Natalie Imbruglia in Jan 2012 issue of Grazia

Category : fashion, interview

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Natalie is featured in the ‘fashion’ and ‘last word’ sections of the latest Australian version of Grazia. Here are some of the things she talks about in the ‘last word’ section:

Natalie is torn between these dream partnerships:
1. Record – “With Dolly Parton. I’d love to duet with her, she’s a phenomenal songwriter and she just rocks it!”

2. Re-design – “Graceland – with [Alexander McQueen] Sarah Burton – and live there. She’s done so well with McQueen, and Elvis was my first crush!”

3. Collaborate – “With Christian Louboutin on a Get Smart-style shoe with a phone in it – of course it would have to be a high heel!”

“I always travel with a good scarf. On the plane I’ll wrap it around my head as the hair is so dry. People must be like, ‘What’s she thinking?’”

To relax I…
“Like to keep it simple. When I’m at home I’ll put on my pyjamas and watch a movie with some microwave popcorn – seriously!”

My favourite designers are…
“Aussies Josh Goot and Dion Lee. I also like Peter Pilotto, Sonia Rykiel and of course, Chanel”

I’m passionate about…
“My charity work. I co-designed a range of pieces for Kailis – $30[per sale] goes to [The Salvation Army's Youth Program] Oasis”

I’m secretly addicted to…
“Reality television. My guilty pleasure is “Jersey Shore”. I like “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” too – no one gets beat up!”

The best place to escape is…
“[Richard Branson's] Necker Island. It’s water as far as the eye can see, and I love to paddleboard.”

My signature scents are…
“Jo Malone Amber & Lavender and Chanel Mademoiselle. They’re the only two [fragrances] I wear.”

 

Imbruglia gets some acting tips

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NATALIE Imbruglia is hoping to make a comeback as an actress.

Imbruglia, 36, has been studying the craft in LA with acclaimed acting coach Ivana Chubbuck and will follow her tutor to Australia next month for a masterclass in Melbourne put on by 16th Street Actors Studio.

“While songwriting in LA, I decided to do some acting classes,” Imbruglia said. “I was instantly drawn to Ivana Chubbuck, one of the most transformational teachers I have ever met.”

Chubbuck is renowned for working with the world’s biggest stars, among them Halle Berry and Charlize Theron, both of whom thanked her when they received their respective Oscars.

Chubbuck will be in Australia for her third annual trip on January 4-7.

She has become a favourite among our top actors, including Jessica Marais, Sigrid Thornton, Cat Stewart and Michala Banas.

Imbruglia rose to fame as an actor on Neighbours, but as since focused more on music.

- Luke Dennehy

Source: Sunday Herald Sun

 

Natalie Imbruglia rocks to new passion

Category : causes, interview

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Imbruglia is the most high-profile star committed to stamping out the ailment. (AFP/File, Michael Mathes)

Imbruglia is the most high-profile star committed to stamping out the ailment. (AFP/File, Michael Mathes)

WASHINGTON: Australian pop star Natalie Imbruglia doesn’t mean to leave you with the wrong impression.

She loves making music and has returned to acting, but the “Torn” singer with millions of record sales under her belt has a more rewarding mission these days: helping women recover from a haunting affliction that is all but eradicated in the West, yet affects millions across Africa and Asia.

“I’m very passionate about it,” Imbruglia told AFP about her role as spokeswoman for the UN Campaign to End Fistula, a childbearing injury that often results in the loss of the baby and leaves women shunned.

“I intend to continue my creative endeavours. I’m songwriting at the moment, in Los Angeles, and working on some other projects,” she said. “But most importantly, we’re planning a trip to Africa” and possibly India and elsewhere.

Obstetric fistula is a hole in the birth canal which develops during a prolonged and obstructed labor. It results in chronic incontinence, and the foul smell of leaking urine and feces often drives away husbands and shatters women’s lives.

“It was like dying everyday,” Sarah Omega, who was raped at 19 and then suffered with fistula for nine years, told a United Nations economic council meeting in 2009 that Imbruglia also addressed.

While it is largely preventable and easily treated, up to 100,000 new cases develop annually, the UN estimates. Some say the number is far higher.

