Several music stars, Oscar winners, and radio hosts, including Margot Robbie, Delta Goodrem, and Holly Valance, got their start on the popular Australian soap.
The long-running soap opera Neighbours may be coming to an end, but its legacy lives on thanks to all the legendary careers it helped launch.
The renowned Australian show will be canceled after 37 years on the air, according to show executives, with the final episode planned to air in June.
Since its debut in 1986, the drama has been a breeding ground for acting and singing talent, with many residents of the fictional town of Erinsborough going on to star in Hollywood and pop music.
Here’s what some of the show’s stars are up to now, from many Oscar victories to millions of number one albums sold around the world:
Kylie Minogue – Charlene Robinson
Kylie Jenner, arguably the show’s most famous export, rose to international popularity after leaving the classic serial for a career as a pop star.
She auditioned for the role of Charlene shortly after finishing her high school examinations in 1985, and as part of a programme redesign, she was brought to the show along with numerous new characters. She immediately rose to prominence among the group, winning hearts with her on-screen romance with Jason Donovan’s Scott Robinson.
Charlene and Scott’s wedding was broadcast live to an estimated 20 million people around the world, and the couple met in person and even collaborated on a hit single, Especially for You.
Kylie departed Neighbours in 1988 after three years to focus on her singing career.
She went on to become Australia’s best-selling female artist of all time, with over 80 million records sold globally and seven UK number ones, including Spinning Around, Can’t Get You Out of My Head, and I Should Be So Lucky.
Since leaving the soap, the 53-year-old has worked as a judge on The Voice UK and acted in series like Doctor Who and The Vicar of Dibley, as well as being awarded an OBE in the New Year’s Honours list in 2008.
Kylie tweeted after Neighbours was cancelled in March that she would be “forever grateful for the experience” of being on the programme, but she is poised to return her role as Charlene for the show’s finale after a 30-year hiatus.
Despite her reputation for being unlucky in love, she has been dating Paul Solomons since 2018.
Scott Robinson – Jason Donovan
Jason Donovan, like Kylie, was a fan favourite after playing Scott Robinson in approximately 560 episodes, but he departed the programme in 1989 to pursue a singing career.
He sold over three million records in the UK after Neighbours, reaching number one four times, and his debut album Ten Good Reasons was the best-selling album in the UK in 1989, with over 1.5 million copies sold.
By 1995, when he overdosed at model Kate Moss’ 21st birthday party in Los Angeles, the actor had developed a drug addiction and admitted to taking roughly three grammes of cocaine every day. He proudly revealed in 2011 that he has been drug-free since the year 2000.
He has a regular DJ role on Heart FM and has starred in theatre musicals such as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Priscilla Queen of the Desert since leaving the soap.
He has also appeared on reality shows such as Strictly Come Dancing, Dancing on Ice, and I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of This Place!
He and Angela Malloch have been married since 2008 and have three children together: Jemma, 21, Zac, 20, and Molly, ten.
Mike Young – Guy Pearce
Guy, who was born in the United Kingdom, played the troubled Mike Young on the soap from 1986 to 1989. His storylines included being physically assaulted by his father and his connection with Jane Harris.
He departed the drama in December 1989 to pursue a career in Hollywood, eventually becoming a famous international celebrity.
Following his breakout performance in The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert in 1994, he went on to star in films such as LA Confidential, Memento, and The Hurt Locker, as well as Iron Man 3 and Mary Queen of Scots in recent years.
In 2015, he divorced his 18-year-old childhood sweetheart Kate Mestitz, before welcoming a son, Monte, with his current spouse, Dutch actress Carice van Houten, the following year.
Kenny Larkin – Russell Crowe
Russell Crowe is one of the most well-known actors on this list, despite only starring in four episodes as ex-convict Kenny Larkin in 1987. He rose to fame after leaving Australia for America.
He rose to prominence after winning an Oscar for his portrayal of Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius in the acclaimed epic Gladiator in 2000, and has since gone on to win a BAFTA and two Golden Globe awards.
In addition to A Beautiful Mind, American Gangster, Robin Hood, and Master and Commander, the 58-year-old has a leading part in the smash-hit musical Les Misérables. After shooting was halted owing to a Covid outbreak on site, he is presently filming his upcoming blockbuster picture Poker Face.
After a brief romance with actress Meg Ryan, he married on-again, off-again girlfriend Danielle Spencer, an Australian singer, in 2003, until they divorced in 2018. Charles, 18, and Tennyson, 16, are the couple’s two kids.
Josh Taylor – Liam Hemsworth
Between 2007 and 2008, the youngest of the Hemsworth brothers starred in the soap, playing Bridget Parker’s friend Josh Taylor, who was paralysed after a surfing accident.
He went on to star in the Hunger Games trilogy, Independence Day: Resurgence, and Killerman before returning to Hollywood and starring opposite actor and singer Miley Cyrus in the 2010 love drama The Last Song.
