Childhood and beginning
Minogue as a regular performer on the weekly music program Young Talent Time.
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 Australia as a young child from Maesteg, Wales in 1955.
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.[6]
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".[7]
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.[8] 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.[9]
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.[10] 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.[11][12] 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.[14]
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",[15] 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.[16] 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".[17] 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.[18] 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.[8]
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".[19] 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".[20]
In March 2003, Minogue released her fourth album, Neon Nights, which the BBC called "a pleasant cocktail of pop sophistication, club culture and accessibility".[21] 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.[22] 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.[23] Minogue was released from her recording contract with London Records in May 2004 due to low record sales.[24] Later that year she signed a new contract with independent dance label All Around the World Records.[25]
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.[26] "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.[27] A spokesman for Minogue downplayed the event and called it a "harmless girls' night out".[28]
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.[29] 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".[10] 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.[30]
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.[31] The following month, "He's the Greatest Dancer" was released to UK dance clubs and reached number one on the Upfront Club chart. In Australia, the song will be released as a single in April 2007.[32]
Minogue is currently a judge on the variety show Australia's Got Talent. She will also appear as a judge on the British music talent show The X Factor in late 2007.[33]
Personal life
Family
Minogue is the youngest of three children. Her sister, Kylie, is a pop singer and actress, and her brother, Brendan, works as a news cameraman in Australia. Kylie appeared with Dannii on Young Talent Time in 1983 before commencing a commercially successful music career in 1987. Dannii has often been compared to Kylie and has struggled to find respect from critics and is often portrayed as a "wannabe" by the media.[34] 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."[35]
Relationships
In January 1994, Minogue married Australian actor Julian McMahon, whom she met in 1991 while working on the television series Home and Away.[36] 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".[37] 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."[38] 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.[39] 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,[40] but in December 2002, it was announced that they had ended their relationship.[41]
Other activities
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."[35] Minogue openly supports gay rights causes for social equality and believes that same-sex marriages should be accepted by all government bodies.[35]
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.[42] In 2004, she posed nude, wrapped only in a red ribbon, to promote World AIDS Day in Australia and the UK.[42] 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.[43]
