brother is a hairdresser. At the age of seven she began modelling for knitting patterns, and showed an early flair for performing. This resulted in her attending the Sylvia Young Theatre School. As a student, she appeared in the chorus of Les Miserables with fellow Sylvia Young student Melanie Blatt, and then as Eponine - the role paid her school fees; the Anthony Newley directed production of Stop the World - I Want to Get Off, and A Midsummer Night's Dream with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

s a teenager she had brief roles on a number of television dramas including Kappatoo, when her stage name was Denise Douglas. She also sang in a "girl group", by which time she had become Denise van Outen, with the van added reputedly to give her name an interesting twist and to acknowledge her Dutch roots. She also did backing vocals with Melanie Blatt for the band Dreadzone.

Success was not forthcoming, and she turned to being a glamour model (which included one topless shoot for a lads mag). Van Outen has retained her distinct looks, being voted both Rear of the Year in 1999, and top of a poll to find the most desired "bikini body" in a 2007 poll of readers of Gracia magazine.

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