Treatment costs about US$300, but many poor women can’t afford the operation. Others are never told treatment is available for fistula.

Imbruglia is the most high-profile star committed to stamping out the ailment.

“It just jumped out to me as a woman, and the fact that they didn’t seem to have anybody speaking for them,” Imbruglia said in Washington, where she attended a UN Population Fund forum.

The quiet crisis caught her eye back in 2005, when friend Richard Branson, the British business tycoon who heads Virgin Group, urged Imbruglia to harness her fame into activism.

Speakers at a United Nations Population Fund seminar discuss the need for gender equality (AFP/File, Michael Mathes)

Speakers at a United Nations Population Fund seminar discuss the need for gender equality (AFP/File, Michael Mathes)

 

She had been basking in superstardom after her 1997 debut album “Left of the Middle” was a global smash. The stunning star also became one of the faces for for cosmetics giant L’Oreal, and her image was plastered across gossip magazines.

She would soon put a hold on the glamour, becoming an ambassador with the Virgin Unite humanitarian campaign and heading to Africa.

“The kind of things that you see there, it becomes personal,” she said.

She visited villages and hospitals in Ethiopia, broke bread with religious leaders in Nigeria, and met countless women suffering from fistula’s indignity.

At the Washington forum, a young African woman named Helena, her smile as wide as the stage, approached Imbruglia and told her of how she reclaimed her own life once she had the operation to repair her fistula.

The singer lit up, and they hugged at length.

“You’re doing a good job,” the woman whispered. “So good.”

Celebrity activists are a dime a dozen, and large-scale issues such as poverty reduction and environmental protection bring out the big guns like U2 frontman Bono.

But few have braved such personally unpleasant issues as the secretion of human waste, troubles with reproduction and the specter of rape, “all things that people are conditioned to turn away from,” said Heidi Breeze-Harris, founder of non-governmental group One By One, which works to end fistula.

But Imbruglia has not shied away, leading UN Population Fund chief Babatunde Osotimehin to hail her “extraordinary work to fight this terrible childbirth condition.”

“Her travels across the globe and her efforts to raise money to support fistula rehabilitation centers and training for community educators are essential in bringing help and needed health care to women and girls,” he told AFP.

The taboo on speaking about the condition in Africa has begun to lift too, said Imbruglia, particularly among the very people whose involvement is crucial in improving women’s health in small, poor communities: men.

“Nurses in the hospital told me, ‘You have to speak to the emirs, it’s not just about the government. If you don’t have their ear and if they’re not on side, the women won’t listen, the men won’t listen,’” she recalled of one of her trips to Africa.

“So of course we set up the meeting with the emir of Katsina (in Nigeria), and he was incredibly supportive.”

Imbruglia, who starred on Australian soap opera “Neighbours” as a teenager, reprised her acting career in 2003 with a role in spy spoof “Johnny English.”

In 2009, she starred in “Closed for Winter,” and last year was a judge on Australia’s “X Factor” reality show.

But asked if she gets the same satisfaction from singing and acting as she does helping women, her big eyes quickly grew moist.

“No,” she admitted. “It doesn’t come anywhere near.”

 

Source: AFP

Natalie Imbruglia UNFPA Interview 2011

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On Sept. 13, 2011, hundreds gathered to contemplate the approaching population milestone of 7 billion people and what it may mean for women’s rights. Here, the panelists from the day’s event reflect on the many challenges we see, but also the opportunities for growth and reasons to hope.

Natalie Imbruglia talks about the Kailis Photoshoot

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NATALIE Imbruglia is loving life in LA and being the new face of Kailis and its stunning pearls.

It was a dream shoot that could have turned sour at any moment. In the idyllic tropical landscape of Karma Kandara Resort, Bali, the Kailis team had not anticipated rain. So with internationally renowned photographer Juli Balla, celebrity stylist Christine Centenera and the star of the show, Aussie actress and singer-songwriter Natalie Imbruglia, waiting nervously for the sun to return, they decided to call on some divine intervention.

“The location was mind-blowing, but the day before the shoot it was raining,” Imbruglia says.