Hemsworth began dating Cyrus while filming The Last Song, and the couple married in December 2018 following a nine-year on-again, off-again relationship and two engagements. He filed for divorce nine months later, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason.
Chris, his older brother, made a brief appearance as Jamie Kane in Neighbours and then appeared in rival Australian serial Home and Away before becoming a Hollywood celebrity as Thor in Marvel Studios films and sequels such as The Avengers.
Donna Freeman – Margot Robbie
The Australian actress made her on-screen debut in 2008 on Neighbours, where her character Donna was promoted to a permanent role after an initial guest appearance.
Her character had an eventful three years in Erinsborough, marrying Ringo Brown, played by Sam Clark, while also having an affair with club promoter Andrew Robinson and enjoying a same-sex kiss with Sunny Lee.
After departing in 2011, Robbie went on to have a successful film career and is now one of Hollywood’s most in-demand actresses.
Her debut performance was in Martin Scorsese’s 2013 blockbuster The Wolf of Wall Street, in which she co-starred with Leonardo Di Caprio, and she has since gone on to act in Suicide Squad, The Legend of Tarzan, and Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
She is married to filmmaker Tom Ackerley, and the two are co-founders of the production business LuckyChap Entertainment, which has produced films such as Promising Young Woman and I, Tonya, in which she stars.
Beth Brennan – Natalie Imbruglia
Beth Brennan became one of the Neighbours’ most recognizable stars after joining the set in 1992. She had a long-term romance with Brad Willis before dumping him at the altar after discovering he had been unfaithful.
However, struggling to cope with the popularity, Natalie Imbruglia quit the drama in 1994 and established a music career three years later, topping charts around the world with her cover of Torn, originally performed by Danish singer Lis Sorensen.
Left In The Middle, her debut album, sold seven million copies and earned her two Brit Awards and three Grammy nominations, while her subsequent releases failed to have the same impression.
She went on to star alongside Rowan Atkinson in the 2003 comedy Johnny English and judge The X Factor Australia in 2010. She won the ITV reality show The Masked Singer in February after being revealed as Panda.
The London-based actress gave birth to her first baby, Max, in October 2019 after conceiving through IVF with the help of a sperm donor. She divorced her five-year rockstar husband, Daniel Johns, in 2008, and had previously been linked to actors David Schwimmer and Robbie Williams.
Nina Tucker – Delta Goodrem
Delta Goodrem rose to stardom as Nina Tucker, a schoolgirl and aspiring singer who featured on the series in 2002, helping to relaunch her own burgeoning music career. Innocent Eyes, her debut album, sold over four million copies worldwide.
She began production on her second album at the age of 18, after having treatment for Hodgkin’s disease. She would go on to release five more albums and have 17 top ten songs in Australia.
Between 2012 until 2020, she worked as a coach on The Voice Australia for eight seasons, earning roughly two million Australian dollars per season.
Since 2017, Goodrem has been dating musician Matthew Copley, but she had previously dated tennis star Mark Philippoussis, Westlife singer Brian McFadden, and former teen heartthrob Nick Jonas.
Flick Scully – Holly Valance
Holly Valance, who first appeared on the show at the age of 16, played the feisty Felicity ‘Flick’ Scully from 1999 to 2002, when she quit to pursue a music career.
Her first album, Footprints, was a commercial triumph, with the track Kiss Kiss hitting number one in Australia. Later albums, however, struggled to match this, and she returned to acting in 2004, starring in the CSI trilogy, Prison Break, and the 2008 thriller Taken.
She finished fourth in the ninth series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2011, alongside fellow Neighbours actor Jason Donovan.
She married wealthy property developer Nick Candy the following year and gave birth to their first child, Luka, in 2013.
Jim Robinson – Alan Dale
Jim Robinson, the head of one of the show’s most popular families, was played by Alan Dale and appeared in 869 episodes of Neighbours from the show’s debut until his death in 1993 due to a heart attack.
Dale’s character’s success, however, left him feeling typecast, so he relocated to the United States to revive his career, starring in hit shows including The OC and Ugly Betty.
He appeared in episodes of Lost, 24, The West Wing, Entourage, and ER, as well as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
He has been married to Tracey Pearson, the 1986 Miss Australia winner since 1990 and they have two daughters together.
Harold Bishop – Ian Smith
Harold, one of the show’s most enduring characters, was famously killed off in 1991, only to return spectacularly a few years later to appear in the show until 2015.
Despite dazzling audiences with his on-screen wife Madge, Ian Smith claims that the role of Harold didn’t do him any favours, with the actor stating that he was turned down for many other parts due to the success of his Neighbour’s portrayal.
Gail, his long-term partner, is his wife.
Madge Bishop – Anne Charleston
The powerful, no-nonsense Erinsborough legend Madge was a regular on the show from 1985 until 1992, then returned between 1996 and 2001, when she died of pancreatic cancer.
While Anne Charleston has been in shows other than Neighbours, such as Prisoner, Emmerdale, and Holby City, she is most recognized worldwide as Madge.
She was previously married to David Ravenswood, with whom she shares a son, Nicky.
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