Born: 28th May 1968 (as Kylie Ann Minogue)
Episodes Broadcast: 2007

Kylie Minogue was born in Melbourne, Australia. Her first name came from the word for “boomerang” in Nyungar, a language of the Noongar community of Australian Aborigines. Minogue learned to play violin and piano as a child and, in 1979, her aunt helped her win a small part in the soap opera The Sullivans. She appeared in several other programmes during her youth, including The Henderson Kids and Fame And Misfortune. But it was her role in the soap opera Neighbours which would make Minogue a household name. She parlayed her fame into a musical career, with her remake of The Locomotion becoming an international sensation in 1987. Minogue's chart success accelerated her departure from Neighbours in 1988, and she soon made her movie debut in 1989's The Delinquents.

Acting took a backseat to Minogue's music career during the Nineties, although she made film appearances in the much-maligned Street Fighter (1994) and Bio-Dome (1996). A more acclaimed movie project was Baz Luhrmann's 2001 classic Moulin Rouge!, in which Minogue made a cameo appearance. The same year, her single Can't Get You Out Of My Head became the most popular release of her career. In 2004, Minogue won a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording for Come Into My World. The next year, she voiced a character in the animated film The Magic Roundabout. Around the same time, however, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, although a combination of surgery and chemotherapy prevented the disease from spreading any further. Minogue's openness about her illness and its treatment was subsequently credited with encouraging more women to seek regular screening.

Minogue's appearance helped propel Doctor Who to its highest ratings of the 21st century

Over the years, Minogue had become famous for the elaborate staging of her concert tours. This was the work of her creative director, Will Baker, who was a well-known Doctor Who fan. Indeed, the KylieFever2002 tour, which promoted her 2001 album Fever, saw Minogue don a “Kyborg” costume modelled on the Raston Warrior Robot from 1983's The Five Doctors, while the first act of the show was dubbed Silvanemesis, after 1988's Silver Nemesis. Baker was a friend of Doctor Who scriptwriter Mark Gatiss, through whom he suggested to the production team that Minogue might be interested in appearing in the programme. Executive producer Russell T Davies developed the character of Astrid Peth for Minogue; she would fill the companion's role for the 2007 Christmas special, Voyage Of The Damned. Her appearance alongside the Tenth Doctor, David Tennant, helped propel Doctor Who to its highest ratings of the twenty-first century. Baker also arranged Minogue's involvement in a photoshoot for Doctor Who Magazine, which playfully referenced pornographic pictures taken during the Seventies with former companion Katy Manning and a Dalek. A week after Voyage Of The Damned aired, Minogue was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for her services to music. Later in 2008, France awarded her the rank of Chevalier in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Minogue continued her music career into the 2010s, while still acting occasionally. Her appearances included shows like Young & Hungry and Galavant, as well as movies such as the fantastical Holy Motors and the big-budget disaster film San Andreas with Dwayne Johnson. Minogue was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association Hall of Fame in 2011, and was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2019.