Natalie Imbruglia: who is The Masked Singer winner, songs including Torn, and when was she in Neighbours?

The third season of perhaps the most bizarre TV show to have graced the airwaves recently, The Masked Singer, has come to an end - and the identities of Panda, Mushroom and Robobunny have finally been revealed.

It was unveiled that Natalie Imbruglia was the woman beneath the Panda costume as she was crowned winner. But who is she?

Who is Natalie Imbruglia?

Natalie Imbruglia is an Australian-British singer-songwriter and actress, best known for songs like her cover of Ednaswap’s Torn and role in the Australian soap Neighbours cast: 12 celebrities who started careers on Australian soap - from Margot Robbie to Russell Crowe">Neighbours.

She was born on 4 February 1975 and as a youngster appeared in Australian TV adverts for brands like Coca-Cola and Twisties. She left school at the age of 16 to pursue acting and was able to bag the role of Beth Brennan on Neighbours, starring on the soap between 1992 and 1994.

Imbruglia left for London in 1994 where she met her future manager Anne Barret and would sign a record deal with BMG after being impressed by a demo of the song Torn.

Torn became a huge hit, reaching number two on the UK Singles Chart in November 1997 and remaining at number one on the Billboard airplay chart for 14 weeks.

She released her debut album Left of the Middle in 1997 which, along with the Torn single, earned her an MTV Award for Best New Artist in 1998 and three consecutive Grammy Nominations the following year. She also won two Brit Awards for Best International Newcomer and Best International Female.

Imbruglia went on to release her second album in 2001, called White Lilies Island, her third album in 2005, Counting Down the Days, fourth album in 2009, Come to Life, fifth album in 2015, Male and finally her most recent album Firebird which was released on 24 September 2021.

What other songs did she sing?

Some other songs you’ll likely recognise from Imbruglia includes:

• Big Mistake, released in 1998
• Shiver, released in 2005
• Smoke, released in 1998
• Wishing I Was There, released in 1998
• Wrong Impression, released in 2002
• That Day, released in 2001
• Counting Down the Days, released in 2005
• Glorious, released in 2007
• Beauty On The Fire, released in 2002

As well as appearing on Neighbours, Imbruglia’s other on screen roles include the 2003 spy comedy Johnny English alongside Rowan Atkinson (Blackadder, Mr Bean).

Is she married and does she have children?

Imbruglia is not currently married, however she was previously married to Silverchair frontman and fellow singer Daniel Johns, after they first met in 1999.

Following a years long on again off again relationship, they announced their engagement at the end of 2002 and were married on New Year’s Eve 2003.

The couple announced their divorce in 2008, explaining in a statement: “We have simply grown apart through not being able to spend enough time together.”

Prior to dating Johns, Imbruglia dated actor and Friends star David Schwimmer in the late 1990s.

In 2019, Imbruglia revealed that she had given birth to a baby boy at the age of 44 after going through IVF (In vitro fertilisation) using a sperm donor.

She made the announcement on her Instagram, with a photo of herself holding her baby’s hand.

Imbruglia wrote: “For those of you who know me, this has been something I have wanted for a very long time.

“I’m blessed that this is possible with the help of IVF and a sperm donor - I won’t be saying anything more on that publicly.

“I’m so excited about this next adventures… a new album and I’m going to be a mum.”

Speaking to the Independent in 2021, Imbruglia said that her son, named Max Valentine, is “the best thing that has ever happened” to her.

She said: “The feeling of unconditional love is very hard to put into words, especially if it’s something you have yearned for for a very long time.

“I am content, and I feel very calm and very peaceful.

“I also think, separate to being a mum, I am 46 - and at this point you should have chilled out a bit, take yourself less seriously, enjoy life a bit more.

“Surely that is the goal? I definitely think I am more easy about things.”

When did she win The Masked Singer?

Imbruglia was recently revealed to be Panda on the third series of The Masked Singer, the finale of which aired on Saturday (12 February) evening.

She was named as the winner of the season after going head to head with Robobunny, revealed to be Westlife’s Mark Feehily, and Mushroom, who was unmasked as Welsh singer Charlotte Church.

Throughout her run as Panda, Imbruglia dropped hints about her identity, talking about how she is a “solitary creature” and that she had “been animated” in the past, referring to when she voiced the animated character Koala in Robbie the Reindeer in Legend of the Lost Tribe.

A more obscure clue included a compass which was missing its E - referring to the fact that she grew up in [N]ew [S]outh [W]ales.

The judges’ guesses regarding her identity ranged from X Factor judge Cheryl Cole to Bridget Jones’s Diary star Renée Zellweger. Before the final aired, the bookies had pegged Amanda Holden as the most likely to be behind the mask, with odds of 10/11.

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