Showgirl / Survivor

Kylie Minogue

Kylie Ann Minogue (born 28 May 1968) is a Grammy Award winning Australian dance-pop singer-songwriter. Minogue rose to prominence in the mid '80s through her role in the Australian television soap opera Neighbours, before she commenced her career as a pop artist in the late '80s. According to Warner Music Australia, Minogue has sold over 40 million records worldwide.

Kylie has established one of the longest and most successful careers as a performer in contemporary pop music, and in Europe and Australia, she has become one of her generation's most recognizable celebrities and sex symbols. In Australia, after being dismissed early in her career by some critics, she has been acclaimed for her achievements.

Breast cancer

Kylie was in Melbourne following the European stage of the tour when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, leading to the postponement of the remainder of the tour and her withdrawal from the Glastonbury Festival. She underwent surgery on 21 May 2005 at the private Catholic Cabrini Hospital in Malvern. Kylie issued a public statement, thanking her fans for their support and urging them not to worry. On 8 July 2005, she made her first public appearance after her surgery, when she visited a children's cancer ward at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital.

On 11 November 2006, Minogue resumed her Showgirl - Homecoming Tour with a performance in Sydney, joking with the crowd that she was, after an 18 month delay, "fashionably late". She had told journalists prior to the concert that she would be highly emotional, and she cried before dedicating the song "Especially for You" to her father, a survivor of prostate cancer. Although her dance routines had been reworked to accommodate her medical condition, and longer breaks were introduced between sections of the show to conserve her strength, the media reported that Minogue performed energetically, with the Sydney Morning Herald describing the show as an "extravaganza" and "nothing less than a triumph".

Celebrity Status

Kylie is regarded as a gay icon, which she encourages with comments such as "I am not a traditional gay icon. There's been no tragedy in my life, only tragic outfits." While part of her appeal lies in her flamboyant costumes and her confident sexual posturing, she acknowledges the gay community throughout the world by performing at gay venues and events, and by openly supporting AIDS and gay rights causes. She has said that she believes gay fans responded to her apparent distress when the news media began heavily criticising her in 1989, and that those fans have remained loyal, explaining, "My gay audience has been with me from the beginning... they kind of adopted me".

-- I have always been fascinated with this person. I don't know why.. Maybe because she exudes sensuality. A sex symbol that even me, a gay person, appreciates her sexiness. Haha.. Another reason maybe is the fact that she's been called as a second-rate-Madonna. I mean come on.. This woman is talented and comparing her to Madge is unfair.. I think Madonna is over-rated. Though I know that they are both gay icons.. With recent events that happenned to Kylie, I have found myself with another layer of respect for this woman when she battled out and did not give in to her breast cancer..

She is a showgirl. AND also a Survivor..