Kylie Minogue
- Profession: Singer
- Place/Date of Birth: Melbourne, Australia, 28 May 2020
- Associated with: Dannii Minogue, Jason Donovan
Minogue’s separation from Martinez after a four-year romance comes at the end of a tumultuous time for her. In May 2005, while in her native Australia, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and remained there with her family during the early stages of her treatment.
She was forced to abandon her Showgirl world tour and did not resume it until last November. The tour eventually finished with a string of UK concerts last month.
The 38-year-old singer has spoken of how her "incredible" boyfriend helped her through the darkest days of her cancer battle. She said going through treatment felt "like being in an atomic explosion", but the support of Martinez, 41, was invaluable.
Last November Minogue told Elle magazine: "Olli was there all the time, helping with the practical stuff and being protective. I don’t like to say too much in public about Olivier as he’s a very private person, but I will say that he was incredible.
"He didn’t hesitate in cancelling work and putting projects on hold so he could be with me. He’s the most honorable man I have ever met."
At the time she denied reports the couple were planning to marry, saying: "I understand the excitement at the prospect of a wedding, but we’re simply happy together and getting on with life."
Ill Kylie reschedules shows - Jan 16 2007
Kylie Minogue has rescheduled two shows after being forced to pull out due to ill health, her record company has announced.
A spokesman for EMI confirmed Monday and Tuesday’s Showgirls Homecoming concerts are cancelled but will go ahead at the Manchester Evening News Arena on January 21 and 22.
The 38-year-old star was forced to finish her show on Saturday early.
A spokesman said: "After being forced to pull out early from Saturday night’s Showgirl Homecoming performance at the Manchester Evening News Arena due to a moderately severe respiratory tract infection, doctors have insisted that Kylie Minogue not perform in the immediate future.
"We currently anticipate that Thursday and Friday nights’ shows will not be affected.
"Whilst we await the all clear from her doctors we wish her a speedy recovery and hope to be able to confirm her return to the stage soon.
"Anyone who cannot attend the rearranged dates should return their tickets to the point of purchase no later than Friday to claim a refund."
The cancellation of the shows sparked fears the singer had returned to the stage too soon after recovering from cancer.
It is still not clear whether Saturday’s show will also be rescheduled.
Illness forces Kylie to cancel show - Jan 14 2007
Pop princess Kylie Minogue has been forced to cancel two concerts after being diagnosed with a respiratory tract infection.
The singer has been forced to cancel the shows in Manchester but it is hoped she will have recovered enough to perform later in the week.
A spokesman for the Manchester Evening News arena (MEN), where Kylie was due to perform on her Showgirl Homecoming tour, said doctors had advised the Aussie star not to sing.
He said: "She has been diagnosed with a respiratory tract infection and the doctors have advised her not to perform in the near future."
It is hoped the five day break would give the singer time to recover before her concerts scheduled in the city on Thursday and Friday.
He said fans who have tickets for the cancelled dates might not miss out because Kylie’s representatives had not ruled out they could be rescheduled.
The 38-year-old had been due to perform six concerts in Manchester but was forced to pull out half way through the second show last night.
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In 1986 Kylie was offered the role of Charlene Mitchell in upcoming soap Neighbours. Her storylines made her a household name in both Australia and the UK and the on screen wedding between Charlene and Scott Robinson (played by Jason Donovan) attracted record numbers of viewers.
Whilst performing The Locomotion on stage at a benefit in 1987 Kylie was spotted by representatives of Mushroom Records who signed her up and released the track. The success of her first release saw Kylie travel to London to meet with pop moguls Stock Aitken and Waterman who penned I Should Be So Lucky for her on the spot. The single was a smash and launched Kylie as one to watch and indeed her debut album became the biggest seller of the year here in the UK.
Panned by critics, Especially For You, a duet recorded with Jason Donovan (by this time a pop star in his own right) was a huge hit in 1989 but Kylie’s follow up album, Enjoy Yourself, whilst successful in Europe and Australia flopped in the US, resulting in the singer being dropped by her American label.
1990 saw Kylie make the first radical adjustment to her image. Gone was the cutesy girl next door in favour of a more sexy look for Better The Devil You Know, while a relationship with bad boy rocker Michael Hutchence cemented Kylie’s new ’cool’ status. Rhythm of Love produced several well received dance-orientated singles and was enough of a success to persuade Kylie to produce a further album despite her contract with PWA being up. Let’s Get To It was a critical success but was her first release to miss the top ten. Realising that she was stifled by the Stock Aitken and Waterman formula she recorded three new tracks for a Greatest Hits album and made a break for it.
So it was time for another change in direction. Kylie went indie following her signing to Deconstruction Records and Confide in Me spent several weeks at the Aussie top spot. The self titled album released alongside sold reasonably well although it received mixed reviews from the press while follow up singles eached top twenty. Elsewhere Kylie went extra dark, appearing on Nick Cave’s Where The Wild Roses Grow, a move which promised a more credible pop star in the future.
By 1997 Kylie had overhauled her image again, and the release of Impossible Princess the following year reflected that. A collaboration with the Manic Street Preachers wasn’t enough to stop the album from becoming the least successful of her releases and the end of Kylie’s pop career looked near.
However a split with Deconstruction resulted in Kylie hooking up with Parlophone and in an explosion of gold glitter and disco the pop starlet burst back on to the scene in an unfeasibly small pair of gold hotpants to promote Spinning Around and accompanying album Light Years. The single was Kylie’s first UK number one in ten years and resulted in a duet with Robbie Williams and a sell out tour. However, it was 2001’s Fever which cemented Kylie’s future. The unforgettable video for impossibly catchy single Can’t Get You Out Of My Head ensured that the track reached number one in over 40 countries. Follow up singles were almost equally successful and the awards flooded in while next album, Body Language, was another hit while Ultimate Kylie, a greatest hits release was accompanied by a lavish tour.
It was during this time that Kylie was diagnosed with breast cancer, much to the shock of her fans. Her headline slot at Glastonbury was cancelled and the rest of the Showgirl tour was postponed but after treatment from Australia and France’s best doctors Kylie was back on the scene looking better than ever. She began work on a new album and released a children’s book The Showgirl Princess closely followed by a perfume, Darling. She resumed her Showgirl tour and split with French boyfriend Olivier Martinez.
Elsewhere Kylie’s film career has been slightly less successful than her musical one. From The Deliquents to Street Fighter she has been panned for her on screen work her only success coming in the form of the green absinthe fairy in Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge!
updated March 2007
November 2007