Mel C: I need privacy

Mel C prefers to "live her life quietly."

The 38-year-old singer shot to international stardom in the 1990s when her former girl band the Spice Girls debuted their hit single Wannabe.

Mel appreciates her success, but she isn't a fan of the intrusive aspects of fame.

"I decided a long time ago I was going to live my life quietly and not be parading around," she told British newspaper The Mirror.

"It's hard to talk about privacy because some people will be saying, 'you f**king wish people gave a s**t about you'. But I was always cautious."

Mel respects her ex Spice Girls bandmate Victoria Beckham's resilience to paparazzi intrusion.

Victoria, formerly known as "Posh Spice", married football star David Beckham in 1999 and the pair have been hounded by the media unrelentingly.

"The thing is with Victoria, she fell in love with David and became part of a high-profile celebrity couple," Mel said.

"There were advantages to it but these days they now have a big family and still have incredibly successful careers.

"I'm sure they yearn for privacy but to their credit they never complain. And it's not like anybody except them knows what happens behind closed doors."