Background
Jason Donovan was born in Malvern, Melbourne.
Actor singer radio and television presenter
Jason Donovan was born in Malvern, Melbourne.
Donovan made his first television appearance at the age of eleven on the Australian series Skyways, playing a guest role. In the episode his on-screen sister was played by later co-star Kylie Minogue. He also featured in I Can Jump Puddles before reaching fame in Neighbours as the second incarnation (after Darius Perkins) of the character Scott Robinson. His character's most notable story arc was his onscreen romance and wedding to Charlene Robinson (played by Kylie Minogue).
In 1987 he won his first Logie Award for "Best New Talent" in 1987 and received a commendation in the category "Performance by a Male Actor In a Series" from the Television Society of Australia's Penguin Awards. In 1988 he was awarded the 'Silver Logie' for the "Most Popular Actor."
After leaving Neighbours in 1988, Donovan signed a recording contract with Mushroom Records. His first single "Nothing Can Divide Us" written and produced by Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman known as Stock Aitken Waterman reached number five in the UK, number one in Hong Kong and Japan, and the top 40 in several other countries.
In 1988 he joined Neighbours co-star Kylie Minogue in signing for Stock, Aitken and Waterman's record label PWL. His second single, "Too Many Broken Hearts," reached number one in the UK. He released his d?but album, Ten Good Reasons, in May 1989, which entered the charts at number two and within a week had reached the number one album spot remaining there for three weeks. His cover of Brian Hyland's "Sealed With a Kiss" entered the UK charts at number one, making Jason the first Australian male to ever hold both single and album chart number one positions simultaneously. He was also the youngest artist to enter the charts at number one.In 1996, Donovan starred in the natively produced Australian film called The Last Bullet with Koji Tamaki, directed by Michael Pattison which was set in World War II on the Pacific island of Borneo in the last days of 1945.
In 1998 Donovan took the lead role in the UK touring production of Rocky Horror Show, where he met stage manager Angela Malloch. After the pair started a relationship, Angela became pregnant and gave Donovan an ultimatum.In early 2008, Donovan appeared in ITV's post-watershed soap opera Echo Beach as Daniel Marrack. However the series was cancelled after 12 episodes. He also presented Sunday Night with Jason Donovan, a programme on The One Network of UK local radio stations.
On 25 September 2008, Donovan performed in the canteen at the head offices of Tesco in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire. He was promoting his forthcoming album, Let It Be Me, which was released on 10 November 2008. The album, his first for 15 years, reached no. 28 in the UK.
Quotations:
"You shouldn't be condemned for being honest. I don't know how much it hurt my career but the opportunities I've had are not things I dwell upon. The one thing that I have never ever done is actually advocate the use of drugs. - on telling a paper he had used drugs in the past."
"I'm older, weathered. But the lines have made me a more interesting person."
Donovan's partner since 1998 is Angela Malloch, a former stage manager, with whom he has three children. Donovan and Malloch were married in Bali in 2008.