Dannii Minogue
- Read an interview with Dannii Minogue
Dannii Minogues CV is as long as she is tall (5ft 2in to be exact!). Having a natural affinity with performing, Danielle Jane Minogue has crossed television, stage, theatre and film since the age of seven, performing professionally for 30 years.
There is no disputing that this Australian icon has an amazing eye for spotting new talent on both sides of the globe; holding judging panel positions on two of the worlds most successful TV shows The X Factor and Australias Got Talent. The trio of awards she had received by the close of 2008; TV Personality of the Year, Celeb of the Year and Favourite Judge all for her work as judge and mentor, cemented Danniis place as one of the worlds favourite television personalities.
Very few experience the success and longevity in the entertainment industry that Dannii Minogue has enjoyed. She began her career on Australian television, acting in popular drama, eventually starring in the internationally successful soap opera Home & Away at the age of 17. Dannii also appeared on Australias most loved family variety music show, Young Talent Time, singing and dancing as the Aussie equivalent of a Mousekateer! Six years of prime-time live TV every week pathed the way to a successful solo recording career.
As one of Australias biggest female exports, Dannii has clocked up 21 hit singles, five solo studio albums and a Greatest Hits collection. In 1991 she released Love And Kisses, her Top 10 debut single. She is perhaps best known for her signature hits Put The Needle On It and I Begin To Wonder (her highest charting single, only kept from the Number One slot in the UK by Christina Aguileras Beautiful.) Dannii is undisputedly the Queen of the Clubs after scoring a record-breaking 11 Number One club hits in the UK; more than any other female artist in the world. This achievement began in 1997 with the Xenomania penned All I Wanna Do. The dance hits continued when the legendary Pete Tong approached Ms Minogue to record the international smash Who Do You Love Now? in 2001. Madonna then sealed Danniis place at the top in 2003 with Dont Wanna Lose This Groove; a bootleg of Madonnas Into The Groove and Danniis Dont Wanna Lose This Feeling. This was the first time Madonna had ever given permission to any artist to use her material.
From cutting individual and iconic sounds for our dance-floors, Dannii sliced up British radio by creating her own music show called Neon Nights for Londons Capital Radio in 2003 (named after her then recently released gold selling album.) Danniis theatre and musical credits include her all time favourite movie character Rizzo in Australias production of Grease -The Arena Spectacular, playing to more than 450,000 in its first season. Next came the role of Lady Macbeth in a special outdoors adaptation of Macbeth for the Edinburgh Festival. Another triumph saw Dannii play leading role Esmeralda for five sell-out months in Notre Dame De Paris at Londons largest and most prestigious West End theatre, The Dominion. It was here that Dannii picked up the award for Best Stage Performance, playing to a 2,000 strong audience, seven times a week. Rounding out her acting experience she starred in the feature film Secrets (1992) and most recently the UK short film, The Porter (2005), with Brian Ferry.
With her background in live family entertainment TV, two of Danniis favourite moments were hosting The Lion King special for Disney and hosting the most recent UK Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards. The show received rave reviews and a 60% increase in audience figures. Following the soggy celebrity footsteps of Justin Timberlake and Cameron Diaz, Dannii survived the shower of slime as host of the KCAs. So impressed was the President of Nickelodeon U.S., Cyma Zarghami, that she requested Dannii lecture with her at a members only event at the British Academy of Film & Television Arts (BAFTA).
Outside the world of showbiz, Dannii took part in Olivia Newton-Johns Great Walk to Beijing in 2008, where she trekked across the Gobi Desert in China. This life-changing experience led Dannii to accept Olivias personal invitation to become an Ambassador for the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre Appeal. The charity is raising money to replace the old cancer wards of the Austin Hospital in Melbourne with a brand new building to be named the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre. Dannii will continue her work to raise awareness and much-needed funds in the coming months. Dannii is also an Ambassador for the HIV and AIDS charity Terrence Higgins Trust.
