Danielle Jane
Minogue (born October 20, 1971), known as Dannii
Minogue, is an Australian singer-songwriter and
occasional actress and fashion designer. Minogue rose to
prominence in the early 1980s for her roles in the
Australian television talent show Young Talent Time and
in the long-running Australian soap 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
eleven consecutive number one dance singles, becoming
the best performing artist on the UK Upfront Club Chart.
Minogue is currently signed to All Around the World and,
in 2006, released her second official "best
of" compilation, The Hits and Beyond.
Minogue's private life, including her marriage to
Australian actor Julian McMahon and engagement to
Canadian Formula One driver Jacques Villeneuve, has been
much-discussed in the media. She has promoted gay rights
causes throughout the world, and is noted for her work
to increase awareness of AIDS.
Childhood and beginning: Minogue was born in
Melbourne, Australia, to accountant Ron Minogue and
dancer Carol Jones. Minogue's father was born in
Australia and her mother emigrated to Townsville,
Queensland as a young child from Maesteg, Wales in 1955.
She is the youngest of three children. Her sister,
Kylie, is a dance-pop singer and actress, and her
brother, Brendan, works as a news cameraman in
Australia.
Minogue began her career as a child on Australian
television. From the age of seven, she had appeared in
several soap operas, including Skyways and The
Sullivans. In 1979, she became a regular performer on
the weekly music programme Young Talent Time. She
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 teenager Emma Jackson on the soap opera Home
and Away. Minogue remained on the programme for only a
year, but proved to be popular among Australian
audiences when she was nominated for a "Silver
Logie" for the country's "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 own line. Minogue's debut line, Dannii,
sold out across Australia in ten days, and was followed
by three additional summer lines in 1989.
1990-1995: Early career: 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.
She released Love and Kisses and..., a re-worked version
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. Minogue credits these remixes for providing
her with a "new image and sound to work with"
on future releases.
Later 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. The
following year, 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.
1996-2001: Girl, presenting, and theatre: In
1996, she resumed her co-hosting duties on The Big
Breakfast, presenting the Eggs on Legs road show
segment. That same year, Minogue briefly hosted the
children's show Disney Time and co-hosted, with Gareth
Jones, the teenage Saturday morning entertainment show
It's Not Just Saturday for sixteen weeks. Minogue made
her stage debut in April 1997 as Rizzo in the musical
Grease: The Arena Spectacular. In Australia, the show
sold over 450,000 tickets during its first season. She
resumed her role as Rizzo the following year, performing
in New Zealand. At the 1998 MO Awards, Minogue was
nominated for "Best Female Musical Theater
Performer" for her role. Also in 1997, Minogue
hosted Top of the Pops, a British music chart television
programme, before returning to her recording career
later that year.
Minogue's interest in dance music and clubbing heavily
influenced her third album Girl, released in September
1997, which featured collaborations with musicians such
as Brian Higgins of Xenomania. The album presented a
more sophisticated and adult style of dance music, but
despite generally positive reviews, failed to make the
British top fifty, although the Unleashed Tour in late
1998 sold out in Britain. Minogue's single "All I
Wanna Do", which the Daily Mirror described as a
"bass-bumping, shuddering return",[13] peaked
at number four on the UK singles chart and was certified
gold in Australia.The album's follow-up singles,
"Everything I Wanted" and
"Disremembrance", failed to reached the top
ten, but reached number one on the UK dance chart.
Mushroom Records released two budget compilation albums
in December 1998, as part of the label's twenty-fifth
anniversary. Released only in Australia, The Singles
comprised Minogue's most popular single releases, while
The Remixes contained popular remixes. In January 1999,
following her performance at the 1998 Sydney Gay and
Lesbian Mardi Gras, Minogue released the festival's
first official theme song, "Everlasting
Night". It appeared on the compilation CD Gay &
Lesbian Mardi Gras of 1999, and its music video,
co-directed by Minogue, featured drag queens whom she
had met while performing at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian
Mardi Gras the previous year.
Minogue returned to the theater in the 1999 production
of Shakespeare's Macbeth at the Edinburgh Fringe
Festival. The play received mixed reviews; critic Matt
Grant wrote that Minogue "lacks true conviction as
she ploughs through the lines without capturing their
full force", while Fiachra Gibbons singled
Minogue's performance out, noting in her review that
Minogue's "disco-queen-from-hell delivery works
well" for her character, Lady Macbeth. Two years
later, she appeared as Esmeralda in the musical
production of Notre-Dame de Paris in London's West End.
The musical received poor reviews from British critics
who called it "lame" and its songs
"reminiscent of [the] Eurovision song
contest". At the 2002 Maxim Awards, she won
"Best Stage Performance" for her role. In
2001, Minogue also appeared in the stage play The Vagina
Monologues, which co-starred Kika Markham and Meera
Syal.
In November 2001, Minogue released the single "Who
Do You Love Now?", a collaboration with Dutch dance
act Riva. Described by Sound Generator as a "nice
serene and dreamy vocal on the dance floor anthem",
the song peaked at number three on the UK singles chart,
and reached number one on the dance charts. In the
United States, the song was released to dance clubs, and
reached number one on the Billboard Dance Club chart. In
2001, Minogue signed a six album deal with London
Records, a subsidiary of Warner Music International.
2002-2004: Neon Nights and radio programme: In
2002, Minogue made headlines when the British National
Party, a far right and anti-immigration political party,
claimed that she supported their cause following
comments she had made in an interview with Britain's GQ
magazine. In the interview, Minogue was quoted saying
that French National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen had
"struck a chord with people", and that
"even the street signs [in Australia] are written
in Asian". Minogue responded to the British
National Party's claims in Gay Times magazine saying,
"I am not a racist. That is not how I live my life.
I have a Jewish manager, I perform in gay clubs, I come
from a multi-cultural background and I am very proud of
that".
In March 2003, Minogue released her fourth album, Neon
Nights, which the BBC called "a pleasant cocktail
of pop sophistication, club culture and
accessibility". It consisted of 1980s inspired
dance-pop songs and provided Minogue with some of the
strongest reviews of her career. Neon Nights peaked at
number eight on the UK albums chart (her highest ranking
since her debut), and produced three top ten singles.
The second single, "I Begin to Wonder",
declared one of the "best things" on the album
by Ireland's Radio Telefís Éireann, became her highest
charting single, peaking at number two on the UK singles
chart. Following extensive airplay by North American
dance radio, Warner Music Group released the album in
the United States in late 2003. Singles "I Begin to
Wonder" and "Don't Wanna Lose This
Feeling" were also substantial successes on the
U.S. dance charts.
Minogue hosted her own radio programme, Dannii Minogue's
Neon Nights, in June 2003. Broadcast in Australia and
the UK, Minogue played songs by up-and-coming DJs, as
well as her own music. Minogue was released from her
recording contract with London Records in May 2004 due
to low record sales. Later that year she signed a new
contract with independent dance label All Around the
World Records.
2004-present: The Hits & Beyond and the future:
In October 2004, Minogue released the single "You
Won't Forget About Me", a collaboration with the
dance act Flower Power. Described by MSN Entertainment
as a "real grower" and noted for its
"snip snapping house beats and '80s flecked
synths", the song peaked at number seven on the UK
singles chart and became Minogue's third single to reach
the top five on the United States Hot Dance Music/Club
Play chart. charts. "Perfection", a
collaboration with the Soul Seekerz, followed in October
2005.
In February 2006, Minogue made headlines when
surveillance tape stills from London strip club Puss 'N
Boots were published by News of the World, a British
tabloid newspaper, showing Minogue and a female lap
dancer in full-contact sexual activity. A spokesman for
Minogue downplayed the event and called it a
"harmless girls' night out".
Later that year, Minogue released The Hits & Beyond,
her second greatest hits album. The album comprised six
new songs, including the album's lead single "So
Under Pressure", alongside the singles from her
four studio albums. It debuted at number seventeen on
the UK albums chart and spent seven weeks in the top
seventy-five. In Australia, The Hits & Beyond
enjoyed less success, peaking at number sixty-seven. The
new single "So Under Pressure" was inspired by
the cancer diagnoses of her sister Kylie Minogue as well
as that of an unnamed friend. It became her tenth
consecutive song to reach number one on the UK Upfront
Club chart. Minogue has described the recording of
"So Under Pressure" as a "real
achievement" as she was "brave enough to put
all [her feelings] into words". In September 2006,
Minogue's cover of "I'll Be Home for
Christmas" appeared on Spirit of Christmas, a
compilation CD of holiday songs available through Myer
department stores across Australia.
In November 2006, Minogue performed Sister Sledge's 1979
song "He's the Greatest Dancer" on BBC One's
Children in Need telethon. A studio version of the song,
remixed by Fugitive, appeared on the dance compilation
Clubland 10, released in November 2006. The following
month, "He's the Greatest Dancer" was released
to UK dance clubs on 8-track CD promo & 12"
vinyl. It reached number one on the Upfront Club chart.
The full UK release of the single has been shelved. In
Australia, the song was released as an exclusive
Australian only single in April 2007. Minogue is
currently a judge on the variety show Australia's Got
Talent.
Personal life, Relationships: 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, she
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.
Minogue became engaged to Canadian Formula One driver
Jacques Villeneuve in October 1999, but their
relationship ended in 2001. In early 2002, Minogue 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.
Media portrayal and other activities: In 1983,
Minogue's older sister, Kylie, appeared with her on
Young Talent Time before commencing a commercially
successful music career in 1987. Minogue has often been
compared to Kylie and has struggled to find respect from
critics and is often portrayed as a "wannabe"
by the media. Both Minogue and her sister deny a sibling
rivalry, but she admits that she finds it "hard to
be compared all the time to Kylie."
Internationally viewed as a gay icon, Minogue has
performed multiple times at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian
Mardi Gras and the London nightclub G-A-Y. She credits
her gay following for much of her success, commenting
that gay culture has "always been a part of [her]
music." Minogue openly supports gay rights causes
for social equality and believes that same-sex marriages
should be accepted by all government bodies.
Minogue is an ambassador for the Terrence Higgins Trust,
an organization that works to increase awareness of
AIDS. She joined the charity in hope that her
endorsement would encourage people to discuss safe sex
and the disease more openly. In 2004, she posed nude,
wrapped only in a red ribbon, to promote World AIDS Day
in Australia and the UK. She has long been a supporter
of breast cancer research and, in October 2003,
performed in a London comedy show titled Funny Women.
The show raised money for breast cancer research, as
well as awareness of domestic violence.
Dannii Minogue Profile,
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