Kylie Minogue

Kylie Minogue, often known simply by her first name, is an Australian-British singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time and has been recognised with several honorific nicknames, most notably the "Princess of Pop." Minogue has also been known for reinventing herself in music and fashion throughout her career, being referred to as a style icon.

Born and raised in Melbourne, she has worked and lived in the United Kingdom since the 1990s. Minogue achieved recognition starring in the Australian soap opera "Neighbours," where she played tomboy mechanic Charlene Robinson.

She came to prominence as a recording artist in the late 1980s and released four bubblegum and dance-pop-influenced studio albums produced by Stock Aitken Waterman and released by PWL. By the time she released her fourth album in the early 1990s, she had amassed several top ten singles in the UK and Australia, including "I Should Be So Lucky," "The Loco-Motion," "Hand on Your Heart," "Better the Devil You Know," and "Step Back in Time."

Minogue, however, felt alienated and dissatisfied with the little creative control she had over her music. In 1992, she left PWL and signed with Deconstruction Records, where she released "Kylie Minogue" (1994) and "Impossible Princess" (1997), both of which received positive reviews from critics, with the latter being often described as her most personal and best work. Returning to more mainstream dance-oriented music, Minogue signed to Parlophone and released her disco-influenced seventh studio album "Light Years" (2000), which was preceded by lead single "Spinning Around." The follow-up, "Fever" (2001), became her best-selling album to date and was a breakthrough for Minogue in markets where she had little recognition previously. Its lead single, "Can't Get You Out of My Head," became one of the most successful singles of the 2000s, selling over five million units.

She continued reinventing her image and experimenting with a range of genres on her next albums, which produced successful singles such as "Slow," "2 Hearts," and "All the Lovers." Minogue made her film debut in 1989's The Delinquents and portrayed Cammy in 1994's Street Fighter. She has also appeared in the films Moulin Rouge!, Jack & Diane, and Holy Motors. In 2014, she appeared as a judge on the third series of "The Voice UK" and "The Voice Australia." Her other ventures include product endorsements, children's books, and perfume and fashion lines.

Minogue has earned numerous awards and accolades, including a Grammy Award and two MTV Video Music Awards. She has mounted several successful and critically acclaimed concert tours for which she received a Mo Award for Australian Performer of the Year in 2001 and 2003.

Minogue was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2008 New Year Honours for services to Music. She was appointed by the French government as a Chevalier (knight) of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for her contribution to the enrichment of French culture.

In 2005, while Minogue was on her Showgirl: The Greatest Hits Tour, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. After treatment, she resumed the tour under the title Showgirl: The Homecoming Tour, which critics viewed as a "triumph." Minogue was awarded an honorary Doctor of Health Science (D.H.Sc.) degree by Anglia Ruskin University for her work in raising awareness for breast cancer.

On the 25th anniversary of the ARIA Music Awards in 2011, she was inducted by the Australian Recording Industry Association into the ARIA Hall of Fame. She also had the honor of performing in the closing ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics, as well as the opening ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Paralympics.