As he reflects on his four-decade career in “kylie,” an intimate new three-part Netflix documentary, Kylie Minogue delivers a throwaway line that anchors the effort: “Life makes sense to me on stage.” Considering she has made 17 albums, sold 80 million records worldwide, her songs have been streamed more than 5 billion times, and is Australia's best-selling female artist of all time, with shelves full of accolades such as 18 ARIA Awards and two Grammy Awards, one can easily understand her point. view.
Directed by Emmy-winning editor Michael Harte (“Three Identical Strangers,” “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie,” “Beckham”), it gives us a glimpse into Minogue's life through a narrative composed of home movie footage, personal photographs and new interviews with her, her family, former colleagues, lovers and dear friends like musician Nick Cave, who affectionately refers to her as “this force” in pop music's “joy machine.” Minogue, 57, an immensely popular teen soap opera actress turned pop superstar, learned to smile for the camera on cue despite the intense (and often cruel and misogynistic) scrutiny of her every move at a very young age. As she grows and evolves, we witness the evolution of a brilliant, publicly confident superstar and a warm, private, resilient breast cancer survivor and showbiz's mercurial middle finger who doesn't take herself too seriously.
There was no “seismic shift” that compelled her to share her story, but the long, gentle prodding of producer John Battsek (of “The Deepest Breath,” “Wham!” and “Beckham”) worked. “It took me several years to say yes,” he says, coming into our chat from the UK. “I would just say, either there's too much going on or I don't feel ready. But at one point I thought, if not now, when?”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
The level of fandom you experienced at such a young age must have been overwhelming. How did you process all the attention?
Keep trying to solve it. Back in the “Neighbors” days, Jason [Donovan, her co-star and ex-boyfriend] and I were a team with Guy Pearce. The three of us were involved like thieves, all the same age, all fresh out of high school, in this soap opera. It wasn't like we were taking on a role on this hit show. We were part of their success story. We just thought, “Oh, we have a job. We have to know our lines. We have to get to work on time.” and they job us. They offered us shopping malls, this photo shoot, that photo shoot… Smile, keep smiling! Bigger smiles! We had each other, the three of us, and we have strong families and people in our lives. I can't imagine being a loose cannon anymore, or how you would navigate without that grounding.
Kylie Minogue with Jason Donovan, her “Neighbours” co-star.
(Netflix)
Your family seems like a very solid support system throughout the documentary, especially considering how the press treated you. Just watching how downright cruel and predatory and misogynists that they were was incredible. We are the same age, so I remember some of what you experienced.
Yes, amazing! When you were talking about what it must have been like to have that fandom from the beginning, I don't think that was ever an issue. It was something to navigate, but [the problem] It was the press. They say one thing, but I meet people on the street and they don't think that way. So to quote me from the documentary, it just didn't make sense. I've been meeting a lot of millennials and younger people at promotions these past few days, and they're irritated. They met me in the 2000s at these kind of star moments and they just had no idea.
The documentary includes discussions about her past public relationships, such as with co-star Jason Donovan, and later about Michael Hutchence and Nick Cave. It's a very vulnerable thing to share with your fans. What did it take to decide if to let us into that personal part of your life?
It's not like I'm so comfortable and like, “Hey, let's talk about my life!” To talk about Michael [Hutchence]I didn't think much about it beforehand. I knew it had some great images and excellent footage from that era. I didn't know Miguel [Harte] He would craft it so beautifully and poetically, and it just leads… [to Nick Cave] …You have the bright-eyed wonder of Jason and I, more like a younger love, and it's a forever story: We could see each other for the rest of time and we'll always be those people. But I didn't really see it coming the way it happened, talking about Michael in the documentary and that time.
Kylie Minogue with Michael Hutchence from “Kylie.”
(Netflix)
Can you tell us a little about the first time you went to Kylie Night and your decades-long mutual love for the LGBTQIA+ community?
