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Danielle Jane "Dannii" Minogue (born
20 October 1971) is an Australian singer and actress. Minogue rose to
prominence in the early 1980s for her roles in the Australian television
talent show, Young Talent Time and the soap opera Home and Away, before
commencing her career as a pop singer in the early 1990s. Minogue achieved
early success with hits such as "Love and Kisses" and "This is It", though
by the release of her second album, her popularity as a singer had
declined, leading her to concentrate on other fields such as television
presenting. The late 1990s saw a brief return to music after Minogue
reinvented herself as a dance artist with "All I Wanna Do", her first
number one UK Club hit. In 2001, Minogue further returned to musical
success with the release of her biggest worldwide hit to date, "Who Do You
Love Now?", while her subsequent album, Neon Nights, became the most
successful of her career. In the UK, she has achieved twelve consecutive
number one dance singles, becoming the best-performing artist on the UK
Upfront Club Chart. Minogue is currently a judge on The X Factor and
Australia's Got Talent.
Minogue was born in Melbourne, Australia, to Ron Minogue, an Australian
accountant of Irish ancestry, and Carol Jones, a dancer from Maesteg,
Wales. She is the youngest of three children; her sister, Kylie, is a pop
singer, and her brother, Brendan, is a news cameraman in Australia.
Minogue began her career as a child on Australian television. From the age
of seven, she appeared in several soap operas, including Skyways and The
Sullivans. In 1981, she joined the successful weekly music programme Young
Talent Time. Minogue recorded her first solo recordings for the programme,
including a cover version of Madonna's hit single "Material Girl"; during
this time, she also performed live at several sold-out nationwide concert
tours. In 1988, Minogue departed from Young Talent Time to continue her
acting career, appearing as the rebellious tomboyish teenager Emma Jackson
on the soap opera Home and Away. Minogue remained on the programme for
only a year. She proved to be popular among Australian audiences when she
was nominated for a "Silver Logie" as the Most Popular Actress on
Australian television.
In September 1988, Minogue released her own fashion range entitled Dannii.
She became interested in fashion design while appearing on Young Talent
Time. Minogue had designed the clothing she had worn on the show, and the
positive response from the audience resulted in her releasing her one
line. Minogue's debut line Dannii sold out across Australia in ten days,
and was followed by three additional summer lines in 1989.
At age 9, Minogue signed a recording contract with Australian-based
Mushroom Records in January 1989. Her first album, Dannii, was released
the following year and reached number twenty-four on the Australian albums
chart. Outside Australia, the album was released in 1991, under the title
Love and Kisses, and became a top ten hit. Minogue's debut single "Love
and Kisses" peaked at number four on the Australian singles chart and was
certified gold. In the UK, the song reached the top ten on the singles
chart. August 1991: Embarked on an extensive promotional tour of South
East Asia, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taipei and
the Philippines.
Minogue released Love and Kisses and..., a re-issue of her debut album, in
April 1992. The album, a collection of dance songs, comprised tracks and
remixes from Love and Kisses. It peaked at number forty-two on the UK
albums chart, and sold nearly 60,000 copies. Several remixes by producer
and DJ Steve "Silk" Hurley were successful in European dance clubs. She
credits these remixes for providing her with a "new image and sound to
work with" on future releases. Also that year, Minogue made her feature
film debut in Secrets, which co-starred Noah Taylor. The film revolved
around five Australian teenagers who become stuck in the basement of a
hotel in an attempt to see The Beatles. The film was not well received by
audiences or critics, with Minogue's performance being described as "not
all that convincing".
Minogue released her second album Get into You, which included the songs
"Show You the Way to Go", "This Is It" and "This Is the Way", in October
1993. The album contained uptempo dance tracks and mature vocals, but
despite her past chart success, failed to make the British top fifty. In
mid-1994, Minogue returned to television as a presenter, co-hosting
Channel 4's morning show The Big Breakfast in the UK. In 1995, Minogue
released the singles "Rescue Me" and "Boogie Woogie", a collaboration with
dance act Eurogroove. Released only in Japan, both songs reached number
one on the Japanese singles chart. She began recording her third album in
1995; however, Minogue and her record label, Mushroom Records, parted ways
in late 1995 following a contract disagreement.
In 1990 Dannii Minogue was asked by Queen Elizabeth II to perform at the
Royal Variety Show; she sang her latest release "Success".
Minogue is an Australian dance-pop singer and her musical career consists
of five studio albums, six compilation albums, twenty-eight singles, and
five video albums. Minogue rose to prominence in the early 1980s for her
roles in the Australian television talent show Young Talent Time and in
the soap opera Home and Away, before commencing her career as a pop singer
in the early 1990s.
Minogue released in her debut Australian album Dannii in October 1990. In
June 1991, the album was released with additional tracks in the United
Kingdom as Love and Kisses. In the UK, it reached number eight and
produced five singles. Her second album, Get into You, was released in
October 1993. The album did not perform as well as her debut, peaking
outside of the top fifty in Australia and the UK. After a brief hiatus
from recording music, Minogue released her third album Girl in September
1997. The album, comprised of dance and electronic music, produced three
number one club songs in the UK. In March 2003, she released her fourth
album Neon Nights. Inspired by dance music from the 1980s, the album was
certified in gold in the UK. It produced four singles, all of which became
number one on the UK Dance Charts. In 2007, she released heavily inspired
by 80s dance music studio album, Club Disco. The album had six singles,
"You Won't Forget About Me", "Perfection", "So Under Pressure", "I Can't
Sleep at Night", "He's the Greatest Dancer" and "Touch Me Like That". The
album had moderate success in the UK and a minor success in Australia.
All together, Minogue has achieved twelve number one dance singles on the
UK Dance Charts, making her the most successful female dance-pop artist in
the UK, as well as nine top ten hits on the UK Single Charts.
Dannii is also set to return with a brand new single with dance group "Yhe
Freemasons" in 2010.
In the early 90's Minogue dated Ray Slijngaard, rapper for eurodance group
2 Unlimited. In January 1994, Minogue married Australian actor Julian
McMahon, whom she met in 1991 while working on the television series Home
and Away. Minogue and McMahon were married for less than two years and
divorced in 1995. Referring to the divorce, Minogue said that it was her
"biggest regret and biggest downfall". In October 1995, Minogue posed nude
in the Australian edition of Playboy magazine. Commenting on the reason
she posed nude, Minogue said she "just had a marriage break-up. Most women
go to the hairdressers – I did Playboy. I chose the photographer, the
location, what I did or didn't want to wear and everything else about the
pictures. I found it a really liberating, empowering experience". The
edition featuring Minogue sold out in under four days and became one of
the best-selling editions in Australia.
In October 1999, Minogue became engaged to French Canadian Formula One
driver Jacques Villeneuve, but their relationship ended in 2001. In early
2002, she began dating music producer and Bros bassist Craig Logan, whom
she met while recording material for Neon Nights. Media reports in March
2002 claimed Minogue and Logan were engaged, but in December 2002, it was
announced that they had ended their relationship.
As of 2008 she is dating model Kris Smith and has said she would like to
marry and start a family with Smith but will see what the future holds for
them. It was announced on 9 January 2010 that Dannii was pregnant with
their first child due in the Summer of 2010. This was confirmed when
Dannii announced on her personal Twitter page when she tweeted "Woo hoo
I'm gonna be a mummy! :-)" Whether this will affect her judging status on
The X Factor (UK), is yet to be revealed though Minogue has stated she
would like to return to the talent show when it returns in June. The baby
is due in July 2010 and Minogue revealed the news after receiving the all
clear at her 12 week scan. |
