Kylie Minogue

Kylie Minogue, OBE (born 28.5.1968)

Kylie Minogue is an Australian pop singer and actress who first became famous in the 1980s when she starred in the popular Australian soap opera, Neighbours, before becoming an internationally-renowned pop artist in the late '80's.

Kylie Minogue: Childhood

Kylie was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, to Ron Minogue and Carol Jones, from Wales. Her younger sister Dannii is also a well-known pop singer and her younger brother Brendan is a news cameraman in Australia.

Minogue went to Camberwell High School in Melbourne and, along with Dannii, began acting in small roles in Australian soap operas at the age of 12. Her first singing performance was on the music performance show, Young Talent Time. Her sister Dannii's success on this show overshadowed Kylie's acting work, until Kylie was cast in the soap opera Neighbours in 1986

She won four Logie Awards in one year, including the 'Gold Logie' for being Australia's 'Most Popular Television Performer.' From 1986, Neighbours was screened in the UK, with high viewing figures.

Kylie Minogue: Musical Career

Kylie performed a cover of Carole King's 'The Loco-Motion' at a benefit concert with other Neighbours cast members and was signed to a recording contract with Mushroom Records in 1987.

The song, re-titled 'Locomotion' and released as a single, spent seven weeks at number one on the Australian music charts and was the highest-selling single in Australia for the whole of the 1980s.

Kylie travelled to London to work with renowned producers Stock, Aitken and Waterman.

Her debut album, Kylie, went to number one in he UK charts and became the highest-selling album of the year. The album sold over seven million copies worldwide and in 1988, Kylie left Neighbours to concentrate on her music.

'Especially For You,' a duet she recorded with Jason Donovan, was a huge success in the UK, and sold over 1 million copies in the UK.

Her second album, Enjoy Yourself was released in 1989 achieved success in the UK, Europe and Australia but Kylie was dropped by her American label at the time, Geffen Records.

The Rhythm of Love album, released in 1990, was a more sophisticated portrayal of dance music than its predecessor; a rebellion against the 'girl-next-door' image that she had been tagged with.

When the single 'Shocked' was released, she became the first recording artist to have their first 13 releases in the UK Top 10.

Although the recording contract had been for three albums, she was persuaded to record a fourth, Let's Get To It in 1991. The album failed to make the UK Top Ten, but spawned two Top Five singles.

Minogue declined the offer to renew her contract after this fourth album and signed to Deconstruction Records. The album Kylie Minogue (1994) sold well in Europe and Australia, with three Top 20 hits in the UK ('Confide In Me,' 'Put Yourself In My Place,' and 'Where Is The Feeling?').

In 1995, Nick Cave invited Kylie to join him on his ballad, 'Where The Wild Roses Grow' as a part of his Murder Ballads album. The single gained widespread notoriety in Europe and Australia, where it was a number two single and won two ARIA Awards for 'Song Of the Year' and 'Best Pop Release.'

Her next album, Impossible Princess featured members of the Manic Street Preachers and comparisons were drawn with Madonna's Ray of Light album.

Kylie parted company with Deconstruction Records and signed with Parlophone, after duetting with the Pet Shop Boys on their Nightlife album. The subsequent album, Light Years featured tracks written by Robbie Williams and his writing partner, Guy Chambers. The album was well received and the single, 'Spinning Around,' became her first UK number one in 10 years.

In 2000, Kylie Minogue performed her hit 'On A Night Like This' at the Sydney Olympics closing ceremony, which was watched by an estimated 2.1 million people.

Parlophone released Fever in 2001. The lead single, 'Can't Get You Out of My Head' became number one in more than twenty countries and sold more than four million worldwide. It also debuted at number three in the US Billboard 200.

In 2003, she received a Grammy Award nomination of 'Best Dance Recording' for 'Love At First Sight' and the following year she won the same award for 'Come Into My World.'

Her next album was also released in 2003. Body Language's release was marked by an invitation-only event at the Hammersmith Apollo in London. The concert was then turned into a successful TV show.

Her second greatest hits album was released in 2004. Ultimate Kylie was accompanied by a music video DVD of the same name.

Kylie's tenth studio album, X, was released in 2007 and included previous collaborators such as Guy Chambers, Cathy Dennis, and newcomers such as Calvin Harris and Edwin Serrano.

Later that year, it was announced that Kylie, who had recently recovered from a battle with breast cancer, would be honoured on Queen Elizabeth II's 2008 New Year's Honours List.

Kylie Minogue: Film and television

Since leaving Neighbours, Kylie has featured in a number of film productions, including 1989's The Delinquents, 1994's Street Fighter and 2001's Moulin Rouge!

In 2007, Minogue featured in the hit UK TV show, Doctor Who.

Kylie Minogue: Personal Life

Kylie has been romantically linked with a number of well-known men. In 1990, she dated Michael Hutchence, of INXS. Her most recent relationship, with Olivier Martinez has been the subject of a huge amount of gossip and speculation in the world's media.