Holly Valance

Holly Valance Biography

An international recording artiste, an international TV star, winner of numerous awards from ?Woman of the Year? (GQ) to Best New Artist (Japanese Music Industry Awards) and a pin-up for millions, Holly Valance has certainly made her mark since winning an audition for a role in ?Neighbours? at the tender age of 15.

Holly?s musical career has been meteoric. The release of her debut single, ?Kiss Kiss? in Spring 2002, saw Holly instantly establish herself as a successful international singer, with the track hitting No.1 in territories around the globe. Her debut album, ?Footprints?, was released in October, charting in the UK Top 10. A further two hit singles followed, ?Down Boy? and ?Naughty Girl?, before Holly went back to the studio to begin work on her second album. Yet how did a young girl from Brighton Beach, Melbourne come to conquer the worlds of music and TV and grace the covers of magazines around the globe?

Born in 1983, Holly is the first daughter of a Serbo-Croatian father and English mother, both of whom had a passion for music. Her father, Ryko, is an accomplished jazz guitarist and pianist. Her mother, Rachel, has always immersed herself in the latest musical trends and introduced the young Holly to such diverse sounds as Soul II Soul, Marilyn Manson and American trance.

At the age of four, Holly?s parents separated, both later remarrying. Holly had a happy childhood growing up in Melbourne, Australia, surrounded by an extended family of half brothers and sisters, spending her free time swimming, kick boxing and hanging out with her friends.

At the age of 12, with her exotic Middle European looks, Holly was scouted by a model agency and she was soon following in the footsteps of her parents, who were themselves once both models. Then at the age of 15, Holly took a series of auditions for Australian soap ?Neighbours? and landed the role of Felicity ?Flick? Scully. Despite initially not wanting to take the part, Holly?s parents convinced her to accept. After the initial doubt, Holly soon established Flick as one of the most popular characters in the soap, offering Holly some invaluable experience in hard work and the pressures of stardom.

After nearly 4 years playing Flick, Holly felt it was time to move on. Having always been surrounded by music she had developed a passion for it than ran deeper than merely listening to the latest CDs. After recording some demo tracks, Holly was snapped up by Warner Music, who immediately recognised her potential.