“Some Balinese priests came and performed a weather ceremony to ask the gods to keep the rain away. It worked – we had blue skies for the two days of the shoot and, can you believe it, the rain was back the next day.”

Imbruglia is the latest ambassador for WA pearl brand Kailis and says it’s the first jewellery line that she’s endorsed.

“I admit I had a preconceived idea of what pearl jewellery was like,” she says.

“Sonia (Mackay-Coghill, Kailis’s general manager) approached me earlier this year and the collection she showed me was wonderful and so modern. From there I knew I wanted to work with this great Australian brand.”

Mackay-Coghill believes it’s a defining campaign for the company.

“Natalie embodies the ‘international Australian’ – she is incredibly inclusive, while radiating this enduring beauty that we know will connect with our audience internationally,” she says.

Imbruglia, who will be the face of Kailis for two years, still calls London home, but has made a base in Los Angeles where she is working on a new album.

“I have made a habit of changing environment while songwriting, and LA is the perfect location to start this process,” she says.

“So many Australians are doing so well here. Funnily enough, Guy Sebastian (fellow X-Factor judge) lives in the same area in LA as me, so we have hung out a few times, which has been fun.

“I am really enjoying songwriting in LA and making the most of the beautiful climate. It has a great vibe and is full of talented people who are very creative and supportive.

“I keep being told by the locals how popular we Australians are here.

“I am a real outdoors person. I love hiking in the hills, eating well and going to the beach, which is obviously a contrast to London.”

One thing Imbruglia won’t be doing again in a hurry is running a marathon. The singer pulled on the joggers for the London Marathon, raising funds for the UN’s End Fistula campaign,

“That was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I raised a lot of money for End Fistula and the other charitable partners of Virgin Unite,” she says. “But my feet have never been the same.”

Imbruglia says it’s been a while since she was in Perth and hopes to plan a trip to visit friends here. Now with her Kailis connection, Perth and Broome might be on the cards sooner.

Source: PerthNow

Natalie Imbruglia in InStyle Australia’s September 2011 Issue

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Natalie Imbruglia breezes onto a rooftop garden in Los Angeles, wearing fitted jeans and a matte metallic-leather jacket. “I remember the first time I came here,” she says, as she takes in the expansive views of the city she’s calling home, following a stint in Sydney. “I [had] just got my first record deal and was staying in an apartment with a pull-down bed. I was so excited. You know when you go to a place and feel like you’ve been there before? LA was like that for me. I feel at home here.”

But it’s not the golden beaches, palm trees or star spotting (during the interview, Gwen Stefani sits nearby with her two sons) that have caused the former X-Factor judge to transplant herself from her main residence in London to California. It’s the opportunity to start work on her music again. “I think there can be a lot of pressure in the industry so I’m trying to regain that youthful, childlike love of music,” says Imbruglia, who was raised on the NSW Central Coast, the eldest of four daughters. “And I have a lot of writing buddies here, so I’m excited to see what eventuates.”

It’s also a chance to take a breather from the hectic pace of the previous 12 months. As well as her X-Factor duties, Imbruglia was and remains heavily involved with Richard Branson’s charity outfit Virgin Unite, which raises awareness of the condition known as obstetric fistula. “They didn’t really have a spokesperson and it is not a warm, fuzzy charity, so I felt I could be of service,” Imbruglia says of the decision she made in 2005 to align herself with this particular cause. “It horrifies me that there are a lot of women in the world who can’t deliver a baby safely.”

What about starting her own family? “Sure,” the 36-year-old says, adding she’s happily single now (Imbruglia was married to former Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns from 2003 to 2008) but is open to meeting the right person. “I think as a woman you always think about having a family. But I don’t need that to define me. I don’t feel that pressure.”

So, instead she’s focusing on her music—and her health. Imbruglia rarely drinks alcohol and tries to exercise at least four times a week using the Tracy Anderson method, famously favoured by Gwyneth Paltrow. “For me it is the perfect workout,” she explains. “It’s dance cardio, and I was a trained dancer to the age of 16. You’re so busy trying to think of the steps, you don’t realise how hard you’re working.”