It's great to have support through thick and thin. It was really like 1990 when I first heard about Kylie Night and I was like, “What is Kylie Night?” I didn't actually go that night, but I ended up going a few years later. Just to sum it up, the photograph you see in the documentary of me at Three Faces, a nightclub in Melbourne, I had been at a Lemonheads concert, which couldn't be more opposite than a drag club! That says a lot. There's that indie rock part of me, then linked to Three Faces. I found it at the end of the making of the documentary, but I have footage from 1996 at the Sydney Mardi Gras, these rickety footage. Nobody had cameras! This place is just a sweat pit, amazing!
I remember when you received your cancer diagnosis and how heartbreaking it was for you. Cancer affects the lives of many people. How did it change you? And why did you feel it was important to share that part of your story in the documentary?
Obviously, that is a moment that will forever be etched in my being and in my memory. It's like a meteor that comes from outer space and hits you on the head. You're still you, just a different version of you, or the next you. There was a lot of uncertainty at that time. It's beyond great to be able to talk about it now without having to go there, because I'll go if I go there, but I think overall my attitude is my glass is half full. When it falls, of course, it does so from time to time, but I try to inflate it so that it is positive. I was determined to get back to doing what I do. I wanted to feel capable. Before streaming was a thing, my friends brought me DVDs, but I couldn't watch a movie. Going down the street was a real mission. What does this mean? It was overwhelming in a way I can't describe to you. Even if we sat together all afternoon, I couldn't describe it.
It took a while for Kylie Minogue to agree to tell her story in the documentary “Kylie.”
(From Netflix)
Now, with every album you release, new young people are really interested in your work, which must be very exciting and wonderful.
What “Padam Padam” started with, especially in the United States, was knowing that there were kids for whom this was one of their first mega pop songs. After one of the most incredible concerts (I'll never forget it) I was doing at the time, friends or crew members would bring kids, or nephews, or whoever, and these little ones, you know, 7, 8, 9. They were trying to keep their eyes open to get to “Padam,” and the kids were like, “Oh, we love that new song, 'The Loco-Motion!' [originally released in 1987]. My heart started to swell! That's the sweetest thing ever.
Are you free to share what you're doing musically now? I saw on Instagram that you recorded a new video. Fans also fantasize about your appearance on Madonna's album…
That's a random thing. There was a rumor that it was on their album, but that's not the case. I'm excited to hear it, everyone! But new music? Yeah! There is a new song called “Light Up” that lives perfectly within the documentary. He is not a “Padam”, but he has a lot of heart. Initially, I was thinking about my mom, because you can see in this documentary, don't make me cry, that I love her very much. I was writing about when you're struggling, whether you're a child or an adult, and someone who loves you looks you in the eyes and, like in a manga cartoon, you reach out and see this world of possibilities. When you are lost, helpless or glassy-eyed, someone who can see in you what you cannot see can enlighten you and you will be able to get through that moment. My family does it, and it's clear to see how Michael [Hutchence] and Nick can touch my soul. You can overcome health problems. You can go out on stage and do what you're supposed to do when everything feels like you can't do it, so it's like the love of parents, the love of friendship, can extend to the love of the audience. Because they will give you the strength to go out and have those moments to share. It's a beautiful thing.
Kylie Minogue is no stranger to looking like a mirror ball: here she is dressed in head-to-toe silver during an April 2025 concert in Illinois.
(Rob Grabowski / Invision / AP)
What do you hope your fans take away from the documentary?
That this has been a journey of a lifetime. That we are all human. Stay true to yourself. Love the people around you. There's one thing I say very often before I go on stage: I'll say, “Let the love in and let the light out.” It is very important to be able to accept that love because we are all weird, crazy humans who ask ourselves: do I deserve this? Are they going to discover me or something?
Then you reflect love, like a mirror ball.
It only takes one light to land on the mirror ball, and that is refracted, so everything I receive is paid for and multiplied. And I'll leave it at that.
“Kylie” premieres May 20 on Netflix.
