Natalie Bassingthwaighte (born 1 September 1975) is a Gold Logie-nominated Australian actress, lead vocalist of electro-pop band Rogue Traders and host of So You Think You Can Dance Australia. She is perhaps best known for the role of Izzy Hoyland on the soap opera Neighbours from 2003 to 2007, of which gained her nominations for the TV Week Gold Logie.

Biography

Acting

Before being cast in Neighbours, Natalie had a few television roles, including All Saints "Touch and Go." Natalie's character on Neighbours had an evil streak, and was involved in several big storylines. She left the show in late-2006 to focus on her singing career with the Rogue Traders, and returned briefly in March 2007 for a two-week guest stint that was filmed in London where Rogue Traders were touring at the time.

In 2006, Natalie was nominated for a Gold Logie for the the first time since joining Neighbours. The Gold Logie is the biggest award at the Australian TV Week Logie Awards, which is presented to the "Most Popular Personality on Television." She was also nominated for a Silver Logie for "Best Actress," but failed to win either award. Natalie was nominated for a Silver Logie for "Most Popular Actress" at the 2007 Logies, but lost to Home and Away's Kate Ritchie.

In 2007, Natalie filmed a role in the low-budget Australian horror film, Prey, directed by George T. Miller. Set in the Outback of Western Australia, Prey follows a group of six young people lured into the desert by a local character, whose master needs fresh victims to consume. In 2004, Natalie filmed a role in the low-budget Australian movie, When Darkness Falls, directed by Rohan Spong. She played the character of Jinx de Luxe and sang the Marilyn Monroe song, "Every Baby Needs a Da Da Daddy," onscreen.

Singing

Natalie Bassingthwaighte performing live with Rogue Traders at Melbourne's Crown Casino in 2007.
Natalie Bassingthwaighte performing live with Rogue Traders at Melbourne's Crown Casino in 2007.

Natalie has performed in many musicals, mostly with a rock flavour including RENT, Footloose and has several times over the past 5 years toured as Sandy in Grease, against Craig McLachlan and Miguel Ayesa, who was her castmate in RENT. Most Grease productions were 'Arena Spectaculars' with many big names presented, instead of focusing on the lead actors. Before joining Rogue Traders, Natalie had recorded her own demos that were to be sent out to record labels. Natalie described the style of the music as acoustic rock.

From late 2004 she has been the lead singer of Australian pop group Rogue Traders, a band which had some limited success in the years before she joined. Natalie auditioned along with several other musicians and succeeded in getting the part fairly quickly. At first the band seemed keen to keep Natalie's involvement in the Rogue Traders under wraps, and it wasn't until the band's first single release with Natalie on board that fans became aware of Natalie's position. The Rogue Traders achieved great success with their album Here Come The Drums, led by the hit single "Voodoo Child". The Rogue Traders third album, titled Better in the Dark, was released on the 13 October 2007 in Australia, later in Europe and America. The first single is named "Don't You Wanna Feel" and was released on the 29 September. The second single, I Never Liked You, was released on 14 January 2008. Natalie has been working on her own solo album, which will not be released until late 2008.

Home: Songs Of Hope & Journey, a compilation that was released on November 25, 2006, features a duet with Natalie and Shannon Noll, which is a cover of Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush's "Don't Give Up". The song was released as a single on December 9, 2006, debuting on the ARIA Charts at number seven, before peaking at number 2 the following week.

Natalie also recorded a version of "O Holy Night" for The Spirit of Christmas 2006, a Christmas compilation album in which all proceeds go to The Salvation Army in Australia and appeared on the 2006 season final of Dancing with the Stars. Natalie sang the Australian national anthem Advance Australia Fair at the 2007 AFL Grand Final. Natalie and Shannon Noll joined forces again in 2007 to record a duet of 'Please Come Home For Christmas' which appeared on the 2007 Myer Spirit of Christmas compilation album.

Other projects

Natalie Bassingthwaighte hosting 'So You Think You Can Dance'.
Natalie Bassingthwaighte hosting 'So You Think You Can Dance'.

Natalie and her younger sister Nicky Moore have written a book for eight to fourteen-year-old girls with the title of Sistahood: The Journal of Self-Discovery. The book is aimed at encouraging girls to follow their dreams and be all they can be, the book was released in April 2008.

Bassingthwaighte is currently the host of the Australian series of So You Think You Can Dance.

Personal life

While Bassingthwaighte keeps her private life out of the public eye, she has been photographed at various events with current boyfriend, Cameron McGlinchey, the drummer of Rogue Traders. She has also previously been linked to assistant Neighbours director Ryan Eckersley, and in the December 2006 issue of Men's Style magazine, she mentioned that she was married for a short time when she was 23.

Bassingthwaighte was involved in the World Hunger campaign organised by CARE Australia in 2005. She has also supported several other charities as she rose to fame such as Variety Club and Beyond Blue. In 2007, Natalie participated in 'My Diverse Australia', supporting the fight against muscular dystrophy.

She was recently the entertainer at the Allan Border Medal Awards Ceremony.