Kylie Minogue OBE
Areas of Interest
Arts, Health Care, CharityHonorary Award
Honorary Doctor of Health Sciences, 2011Biography
Kylie Minogue is one of the most admired and enduring artists in the music industry today. She released her first single in July 1987 and when her 11th studio album, Aphrodite, debuted at No 1 last summer, it gave her the unique honour of becoming the first solo artist in the history of the UK charts to have four No 1 albums spanning four decades and an incredible 45 consecutive UK top 20 hit singles.
Kylie Ann Minogue was born in Melbourne, Australia. The eldest of three children, with Irish and Welsh ancestry, musical talent runs in the family as her sister Dannii is also a successful singer.
After her debut single, Locomotion, topped the charts in her native Australia, she followed up in July 1988 with her eponymously titled debut album, which contained three more hit singles including the enduring I Should Be So Lucky. In the same year she also reached No 1 in the UK with her duet with Jason Donovan, Especially For You. After four albums Kylie made the transition from 'Pop Princess' to serious artist, a step very few musicians have been able to achieve.
Kylie is one of only two artists to have a No 1 single in the eighties, nineties and noughties - the other being Madonna. The Kylie phenomenon reached fever pitch in 2001 with the release of her global smash hit Can't Get You Out Of My Head.
Not only has Kylie graced the covers of the world's leading magazines but at Madame Tussaud's in London she's a model of a different kind. In 2007 they unveiled their fourth waxwork of Kylie and only the Queen has had more models created.
Kylie's acting breakthough came in Neighbours where she played Charlene, possibly one of the most popular soap characters of all time. Kylie has continued to fit acting roles in between her musical career, taking the lead in Streetfighter opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme, making a memorable appearance in Moulin Rouge! as the Green Fairy and in 2009 travelling to Mumbai to take part in Blue, the most expensive Bollywood film ever made.
Whenever Kylie tours a sell-out audience can be guaranteed. But in 2005 just before the Australian leg of her Showgirl - The Greatest Hits Tour she was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer.
Kylie spent the next 12 months focusing on her treatment and recovery and in 2006 readers of British fashion magazines GQ and Glamour both voted Kylie their Woman of The Year. In 2008 she collected the Chevalier de L'ordre des Arts et Lettres. France's Minister of Culture and Communications acknowledged the impact she had made by publicly discussing her cancer diagnosis and treatment, saying: ''Doctors now even go as far as saying there is a 'Kylie effect' that encourages young women to have regular checks.''
Kylie has won numerous other awards, including Brits, a Grammy and the prestigious UK Music Industry Trusts Award, the first woman in the event's history to receive the honour, and in December 2007 she was honoured in the Queen's New Years Honours list, with an OBE for services to music.
Kylie is an inspiration to millions of people worldwide, not only for her music which has brought delight to so many, but for the way she has dealt with her own diagnosis with breast cancer and for her work promoting awareness through the Breakthrough Breast Cancer charity, including taking part in the Fashion Targets Breast Cancer campaign which has raised over £11.5 million. Here at Anglia Ruskin University in Chelmsford scientists in the research laboratory for The Helen Rollason Cancer Charity are currently researching blood markers that in the future might be used to identify breast cancer at an early stage. Kylie's story will serve as an inspiration to everyone involved in this work.
Citation
"Chancellor, it is my pleasure to read the citation for Kylie Minogue OBE for the award of Doctor of Health Sciences.
Kylie Minogue is one of the most admired and enduring artists in the music industry today. She released her first single in July 1987 and when her 11th studio album, Aphrodite, debuted at No 1 last summer, it gave her the unique honour of becoming the first solo artist in the history of the UK charts to have four No 1 albums spanning four decades and an incredible 45 consecutive UK top 20 hit singles.
Kylie Ann Minogue was born in Melbourne, Australia. The eldest of three children, with Irish and Welsh ancestry, musical talent runs in the family as her sister Dannii is also a successful singer.
After her debut single, Locomotion, topped the charts in her native Australia, she followed up in July 1988 with her eponymously titled debut album, which contained three more hit singles including the enduring I Should Be So Lucky. In the same year she also reached No 1 in the UK with her duet with Jason Donovan, Especially For You.
After four albums Kylie made the transition from 'Pop Princess' to serious artist, a step very few musicians have been able to achieve. Around the same time she recorded with Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds and collaborated with Robbie Williams and the Pet Shop Boys which helped to introduce Kylie to a whole new audience.
Kylie is one of only two artists to have a No 1 single in the eighties, nineties and noughties - the other being Madonna. The Kylie phenomenon reached fever pitch in 2001 with the release of her global smash hit Can't Get You Out Of My Head.
While Kylie's music continues to be as popular as ever, she has also enjoyed phenomenal success as an actress, children's author and model. Not only has she graced the covers of the world's leading magazines but at Madame Tussaud's in London she's a model of a different kind. In 2007 they unveiled their fourth waxwork of Kylie and only the Queen has had more models created.
Kylie's acting breakthough came in Neighbours where she played Charlene, possibly one of the most popular soap characters of all time. However, she had been a familiar presence on Australian TV screens since the age of 11. Kylie has continued to fit acting roles in between her musical career, taking the lead in Streetfighter opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme, making a memorable appearance in Moulin Rouge! as the Green Fairy and in 2009 travelling to Mumbai to take part in Blue, the most expensive Bollywood film ever made. As well as filming a cameo role, Kylie also performed the movie's main musical number.
Whenever Kylie tours a sell-out audience can be guaranteed. But in 2005 just before the Australian leg of her Showgirl - The Greatest Hits Tour she was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer.
Kylie spent the next 12 months focusing on her treatment and recovery and in 2006 readers of British fashion magazines GQ and Glamour both voted Kylie their Woman of The Year. In 2008 she collected the Chevalier de L'ordre des Arts et Lettres. France's Minister of Culture and Communications acknowledged the impact she had made by publicly discussing her cancer diagnosis and treatment, saying: ''Doctors now even go as far as saying there is a 'Kylie effect' that encourages young women to have regular checks.''
Kylie has won numerous other awards, including Brits, a Grammy and the prestigious UK Music Industry Trusts Award, the first woman in the event's history to receive the honour, and in December 2007 she was honoured in the Queen's New Years Honours list, with an OBE for services to music.
Kylie is an inspiration to millions of people worldwide, not only for her music which has brought delight to so many, but for the way she has dealt with her own diagnosis with breast cancer and for her work promoting awareness through the Breakthrough Breast Cancer charity, including taking part in the Fashion Targets Breast Cancer campaign which has raised over £11.5 million. Here at Anglia Ruskin University in Chelmsford scientists in the research laboratory for The Helen Rollason Cancer Charity are currently researching blood markers that in the future might be used to identify breast cancer at an early stage. Kylie's story will serve as an inspiration to everyone involved in this work.
Anglia Ruskin University is proud to honour her today for her amazing career as pop singer, songwriter and actress, and for her support for promoting awareness and removing the fear of breast cancer.
Chancellor, it is my pleasure to present Kylie Minogue OBE for the award of Doctor of Health Sciences, honoris causa."