Kylie Minogue AO, OBE (b. 1968), the 'Princess of Pop', is Australia’s most successful female recording artist of all time and the first woman to have a UK number one album across five consecutive decades. Minogue rose to local and international fame playing Charlene in the television soap Neighbours in the 1980s. Her singing career began with a cover of the 1960s song 'The Loco-Motion' in 1987 and she made history by achieving more than 20 consecutive top ten hits in the UK. With an instinct for re-invention, she has been involved in unexpected collaborations, such as with Nick Cave on 'Where the Wild Roses Grow' (1995). In 2002 Minogue won four ARIA awards for the album Fever (2001) containing her aptly-named biggest hit, 'Can’t Get You Out of My Head'. Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005, she became a prominent survivor, her ordeal inspiring hope in many women. Since her recovery, Minogue has continued a regular schedule of releasing music and touring, with highlights including performing at Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee Concert in 2012 and appearing in the Legends Slot at the 2019 Glastonbury Festival. Her fifteenth studio album, Disco (2020), reached number one in Australia and the UK.
This joyous image of Minogue in a Jean Paul Gaultier dress is part of a series taken by fashion photographer Nicole Bentley to celebrate the popstar's fiftieth birthday. It appeared in the May 2018 issue of Vogue Australia.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2020
Nicole Bentley (2 portraits)
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves.
The photographs from Matthew Sleeth's tour of duty series look more like advertisements than images of war.
The Kylie exhibition celebrated the significant achievements of one of Australia's most internationally recognisable faces and gave the general public a rare glimpse into her glamorous life.
