Kylie Minogue turns 50: From Neighbours to pop stardom
- Published
Kylie Minogue has spent more than 30 years on the screen, stage and red carpet. But she first found fame playing one half of Australia's most popular couple in the long-running soap opera Neighbours.
The wedding of Scott and Charlene (Kylie and co-star Jason Donovan) was watched by more than 20 million viewers in the UK when it was screened in November 1988. The soap had already gained a huge following. Both actors - who were briefly a real-life item - left the show several years later to pursue UK-based pop music careers.
8Minogue's first single, a cover of Little Eva's The Loco-Motion, shot straight to number one in Australia in 1987 and went on to sell more than 68m records around the world.
Donovan, whose career took him to the stage as a musical star, talked openly about his struggles with drug addiction in the mid-90s. Meanwhile, Kylie - who had become one of the few celebrities to be known only by their first name - went on to score hit after hit.
By the mid-90s, Minogue had successfully managed to shed her innocent tomboy Charlene image. Her 2001 hit Can't Get You Out Of My Head went on to become the most played tune of the decade. Kylie has won numerous awards for her music, including a Grammy in 2004.
Away from the TV screens, Kylie teamed up again with Jason Donovan for their popular 1988 duet Especially For You - which they sang in a one-off appearance at a Christmas concert in London in 2012.
The singer, known as the "princess of pop", has performed at numerous events with royalty present, including Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth II.
In 2005, Kylie had to postpone her Showgirl Greatest Hits Tour after she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 36. She later recalled going through some "really rotten dark moments" in the months that followed her diagnosis.
In a message marking her 50th birthday on Twitter, the singer thanked her family, friends and medical staff who helped her go through her battle with breast cancer more than 10 years ago.
The singer made a full recovery, and was soon seen again on her Showgirl tour, pictured here in Sydney in 2006.
Kylie has performed at some landmark events, including the Sydney Olympics in 2000. She's even launched her own lingerie and range of bed linen. The singer was awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) for her services in music at Buckingham Palace 10 years ago.
Kylie was not the only Minogue to make it big - her sister, Dannii, is also a familiar face across Australian and British TV screens. She made a name for herself in Neighbours' rival soap opera, Home and Away, and like her sister, went on to pursue a pop career.
Kylie's high-energy and glitzy performances have garnered her a strong LGBT following, and she is often seen attending Sydney's annual gay and lesbian Mardi Gras parade.
In 2016, she and then-fiance British actor Joshua Sasse were pictured wearing "Say 'I do'" t-shirts in support of same-sex marriage at Australia's top music awards. Australians voted overwhelmingly in favour of legalising gay marriage a year later.
In a tweet alongside this image, Kylie said: "And so a new decade begins. How thankful I am for the opportunities life has afforded me. 50..... Let's go!" The singer shows no signs of slowing down, with her latest album, Golden - making number one in both Australia and the UK this year.
- Published12 April 2018
- Published13 April 2018