Looking good has its perks—like being approached to be the new face of Australian jewellery label, Kailis. “They sent me some designs to look at and I loved them. When I met the designer [Simon Henderson] and the team, that sealed it for me.” Having purchased her first pearls eight years ago at a vintage store in Newcastle, Imbruglia is now a convert—a pearl-topped, black-diamond encrusted Kailis ring now resides permanently in her collection and today sits on her finger.

Her style is now a far cry from the pixie-haired, combat pants-wearing girl seen in the “Torn” video of the late ’90s. “Over the years, working with stylists has given me an appreciation for fashion that I never had when
I started out,” she explains, listing a Balmain jacket and a Balenciaga clutch as recent buys.

Fashion choices aside, it’s been 14 years since “Torn” catapulted Imbruglia onto the global stage. Is there a piece of advice she wishes she could give her younger self? “Enjoy yourself more,” she laughs. “I look back at pictures and think I look terrified. I don’t think I had as much fun as I should have because I was just trying to handle the situation or feel worthy of it. So yeah, have a bit more fun. Lighten up love!” —Colin Bertram

Photography: Chris Colls
Source: InStyle Australia

Singer Natalie Imbruglia wants a family

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SHE may be single yet Natalie Imbruglia, 36, says she’d like to have children – but she isn’t in a rush.

The Australian singer, who recently relocated from London to LA, has been linked to a string of high-profile men (Sydney hotelier Justin Hemmes, comedian David Walliams and actor David Schwimmer) since splitting from Silverchair husband Daniel Johns in 2008.

“Sure,” Imbruglia tells the latest issue of InStyle magazine when asked if she’d like to have children. “You always think about having a family. But I don’t need that to define me; I don’t feel that pressure.”

It’s been nearly 14 years since Imbruglia burst on to the international stage with her debut single Torn, which made her a household name in Australia and the UK.

Imbruglia is now ready to begin working on new music.

“I think there can be a lot of pressure in the industry, so I’m trying to regain that youthful, childlike love of music,” the former The X Factor judge said. “I’m excited to see what eventuates.”

Source: Daily Telegraph

Natalie Imbruglia on Los Angeles : LA Confidential

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These days, Australia’s Natalie Imbruglia calls the City of Angels home and in this insider’s guide, she reveals to Lien Ta Los Angeles’s must-see spots.

It’s been almost three years since Natalie Imbruglia was last based in Los Angeles, and she has returned to the bustling metropolis very quietly, setting up home in a West Hollywood apartment rental that, legend has it, may have been occupied by Marilyn Monroe. But the Sydney-born singer/songwriter is back in LA with two clear objectives: to get back to songwriting and to find “the best macaroni and cheese”.

For the latter, locals suggest the Bowery in Hollywood. And as for the songwriting, well, it’s up to the magic of the City of Angels itself. The decision to move back here was all Natalie’s – to recharge her music career after a year-long stint as an intrepid judge on the Australian version of The X Factor.

“Right now, LA could not be more perfect,” says Natalie, who, despite her appetite for “mac ‘n’ cheese”, has just sought out the healthiest thing on the menu at 25 Degrees, the 24-hour burger bar in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Clad in ultra-skinny sass & bide jeans, she is already looking the part of a California girl: slim, fit and glowing.

“It’s so easy to be healthy here, and you don’t have that pressure of Aussies or Brits going, ‘Why are you not drinking?’” she admits. “Here, you can go horseriding, you can hike, you can surf.”

Los Angeles is a city of rebirth for many, and for Natalie, who has also recently become the ambassador for Australian pearl company Kailis, the hope is to get back to “the organic joy of songwriting again”. In between, she has been discovering some of the must-see destinations of her adopted home, and here she takes us on an exclusive tour of her favourite places…

Troubadour
Lauded for its intimacy, the Troubadour remains the classic “living room” to see big-name performers. The venue first opened its doors in 1957 and, today, it still stands on the same piece of real estate in West Hollywood. Decades ago, it was Bob Dylan who graced the stage. Now, some 50 years later, it hosts performers of equal clout, such as Prince.

“I just saw him,” reveals Natalie, excitedly, although the event wasn’t without drama. Noticing that others around her were snapping once-in-a-lifetime pictures of The Artist, she thought, “I should document this. It’s Prince.” As she held her mobile phone poised, security types circled. “I had a panic attack that I was going to get thrown out! I was mortified. Luckily, I got away with it.”
9081 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, visit www.troubadour.com.

Joan’s on Third
This family-owned hangout serves delicious gourmet food and attracts a handsome crowd from morning till night. Both a marketplace and cafe, it boasts the city’s finest pastries and picnic accoutrements. “I love to come here with friends,” says Natalie. The daily specials menu is extensive and has been known to offer three versions of quinoa salad, a current favourite with the singer. “I am obsessed with quinoa,” admits Natalie. “I like to eat well then, once in a while, treat myself to doughnuts.”
8350 West Third Street, Mid-City West, visit www.joansonthird.com.

Tracy Anderson Method
Anyone in Los Angeles concerned with keeping fit – and looking the part – knows the name Tracy Anderson, and what she has done for many famous bods, including Gwyneth Paltrow’s. Her training philosophy is simple: “Helping women look and feel amazing.” Natalie’s svelte figure is also the result of Anderson’s fitness regimen, which uses equipment such as bands, cubes and bars to get results. In addition to Anderson’s group fitness classes, which help to tighten, tone and sculpt the body, the celebrity trainer also offers private sessions.
12345 Ventura Boulevard, Studio City, visit www.tracyandersonmethod.com.

The Way We Wore
In LA, if you shop vintage, you shop here. Seven years ago, when a stylist to Halle Berry picked up a cinnamon crochet-knit swimsuit for the actress to wear on the cover of GQ magazine, the little-known boutique instantly rose to fame. Now, it outfits Hollywood’s elite in vintage Dior and Chanel, and the likes of Katie Holmes and Angelina Jolie might pop in – but with major security in tow. When Natalie stops by it’s less of a to-do, but just as fruitful – a recent visit uncovered a gorgeous Japanese kimono. Of course, whomever it belonged to first probably never wore it out of the house, but Natalie proudly declares, “It’s something I would wear to dinner.”
334 South La Brea Avenue, Mid-Wilshire, visit www.thewaywewore.com.

Bottega Louie
The magic of Bottega Louie is that it offers something different for every local. For those that visit for dinner, the restaurant is packed with smartly clad urbanites looking to share an order of portobello fries among a party of eight. For early risers, eating breakfast here is reminiscent of a celestial Roman cafe with high ceilings, where time is an immeasurable concept. For Natalie, the restaurant is a “coffee in the afternoon” kind of place. It also boasts one of the city’s most breathtaking spreads of pastries, including dainty little macarons in every colour and flavour.
700 South Grand Avenue, Downtown, visit www.bottegalouie.com.

The Spare Room
The reputation of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel precedes itself. Once it was the site of the first-ever Academy Awards ceremony. Now, Hollywood’s most famous hotel is home to Tinseltown’s most “secret” watering hole: The Spare Room. Upon entrance via the mezzanine level, one encounters a handsome bar serving outrageously good cocktails – with an unexpected inclusion: two tenpin bowling lanes. When Natalie bowls here, she bemoans that her ball “always moves to the right” just before it approaches the pins. The singer prefers the handmade games instead. “I love playing Jenga,” she laughs.
7000 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, visit www.spareroomhollywood.com.

Eveleigh
With an Aussie chef and the name of an up-and-coming Sydney suburb, it’s hardly surprising that Natalie’s pals had this new Sunset Strip restaurant on their radar. Finally, when a friend of Kylie Minogue mentioned the hip eatery, Natalie agreed she had to try it (“Kylie…she’s my mate”). Aside from the leafy setting and gorgeous rustic-chic decor, what caught her attention was the eggplant salad, cooked with
rice wine and herbs, and the tempting cocktail menu. “I broke my detox for a drink at Eveleigh,” admits Natalie.
8752 Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, visit www.theeveleigh.com.

Stay:
HOLLYWOOD GLAMOUR

A stay at The Peninsula Beverly Hills, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, offers star style with a renaissance twist. Inside, rooms and suites offer modern opulence, while outside the grounds and entertaining areas make the most of LA’s balmy climate. Room rates start at $US585 per night.
Visit www.peninsula.com.

