Australian singer and former Neighbours star Delta Goodrem will represent Australia at the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna on Saturday, May 16. The 41-year-old, known for her role as Nina Tucker on the iconic soap, has become one of Australia's most successful musical exports.
Goodrem first signed with Sony Music at age 15 and released her debut album 'Innocent Eyes' in 2003, which remains the second-best-selling Australian album of all time. She has achieved nine number-one singles and 17 top-ten hits on the ARIA Singles Chart, selling over eight million albums globally.
Her acting career began at age seven in commercials, but her big break came in 2002 when Neighbours producers spotted her in a music video. She almost declined the role to focus on music but went on to win a Logie Award for Most Popular New Talent in 2003. However, a year later she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma at 18, forcing her to leave the show for treatment. She announced remission in December 2003 and returned to Neighbours in 2004 to conclude her character's storyline. She later appeared in anniversary episodes in 2005, 2015, and the show's final episode in July 2022.
Goodrem has faced other health challenges, including paralysis of a nerve in her tongue in 2018 after salivary gland surgery, which required rehabilitation to relearn speech and singing. She channelled these experiences into her music, with songs like 'Extraordinary Day' inspired by her cancer battle and 'Paralysed' reflecting her traumatic surgery.
Beyond music, she has worked extensively with charities, particularly Teen Info on Cancer, and was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2022 Australia Day Honours for her service to the not-for-profit sector and performing arts. Her high-profile relationships have included fellow Neighbours actor Blair McDonough, tennis star Mark Philippoussis, and Westlife's Brian McFadden, whom she dated after their duet 'Almost Here' and became engaged to before splitting in 2011.
