After more than four decades in the spotlight, global hits from I Should Be So Lucky to Padam Padam and more than 80 million records sold, Australian pop icon Kylie Minogue is telling her story in a new streaming documentary.
The three-part series (available on Netflix) traces Minogue’s rise from Australian soap opera actress to one of the world’s most enduring pop icons.
The documentary offers a glimpse into the emotional moments when Minogue publicly reveals for the first time that she faced a second cancer diagnosis - a disclosure Australian media called a "shocking revelation.”
Directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker Michael Harte, the production combines previously unseen archive footage, private home videos and candid interviews with family, friends and long-time collaborators.
"Kylie Minogue has never stopped reinventing herself," Netflix said of the project, which explores her influence on pop music and her longevity in an industry known for fleeting fame.
Among those featured in the documentary are Minogue’s younger sister Dannii Minogue, former partner and fellow actor Jason Donovan, and acclaimed Australian musician Nick Cave.
The film revisits the unlikely 1995 collaboration between Cave and Minogue on the haunting ballad Where The Wild Roses Grow, a song that became an international hit despite their contrasting musical styles.
"Kylie is this force,” Cave says in the documentary.
The series also focuses on the personal struggles behind Minogue's public image.
The 57-year-old speaks candidly about her second cancer diagnosis in 2021, which she has since overcome, and explains how the experience inspired the deeply personal song Story.
Minogue first revealed she had breast cancer in 2005, forcing her to postpone a world tour.
The announcement triggered widespread public support and led to a sharp increase in breast cancer screenings in Australia, a phenomenon widely referred to as the "Kylie effect.”
But unlike in 2005, Minogue says she chose not to publicly disclose her second diagnosis while undergoing treatment.
At several points in the documentary, she becomes visibly emotional while discussing the experience.
The documentary also revisits the criticism Minogue faced early in her music career, when some dismissed her as a lightweight pop act with little artistic credibility.
The scrutiny intensified after her breakout role as Charlene Robinson in the hit Australian television soap Neighbours in the late 1980s.
Her on-screen chemistry with Donovan translated into music success when the pair recorded the hit duet Especially For You in 1988.
Today, Minogue is widely regarded as one of Australia’s most successful artistes and a defining figure in global pop music. "Life makes sense to me on stage,” she says in the series, reflecting on a lifelong passion for performing.
Beyond the fame and glamour, Kylie presents an intimate portrait of a performer who has navigated public criticism, heartbreak, illness and self-doubt while remaining firmly in the public eye.
One of the documentary’s most poignant sections centres on Minogue’s relationship with late Michael Hutchence, lead singer of Australian rock band INXS, who died in 1997.
Fighting back tears, Minogue describes Hutchence as a profound love and admits she may still be searching for someone like him - but has never found that connection again. – dpa
