Holly Valance has gone from popstar to political campaigner, now backing Reform UK's Nigel Farage.
The actress-turned-singer shot to fame in the iconic Australian soap Neighbours at 16, joining the star-studded cast as Felicity 'Flick' Scully in 1999. She soon became a breakout star and moved to the UK to pursue a career in music.
After releasing her debut single Kiss Kiss, she headed straight for number one in the charts, but her new-found fortune came crashing down, as she was left broke at 19. But she transformed her life once again after meeting her billionaire husband, and now she's very vocal in the world of politics.
Just yesterday, Holly was spotted vouching for former UKIP leader Farage during a rally in Clacton-on-Sea in Essex after announcing he would stand for election in the constituency, and insisted she encouraged him to run. She told GB News: "I have been whispering in his ear for a long time. He is the face of Reform. Richard [Tice] has done a great job and they are a great team.
"Hopefully now we will be stronger and we will see what we can do at this next election. I'm a paid up member." But how did Holly end up involved in politics?
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Holly Valance was just 16 when she joined the cast of Neighbours (BBC)After losing millions as a late teen, Holly was determined to start over. She decided to take a leaf out of the book of Australian actresses Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts and try her luck in Hollywood.
With no work lined up, she bravely booked a flight and vowed to say 'yes' to every opportunity that came her way. She explained: "When I talked about moving to Hollywood Mum said, 'Yes, go for it'. So I got on a plane to LA. I hired a car, looked at a map and drove myself to a place I'd rented.
"I thought, 'Get to know your way around.' I decided to accept every invitation for functions, dinners and balls and threw myself in the deep end." Her bold move paid off and the film and TV roles started coming in.
Holly appeared in CSI: Miami, Entourage, Prison Break and 2008 Liam Neeson movie Taken while enjoying the anonymity of Los Angeles. But a chance meeting with British billionaire Nick Candy in 2009 changed everything.
Holly Valance met British billionaire Nick Candy at a dinner party in 2009
Nick and Holly were guests at Princess Eugenie's wedding (PA)When the pair first crossed paths at a dinner party, the Melbourne-born star had no idea who the property tycoon was. "I didn't know anything about him. I just thought 'Cor, if I didn't fancy you so much, we'd be the best of friends. Instead, I just want to make out with you all the time,'" she told the Daily Mail.
Holly said she 'freaked out' and almost ended things when she discovered just how wealthy he really was, admitting it was 'just too much'. In a panic she rang her mum, who convinced her to give Nick, now 50, a chance, and she moved back to London to be with him.
"I was used to razzle dazzle and meeting lots of famous people, but I wasn't used to super-yachts and private jets," she said of adapting to Nick's lifestyle. For one birthday he gifted her a £20,000 Rolex Daytona watch.
"I am a spoilt brat. My friends and my sister say: 'I hate you!' when I show them what he's bought me," she added. But on top of the homes in Monaco and London and the private plane, it was Nick and his brother Christian's £50 million super-yacht Candyscape II that really blew her mind.
She added: "When I saw the boat for the first time, I was stunned and said "Oh dear God! It's a mansion on water. It's incredible." After Holly finished in fourth place on Strictly in 2011, Nick whisked her off to the Maldives and popped the question on the beach in front of flaming torches that spelt out 'Will you marry me'.
Nick got down on one knee on a Christmas break to the MaldivesThey tied the knot in a lavish outdoor ceremony in Beverly Hills in 2012, at a reported cost of £3million. The happy couple apparently paid Katy Perry £1.2million to perform for guests that included Simon Cowell.
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The following November, Holly gave birth to their daughter Luka, followed by her little sister Nova in September 2017. These days, Holly and her family still call London home. They're friends with royalty and were guests at the wedding of Princess Eugenie.
In recent times, she has expressed her support for the Conservative Party, and earlier this year, was spotted on the front row of a right-wing Tory event by Popular Conservatism group. The Aussie star was seated alongside MPs such as Lee Anderson, Jacob Rees-Mogg and the failed former PM Liz Truss.
For those wondering about her political alliances, Holly explained in a sweary rant at the event: "I would say that everyone starts off as a leftie and then wakes up at some point after you start either making money, working, trying to run a business, trying to buy a home and then realise what c**p ideas they all are. And then you go to the right."
When asked who her favourite speakers were, she added: "The speakers were fantastic. I thought Liz [Truss] was really interesting to listen to, Jacob [Rees-Mogg] for prime minister, the MP for Ashfield [Lee Anderson] was awesome, love a northerner, straight to the point and very sensible."
Her billionaire husband Mr Candy is a prominent Conservative party supporter and donor. He backed Tory Shaun Bailey's unsuccessful campaign to be Mayor of London in 2021 - and was pictured at the notorious lockdown rule-breaking Christmas Party held in Conservative HQ that December. In 2022, Nigel Farage shared a picture of him and Holly having dinner with Donald Trump.
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