Holly Valance

Early life

Holly Valance was born on 11 May 1983, as Holly Rachel Vukadinović, in Fitzroy, Victoria, from Serb father, Rajko Vukadinović, and a British mother of English and Spanish descent Rachel (née Stephens) from Southampton. Her mother, whose father was a relative of comedian Benny Hill, was a model in the United Kingdom. Valance's parents divorced in 1986. Valance has a sister, Coco. Rajko later remarried and Holly has a half-sister, Olympia, who has also acted in Neighbours as Paige Smith (2014–2018, 2020, 2022). In Melbourne Rajko ran a "trendy imported European clothes store".

Valance started modelling as a teenager, when "she posed for supermarket catalogues and ad campaigns and by 14 she was earning $200 an hour modelling children's clothes and teenage lingerie." She grew up in Melbourne and moved to the UK when she was 18; she holds both Australian and British citizenship. After two years she moved to Los Angeles, where she spent seven years before returning to the United Kingdom.

Career

1999–2003: ''Neighbours'' and music

In 1999 at age 16, Valance was cast in the Australian TV soap opera, Neighbours, as Felicity "Flick" Scully. Soon after gaining the role she left her Catholic school, "where girls were given detention for wearing make-up or having a hem above the knee." She appeared in Human Nature's music video for "He Don't Love You" (November 2000), "in a raunchy shower scene." Valance left Neighbours in 2002 to start her music career. Her first single, released in April 2002, was "Kiss Kiss", an English language cover version of Turkish singer Tarkan's "Şımarık". It entered both the ARIA Singles and UK Singles Charts at No. 1. It charted in the top ten in seventeen countries, and went to number one in North Macedonia. The song was nominated for four ARIA Music Awards in 2002.

Valance's second single, "Down Boy" (September), peaked at No. 2 in the UK and No. 3 in Australia. Her first album, Footprints, was released on 14 October 2002, which reached No. 9 in the UK and No. 15 in Australia. She co-wrote the album track "The Harder They Come" with Rob Davis, who supplied guitar for the album. The album's third and final single, "Naughty Girl", peaked at No. 3 in Australia and No. 16 in the UK. Valance's second album, State of Mind, appeared in November 2003 and its title track was the lead single. It peaked at No. 8 in the UK and at No. 14 in Australia. Valance dropped London Recordings in 2004 and said she was no longer interested in recording music.

2004–2013: ''Prison Break'' and films

In 2004, Valance returned to acting, this time in the United States, appearing in episodes of the television series CSI: Miami and Entourage. In 2005, she appeared in an episode of CSI: NY. In 2005 Valance returned to music, albeit briefly, when she appeared on Har Mar Superstar's album The Handler singing on the tracks, "DUI", "Back the Camel Up" and "Body Request". She appeared in Prison Break in 2006 as Nika Volek, a role which she continued to portray in the show's second season. Also in 2006, Valance appeared in the National Lampoon comedy Pledge This!, alongside American socialite Paris Hilton. The same year, she starred in DOA: Dead or Alive, an adaptation of the popular video game Dead or Alive, in which she played Christie. In 2007, she appeared in the TV series Shark and Moonlight. In 2008, she had a role in the film Taken alongside Liam Neeson, and appeared in an episode of The CW series Valentine.

In 2009, she appeared in Frankmusik's video for his single "Confusion Girl". She also leaked a track called "Superstar" in 2009. In 2009 Valance played Brenda Snow for the video game Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 – Uprising. She also appeared in Scott Caan's film Mercy. Valance took part in the 2011 series of Strictly Come Dancing, where she was paired with the professional winner of series 8, Artem Chigvintsev. Valance and Chigvintsev were eliminated in the semi-final of the competition on 11 December 2011, giving them a fourth-place finish. She also starred in the Miss Marple television episode called "The Pale Horse". In 2011, Valance appeared in an advert for Foster's Gold bottled beer.

In 2013, Valance was mentor and judge of fashion competition Shopaholic Showdown.

2013–present: Hiatus and other projects

In 2013, Valance took a hiatus from her artistic career to prioritise her family, and has since been doing charity work as Ambassador of The Children's Trust, the UK's leading charity for children with brain injury and neurodisability. Since then, her only new role has been an appearance in the movie Red Herring, released in 2015 and shot in 2013. On 28 July 2022, Valance was seen in a cameo appearance as Felicity Scully, in what was intended to be the final-ever Neighbours episode. Her appearance was filmed in the UK alongside that of Natalie Imbruglia's character, Beth Brennan.

Also in 2013, Valance made a series of advertisements for 0800REVERSE, a reverse charge phone service.

In 2025, she became a brand ambassador for heritage Australian label, Driza-Bone.

On 26 January 2026, Valance released the single "Kiss Kiss (XX) My Arse" in support of politician Pauline Hanson's film A Super Progressive Movie. Within hours of the song's release, it reached the number one position on the Australian iTunes songs chart.

