Dannii Minogue

Birthname: Danielle Jane Minogue
Date of birth: 1971-10-20
Birthplace: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Height: 5' 2"
Nationality: Australian
Profession: model, musician

Danielle Jane Minogue (born October 20 1971), known as Dannii Minogue, is an Australian singer-songwriter, dancer, actress and occasional model, television presenter and fashion designer.
Minogue rose to prominence in the early 1980s as a result of her role in the Australian television talent show Young Talent Time, before commencing her career as a pop singer in the early 1990s. She has to date released four studio albums and achieved a total of nine UK Top 10 hits. Since the release of her 1997 album Girl, Minogue has focused on establishing herself as a dance artist, her 2001 collaboration with Dutch DJs Riva on "Who Do You Love Now?" becoming her most successful release worldwide. She is currently signed to All Around The World Records and in 2006 released her first official greatest hits compilation The Hits & Beyond, spanning fifteen years of music.

Childhood and beginning

Dannii Minogue was born in Melbourne, Australia, to an Australian father, Ron Minogue, and a Welsh-born mother, Carol Jones who had immigrated as a child from Maesteg, Wales in 1955 to Townsville, Queensland. Minogue is the youngest of three children; her sister Kylie Minogue is a dance-pop singer and actress, and her older brother, Brendan, is a news cameraman in Australia.
Minogue began her career as a child on Australian television, and from the age of seven, Minogue appeared in soap operas such as Skyways and The Sullivans without attracting much attention. In 1979 she was invited to be a regular performer on the weekly music program Young Talent Time, quickly becoming one of the most popular and highest profile members in the show’s twenty year history. Minogue recorded on two albums for the show which featured her first solo recordings including a cover version of the Madonna hit "Material Girl". Minogue left Young Talent Time in 1988 to further her career as an actress, appearing as teen rebel tomboy Emma Jackson on the hit soap opera Home and Away, a role especially written for her. Her popularity in Australia was demonstrated when she was nominated for a "Silver Logie" for the country's "Most Popular Actress on Australian television". The show achieved high ratings in Europe, gaining Minogue a large fan base outside of Australia.
In 1988, she launched her own fashion line simply titled Dannii, becoming a successful fashion designer. The line was popular in Australia, selling out in ten days across the country. DanniiMusic.com - Chronology Retrieved April 22, 2006. Over the next year she would design and release an additional three lines, which were also successful.

Recording and performing career

Mushroom Records: 1990 - 1997

After recording and performing with the television show Young Talent Time, Minogue signed a recording contract with Mushroom Records in January 1989. Minogue traveled to New York City to work with producers Alvin Moody and Vincent Bell, writing and recording songs for her debut album. Her first album Dannii (1990), a collection of dance songs, reached number twenty-four on the Australian albums chart. Outside Australia it was released under the title Love and Kisses (1991) and reached number eight on the UK album charts. It sold over 60,000 copies AustraliaArjan Writes "Interview with Dannii Minogue", December 13, 2002. Retrieved April 22, 2006.

Accusations of racism

In 2002, Minogue did an interview with Britain’s GQ magazine. In the interview she said that French National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen had "struck a chord with people", and that "even the street signs Australia are written in Asian now!"
This was presented as if Minogue sided with Le Pen and was attacking asylum seekers and immigrants, although Minogue says that her remarks were intended the opposite way, expressing horror at the popularity of Le Pen and expressing praise for the way Australia has handled multi-culturalism. She says she considered suing the journalist for misconstruing her remarks.

Gay icon

Minogue is regarded as a gay icon, which she embraces and credits for much of her success. "Gays have always been a part of my music," says Minogue. "I have never jumped on the pink bandwagon to increase my popularity. It just came naturally." Minogue believes that the gay community has connected with her because her music is about "having fun and going out dancing", which Minogue says gay culture loves to do. She is a strong supporter of social equality for the gay community, but believes that the struggle for equal right such as marriage is not a black and white issue. "Some kind of certificate of commitment is important. It doesn’t have to be a marriage," said Minogue. "Something official that is accepted by all government bodies would be sufficient. As long as you can have a special day together that is recognized by the government is what counts.". Dannii performed at London Gay Pride and then at London's G.A.Y a few years before her sister had, apparently recommending Kylie appear at G.A.Y due to the fantastic crowd response.

Puss 'N Boots incident

In February of 2006, Minogue, while at the Puss 'N Boots strip club, allegedly engaged in sexually explicit, and possibly illegal, activities with one of the establishment's lap dancers. Surveillance tape stills made their way to the internet, where the pictures allegedly show Minogue kissing and fondling the dancer, breaking the club’s strict "no-touching" rules, and it later appears that the dancer performs oral sex on Minogue. A spokesman for Minogue, downplayed the event as a "harmless girls' night out," according to the British tabloid The Sun. Notably, these stills were released six months after the original event occurred, leading to accusations of a publicity push in the weeks leading up to a new single release.

Awareness campaigns and charity

In 2004 Minogue posed nude with just a long red ribbon covering her body to help the fight against AIDS. She is an ambassador for the Terence Higgins Trust, which raises awareness about the disease. Personal experiences made Minogue want to educate people about AIDS since she has known many people within the entertainment industry and close personal friends who have been affected by the disease. Minogue's main mission with the trust is to "break down myths", such as that AIDS is a gay disease saying, "HIV doesn't discriminate - somewhere in their minds young people still think it is a gay disease."
She has also been a long-time supporter of breast cancer research. In 2003 she put her support behind the Funny Women charity, which included comedy acts to raise awareness and money for breast cancer research, as well as raising awareness of other issues such as domestic violence.
In addition to her work with the Terence Higgins Trust, Minogue also supports The Lighthouse Foundation (another AIDS charity) and the Young Homeless.
Dannii donated her used thongs that she wore at the recent club promotion at G.A.Y, which was stained, and was given to charity to raise awareness.