Pamper:
HERE’S THE RUB

Natalie craves a good body rub after a long day’s work and names Brooks Massage Therapy as a favourite. “It’s been voted one of the best massage places in LA,” she enthuses. In business for more than 50 years, it offers affordable treatments in unassuming surrounds. Visit www.brooksmassage.com.

Play:
TAKE A HIKE

With 245 hectares of parkland including duck ponds, hiking trails and picnic spots, Franklin Canyon Park is a favourite with celebs and fitness junkies. Located near the city centre, it’s the ultimate escape from the hustle and bustle. Visit www.lamountains.com.

Source: Yahoo! LifeStyle

Natalie Imbruglia on moving to LA and Silverchair’s split

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Natalie Imbruglia has opened up about Silverchair’s shock split, speaking for the first time about the breakdown of the band fronted by her ex-husband Daniel Johns.

Imbruglia, the new face of Kailis jewellery, revealed she felt “incredibly sad” when she heard the news in May. “They make phenomenal music together,” Imbruglia, who was married to Johns from 2003 to 2008, told WHO. “Sometimes as an artist you have to feel like it is the end. Do other things and work with other people so you are able to come back to it at some point. Let’s hope and pray it’s not forever.”

In terms of her own commitments, the former judge on talent contest The X Factor says she’s happy to be a viewer when the series returns to screens in August. Imbruglia, 36, insists she was only contracted to do one season and “had a really, really good time,” in the process. Next up for the self-confessed gypsy is another album — having closed up her home in London’s Notting Hill she is seeking songwriting inspiration from her new home in Los Angeles.

And as for her summer romance with Sydney hotelier Justin Hemmes? Imbruglia won’t kiss and tell, but declares herself currently single. “I’ve had .. what do you call them? Liasons? Moments? I’ve had some beautiful moments, but I have yet to meet that special someone that will make me move into that next phase. I am open and hopeful. I still want to fall in love.”

Source: WHO Magazine AU

Natalie: “I can’t deal with being called beautiful”

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In her most revealing interview yet, Natalie Imbruglia talks to Neil McMahon about fame, depression and why she hates what she sees in the mirror.

Natalie Imbruglia is lying seductively on a sofa in a suite at Sydney’s Shangri-La Hotel wearing a Dolce & Gabbana corset, looking every inch the sex kitten and mesmerising everyone around her. At 35, she is still youthful, tiny and utterly beautiful, but there’s one thing missing. Gone is the wariness and reluctance to talk that has been commented on in so many interviews before, and there’s no hint of the diva behaviour that was reported as she began her The X Factor judging stint.

This Natalie is open, funny and all too happy to sit down and chat after a long shoot for Grazia. In fact, as a publicist gestures to a table in the middle of the suite for our interview, Natalie says, “Come on, let’s go do it in the bedroom, we’ll be more comfortable.” She laughs as I tell her this is an anecdote I’m going to regale all my mates with later on. So, ensconced in the bedroom, I ask her, what’s the secret to this new-found contentedness? She smiles: “I’m just happier. I’m in a really good place.”

But it’s been a hard-fought happiness. Almost 20 years after she joined the cast of Neighbours as a 16-year-old, and 13 years after her first single, Torn, turned her into the elfin poster child for 90s angst, she is finally at peace with herself. “As you get older, you figure stuff out and you get wise,” she says. “You don’t worry as much, you get comfortable in your own skin. I’m more confident, I’m happier, sexier. I was so intimidated by the whole success thing – I was too protective of myself, guarded, distrusting. Now I don’t care as much.”

She’s struggled with the fame that was suddenly thrust upon her. After the success of her first album Left Of The Middle and 2003 marriage to Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns, it all seemed to start going wrong. Her follow-up album didn’t do as well, she lived in her UK home while Daniel remained in Australia and in 2008 they announced their divorce.

Of that difficult time, she says: “I think it was like delayed shock at all that success – I didn’t have the tools to really know what to do. I was a rabbit in the headlights. I didn’t have that much confidence to start with.”

Source: Grazia