Personal life

From 2005 to 2009, Valance dated Australian actor Alex O'Loughlin. In 2010, she started dating British property developer Nick Candy, whom she married on 29 September 2012 in Beverly Hills, California. The couple has two daughters. The first was born in November 2013, and the second in September 2017. In June 2025, it was reported that Valance and Candy had separated after 13 years of marriage.

Political views

According to The Guardian in 2024, Valance had "rapidly risen to become radical-right royalty". In February that year, she attended the launch of the new British conservative movement Popular Conservatism, led by former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss. In a series of clips posted on X (formerly known as Twitter), Valance was interviewed by Christopher Hope of GB News, and was asked about her views on various issues. Her view on "the climate crisis or lack of" was that "cleaner, cheaper energy is what we need". Asked about her political views, she said, "I would say that everyone starts off as a leftie and then wakes up at some point after making money, working, trying to run a business, trying to buy a home then realises what crap ideas they all are, and then you go to the right." Valance said her top political priority was Britain leaving the European Convention on Human Rights and the establishment of a British bill of rights, adding that "the trickle-down effect would be a huge step in the right direction".

A close personal friend of Nigel Farage, Valance said she persuaded him to stand for Parliament in the 2024 general election. In a 2024 interview she stated she was a member of Reform UK and would be voting for them in the general election. She said, "I support anybody that sticks to what they believe in and isn't a turncoat, and doesn't do a million flip-flops and U-turns." She helped the party raise £1.5 million within days of Farage's return as leader, and has donated approximately £100,000 herself. In December 2024 it was announced that Valance's husband would become treasurer of Reform UK.

Having previously stayed at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, in 2024 she became the "UK poster girl" for Trump's US presidential campaign, and co-hosted a large fundraiser in London on 11 June.

In 2025, she attended the "Unite the Kingdom" protest, and said of the British far-right activist, Tommy Robinson: "I'm very proud and pleased for Tommy, this is his redemption."

Legal issues

In January 2002, Valance dismissed her then-manager Scott Michaelson by telephone, 15 months before his contract was due to expire. In 2003, Michaelson's company sued Valance's company for breach of contract, won the case and was awarded damages by the Supreme Court of New South Wales. During the trial, Valance's mother said Michaelson had been negligent as a manager, which forced her to take over from him. The former Neighbours cast member Kym Valentine also gave evidence that Valance "said she was feeling bad, a bit stressed out, because she was leaving Scott" and that "she said the solicitors for her record company would get her out of the contract and would be faxing him the paper work (from the UK) to do so." In court, Valance denied that she had said this to Valentine, even though she had signed an affidavit stating she had no recollection of the conversation.

Justice Clifford Einstein declared that Valence's company had shown *a calculated disregard of the rights of [Michaelson's company] Biscayne as well as a cynical pursuit of benefit". Michaelson's application for a percentage of profits from sales of her album State of Mind was denied.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video game

• Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 – Uprising (2009), as Brenda Snow (voice role)

Discography

Main article: Holly Valance discography

• Footprints (2002)
• State of Mind (2003)

