Masked Singer winner Natalie Imbruglia's life – IVF, divorce heartache and famous exes

Having shot to fame in Neighbours as Beth Brennan, Natalie Imbruglia boasts an extremely successful career in music and television.

Away from the glaring eyes of the public, the Australian star has faced personal challenges and heartbreak.

Last night (February 12), Natalie, 47, was left speechless after her character, Panda, was crowned the winner of The Masked Singer UK, going up against the likes of Charlotte Church and Westlife’s Markus Feehily.

The Aussie legend belted out hits including Story of My Life by One Direction, wowing judges Davina McCall, Jonathan Ross, Mo Gilligan and Rita Ora.

Daily Star has trawled through the archives to bring you everything you need to know about Natalie…

Breakthrough

Aged 15, Natalie and her family left Berkeley Vale, New South Wales, in favour of a life in Sydney that set her up for stardom.

Her first run-in with fame came just a year later, starring in tele adverts for the likes of Coca Cola and Aussie snack, Twisties.

After leaving school aged 16, Natalie went on to secure a role in Neighbours, playing Beth Brennan in over 200 episodes of the Aussie soap, catapulting her to international fame.

Just two years after bursting onto the scene, Natalie announced she would be leaving Ramsay Street in favour of a life in England.

After moving to London in 1994, she was convinced by her manager, Anne Barrett to record a demo album, later signing with BMG.

While she may have been known as Beth, nothing prepared Natalie for her next move.

Torn

Her demo track, a cover of Ednaswap’s Torn, impressed RCA Records, instantly leading to the group making the decision to release the track as a single.

The record peaked at Number 2 on the Official UK charts in 1997 before going on to spend 14 weeks at Number One on the Billboard Airplay charts.

Since its release, Torn has seen Natalie nominated for Grammy Awards, BRIT Awards and Billboard Awards.

On average, the song was played around 75 times a day on Australian radio, quickly becoming the most played song since 1990, having been broadcast over 300,500 times since its initial release.

In the UK, it went on to break airplay records, being played over 2000 times in just six weeks, later spending 14 weeks at Number 1 in the UK radio chart – a position that equalled Simply Red’s Fairground.

Heartbreak and famous exes

Being one of the biggest names in music and acting means that lads were fighting for Natalie’s attention but two famous chaps caught her eye.

In the late 1990s, Natalie dated non-other than Friends star David Schwimmer between 1996 to 1997.

While the pair have remained relatively quiet about their romance, Natalie has previously said they had a “happy relationship”.

Following David’s revelation that he had a crush on co-star Jennifer Aniston, Natalie said: “I wasn’t paying attention to whether they were giving each other, you know, little looks over my shoulder. I don’t know if that was happening, I’m okay with whatever happened back then, it was a long time ago.”

Just two years after their split, she went on to meet Daniel Johns, frontman of Aussie band Silverchair at a gig in London, with the former couple going on to start a relationship after meeting in October of the same year.

The pair were on-and-off for several years before going on to announce they were engaged to be married over Christmas in 2002.

They married a year later, on New Year’s Eve in a beach ceremony in Port Douglas, Australia, with Imbruglia claiming he had saved her from depression.

However, while Natalie resided in London, Daniel lived in Newcastle, Australia, with their relationship taking centre stage in her 2005 single, Counting Down the Days.

Sadly, the couple announced they were divorcing on January 4, 2008, in a joint statement saying: “We have simply grown apart through not being able to spend enough time together.”

UK citizenship

While Australia may be one of Her Majesty’s Realms and a member of the Commonwealth, Natalie became “emotional” after becoming a British citizen in 2013.

After two decades of living in Blighty, the actress turned singer hired a tutor to help with her Citizenship examination.

Speaking on ITV’s Lorraine, she said: “None of my friends knew any of the answers.”

However, she hasn’t renounced her Aussie citizenship and explained: “I’ve got dual citizenship, so I haven’t turned my back on my family.”

Baby joy

Natalie announced her pregnancy in July 2019, revealing she had used an anonymous sperm donor to conceive her child.

She told social media followers: “No I haven’t swallowed a watermelon, I’m expecting my first child this Autumn.

“For those of you who know me, this has been something I have wanted for a very long time.”

She went on to say: “I’m blessed that this is possible with the help of IVF and a sperm donor – I won’t be saying anything more on that publicly.

“I’m so excited about this next adventure… A new album and I’m going to be a mum.”

October of the same year saw Natalie reveal she had given birth to a son, Max Valentine Imbruglia.

At the time of the announcement, she told fans that her “heart is bursting” while sharing her delightful news, with celebrity pals including Kylie Minogue flocking to the comments to share celebratory messages.

The Masked Singer

After weeks of speculation, there had been several theories as to who Panda could have been.

Moments after being unmasked, she said: “I just loved being Panda, I stayed in an American accent the whole time to hide it!

“I really thought Rita and Davina would guess as they know me! I got to make friends with a Mushroom and Robobunny, it’s just been great.”

She went on to say: “I did it for my son, he loves the character I chose.

‘I also thought it would be fun to sing with a mask on, no need to spend hours in hair and make-up.

“I liked the idea of hiding my identity and putting on an accent to throw people off the scent, I guess it’s also an acting gig.”

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk