Natalie Imbruglia has opened up about the dark side of her rise to fame, revealing she was ‘exploited’ as a teenager – and didn’t feel strong enough to say no.
The Australian singer and actress, now 51, rose to international fame with her 1997 hit Torn after first becoming a household name as a teen star on Neighbours.
But behind the glamor of her meteoric rise was a young woman who admits she was often too inexperienced to stand up for herself.
In a candid interview with Stellar magazine, Imbruglia recalled being asked to audition in a bikini – something she said left a lasting impression.
‘I was so dysmorphic and self-conscious. I was exploited,” she said.
“I had to audition in my bikini and walk up and down the room.”
Natalie Imbruglia has opened up about the dark side of her rise to fame, revealing she was ‘exploited’ as a teenager and didn’t feel strong enough to say no
She also revealed that she once agreed to what she thought would be a shoot for a fashion magazine, but discovered it was actually something completely different.
‘There was a magazine distributed that I thought existed [going to be] fashion… turned out to be lingerie,” she said.
‘I didn’t know I could say no. So I just took the pictures!’
The photos were then sold everywhere, leaving the young star in dire straits.
‘They were sold all over the world… it was traumatizing. That was never my intention, but I didn’t have my voice,” she said.
Imbruglia was just 16 when she left school to join the cast of Neighbors as Beth Brennan, embarking on a career that would eventually take her from Australian television to international superstardom.
She moved to Britain in 1994 to pursue acting opportunities, and admitted she was suddenly thrown into an adult world she was unprepared for.
‘It quickly dawned on me: ‘You are in an adult’s world.’ I was out of my depth,” she recalled.
The Australian singer and actress, now 51, rose to international fame with her 1997 hit Torn, after first becoming a household name as a teen star on Neighbours.
But behind the glamor of her meteoric rise was a young woman who admits she was often too inexperienced to stand up for herself. (Pictured on Neighbors in the ’90s)
‘It took more than ten years after I left [Neighbours] for me to say, ‘Oh, my God. How did I do that?'”
The experience seems to have shaped the way she approached her career – and especially her image – as Torn transformed her into a global star.
By the time she filmed the iconic music video, Imbruglia was determined to gain more control over how she looked.
“The ‘Torn’ video made me not want anyone to see my silhouette or wear clothes that I felt uncomfortable in,” she said.
She asked to wear her own clothes for the video and ended up almost accidentally creating what became one of the most recognizable looks of the ’90s.
Her outfit consisted of army fatigues, a cheap transfer T-shirt from London’s Portobello Road Market, trainers designed to make her look bigger and a jacket from Maharishi.
“I just wore what I would wear every day,” she said.
Despite the video becoming iconic, Imbruglia admitted she suffered from nerves during filming.
The result, however, was a career-defining video and a song that would become one of the biggest hits of the era.
Nearly thirty years later, the song remains inextricably linked to Imbruglia – something she has learned to embrace rather than resent.
However, her relationship with fame has clearly changed dramatically over the years.
Earlier this year, she found herself reacquainted with the celebrity machinery as she returned to posing for photos and doing interviews.
“It was shocking,” she admitted.
“I was sitting in a chair, they’re doing my hair and makeup, there’s a camera in my face and they’re asking questions.”
Her first reaction was to wonder why she was being asked so many questions, until she suddenly remembered, “It’s my job.”
