From little known model from the Wild West to the Queen Bee of Melbourne: How one racy red dress changed Rebecca Judd’s life

It’s been 20 years since Melbourne’s WAG queen Rebecca Judd made her sizzling red carpet debut at the 2004 Brownlow Medal.

And life has certainly changed for the wife of retired AFL star Chris Judd since that fateful night.

Once a nameless model from Western Australia, 41-year-old Glamazon now has a varied and glittering career as a television host, influencer, radio host, author and business owner.

So how did a red dress launch the woman once known as Rebecca Twigley into the stratosphere?

This week the popular one Outspoken podcastpresented by sisters Amy, Sophie and Kate Taeuber, took a deep dive into Rebecca’s rise and how she came to be known as Australia’s preeminent footy WAG.

Rebecca burst onto the scene at the age of 21 when she wore a red dress with a plunging neckline to the 2004 Brownlow Medal with her then-boyfriend Chris.

The outfit, which featured a neckline that reached below her navel and a daring thigh slit, was created by Perth designer Ruth Tarvydas and was valued at $2,000.

“Chris and Bec had only been dating for ten months, and they were living in Perth at the time, and while Chris was well known in football circles around Perth, Bec had a bit of a profile. But she was not known nationally at all,” said a sister.

“Chris had an excellent season for the Eagles that year so he was a favorite to win the Brownlow Medal.”

“Yes, and all eyes were supposed to be on Chris at the time, but it was Bec who caught everyone’s attention,” another sister added.

Although fleshless dresses are a dime a dozen on the red carpet these days, Bec’s fashion decision raised many eyebrows at the time.

The Taeubers noted how Bec immediately stole the show, with one explaining, “This was 19 years ago. None of us had ever seen a dress like that on the red carpet. That was very risky at the time.’

“Well she clearly knew what she was doing,” said another, adding: “She was smart enough to know that this was an opportunity for name recognition and that all eyes would be on her as her partner was touted to take home the Brownlow that year.”

Although Bec has since credited the red dress with launching her career, her naked appearance caused a lot of backlash at the time.

‘There were all kinds of hateful comments like this [Bec]one sister said of the live media coverage during the 2004 Brownlows.

“It was kind of like these kind of piggish comments, and they kept coming back, like the camera kept rolling on her the whole time. And they were like, they were humiliating her,” she added.

Another sister noted that at one point during the ceremony, Bec picked up her menu so she could hide her cleavage from the ever-curious cameras.

Elsewhere, the Taeubers talked about how Bec’s daring display influenced the type of red carpet attire worn at awards shows in the future.

The sisters noted that other WAGs have tried to recreate the shock caused by Bec’s performance, hoping they too can launch a career in the spotlight.

Speaking to the Herald Sun at the time, Rebecca said of her famous look: ‘I really didn’t think it would attract so much attention, but I was followed on the red carpet.

‘Everyone wanted an interview and pictures.’

Chris then told The Herald Sun that Brownlow in 2004 was the night Bec became ‘public property’ and changed their lives forever.

“It felt like a before and after event. Wonderful opportunities arose. Life was just very different,” said Chris, who was just 21 when he won the prestigious Brownlow Medal.

‘Things around privacy, having a partner who was apparently also public property, there were a lot of things I had to get used to and my memories are of a very special night, but also an exclamation point between life before and life after.’

After the 2004 Brownlow Medal, Bec was inundated with offers from Australian TV networks offering her roles.

She went on to work as a guest presenter on the Nine Perth program Just Add Water and also presented a news segment on Melbourne Cup fashion for Seven News in 2006.

A year later, Bec started working as a weekend weather presenter for Seven News in Perth.

She then joined Nine Network, where she hosted the travel show Postcards between 2011 and 2020 and presented the weather on Nine News Melbourne in 2014.

Capitalizing on her rising fame, Bec also launched her Jaggad activewear line in 2013 with the help of her husband, AFL star Steven Greene and his wife Michelle.

In 2017, she co-hosted KIIS FM’s 3pm Pick-Up with Monty Dimond and Yumi Styles, before launching her debut book ‘The Baby Bible’ a year later.

Bec is also an ambassador for a range of beauty, fashion and lifestyle brands including Myer, Klorane and Adairs.

The Judds tied the knot in 2010 and he retired from football five years later.

The couple, who live in a $7.3 million mansion in Melbourne’s posh Brighton, share four children: daughter Billie, nine, son Oscar, 12, and twins Darcy and Tom, seven.