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. Taylor, Paul. (4 August 2004). "Holly Valance – Footprints (London)". [[Manchester Evening News]].
2. "Holly Valance | Miss 'Kiss-Kiss'". [[FHM]].
3. (2011). "Holly Valance Interview - Five Minutes With...".
4. Gibbs, Ed. (17 July 2011). "Almost famous". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
5. Farkas, D.. (5 October 2008). "Holi Valans: Srpkinja u pohodu na Holivud". Nadlanu.com.
6. (5 January 2014). "Blic Online". Blic.rs.
7. (5 January 2014). "Blic Online". Blic.rs.
8. (18 March 2015). "Holly Candy and sister Olympia Valance lead stars in celebrating ''Neighbours'' 30th anniversary". HELLO!.
9. Nimmervoll, Ed. (2004). "Holly Valance".
10. Nimmervoll, Ed. "Holly Valance". [[AllMusic]].
11. (26 November 2011). "BBC News - Five Minutes With: Holly Valance". [[BBC]].
12. (5 October 2008). "On the Move: Holly Valance". [[The Times]].
13. (28 July 2022). "Holly Valance's surprise Neighbours return". News.com.au.
14. (31 March 2017). "[[Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop". Third Stone Press.
15. Thompson, Jonathan. (29 September 2002). "Q The interview: Holly Valance". The Independent on Sunday.
16. Kazmierczak, Anita. (15 October 2002). "Kylie sweeps Aussie music awards". BBC News.
17. "''Footprints'' – Holly Valance | Credits". AllMusic.
18. "'The Harder They Fall' at APRA search engine". [[Australasian Performing Right Association]] (APRA) | [[Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society]] (AMCOS).
19. (24 October 2006). "Sexy bra trick clicks with fans". newpaper.asia1.com.sg.
20. Treuen, Jason. (22 July 2005). "Look Mar, no pants". The Sydney Morning Herald.
21. "Holly Valance Movie Appearances @ARTISTdirect". Artist Direct.
22. (6 September 2011). "Strictly Come Dancing signs up Lulu and Edwina Currie". British Broadcasting Corporation.
23. (10 September 2011). "Holly Valance profile at". British Broadcasting Corporation.
24. (11 April 2012). "fosters". YouTube.
25. "Shopaholic Showdown". Radio Times.
26. "Our Ambassadors | The Children's Trust".
27. "Red Herring 2015". Amazon.
28. Patterson, Stephen. (24 July 2022). "Natalie Imbruglia and Holly Valance join Margot Robbie in huge Neighbours returns for epic final episode".
29. Denby, Laura. (25 July 2022). "Natalie Imbruglia and Holly Valance return for Neighbours finale".
30. (11 July 2013). "Phone advert attack".
31. (26 November 2009). "Holly Valance Advert - 0800 Reverse (Chat Show)".
32. Sullivan, Reilly (12 March 2025). [https://www.skynews.com.au/lifestyle/celebrity-life/women-we-love-holly-valance-reveals-surprising-new-role-as-drizabone-brand-ambassador-after-retiring-from-public-life/news-story/84e94639b64e25d6c8239cecd647691a 'Women we love': Holly Valance reveals surprising new role as Driza-Bone brand ambassador after retiring from public life] ''Sky News Australia''. Retrieved on 13 March 2025
33. (26 January 2026). "Holly Valance - Kiss Kiss (XX) My Arse".
34. (26 January 2026). "Pauline Hanson teams up with Holly Valance to mock trans people".
35. Keszler, Sarah. (26 January 2026). "One Nation leader Pauline Hanson’s ‘anti-woke’ song hits number one ahead of launch of controversial movie".
36. Barker, Lynne. (19 July 2007). "Alex O'Loughlin: "Moonlight"'s Hot Vampire". TeenTelevision.com.
37. (October 2, 2012). "Details of Holly Valance's £3million wedding to Nick Candy".
38. Eden, Richard. (24 November 2013). "Strictly Come Dancing star Holly Valance gives birth to her first child". [[The Sunday Telegraph]].
39. (21 September 2017). "Holly Valance and Nick Candy 'delighted' to welcome second daughter".
40. Feneley, Ruby (28 June 2025). [https://www.elle.com.au/culture/celebrity/holly-valance-nick-candy-divorce/ ‘Neighbours’ Star Holly Valance And Billionaire Husband Nick Candy Have Split] ''Elle Australia''. Retrieved on 28 June 2025
41. (15 June 2024). "'Whispering in his ear': how Holly Valance became a cheerleader for the radical right". The Guardian.
42. (6 February 2024). "Holly Valance 'concerned about way things are going' as she outlines fears for her children. Celebrity and model, Holly Valance, was attending the launch of Liz Truss' new movement 'PopCon', Popular Conservatism.". GB News.
43. (6 February 2024). "'Putting restrictions on normal people for a non-existent climate crisis is insanity' 'Neighbours' star, Holly Valance, says that 'cheap, clean energy is what we need', but without putting restrictions on 'normal people'. @ChristopherHope". GB News.
44. (6 February 2024). "'Everyone starts as a leftie and then wakes up and realises all the ideas are crap' Australian model and actress, Holly Valance, was at the launch of Liz Truss' new conservative movement 'PopCon'. @ChristopherHope". GB News.
45. Baker, Graeme. (12 June 2024). "Holly Valance: From Aussie pop star to Trump cheerleader". BBC News.
46. Patrick, Holly. (4 June 2024). "Holly Valance says she convinced Nigel Farage to run in general election". The Independent.
47. Ahmed, Jacob. (15 March 2024). "Former Neighbours star Holly Valance backs Reform UK at next general election".
48. Gibbons, Amy. (14 March 2024). "Holly Valance says Australia has gone 'woke' ... and sends a message to Nigel Farage".
49. Devlin, Kate. (13 June 2024). "Holly Valance helps Nigel Farage's Reform 'raise £1.5m within days of his return as leader'". The Independent.
50. Conroy, Will. (20 September 2024). "Former popstar Holly Valance says kids call Nigel Farage 'uncle Nige' as she reveals £100k Reform UK donation". LBC.
51. (11 December 2024). "How Holly Valance became the darling of the far-Right as husband becomes Reform treasurer".
52. (25 May 2024). "£161,000 for 20 days? Nick Candy bemoans One Hyde Park service charge". The Guardian.
53. Karasin, Ekin. (2025-09-15). "Holly Valance praises Tommy Robinson and marches at anti-immigration rally".
54. [http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/nsw/supreme_ct/2003/874.html Biscayne Partners Pty Ltd v Valance Corp Pty Ltd & Ors (2003) NSWSC 874], ''NSW Supreme Court'', 3 October 2003; retrieved 10 September 2006.
55. [http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/scjudgments/2003nswsc.nsf/27602436db586906ca256983001e137a/4e21f1efc2380c48ca256daa00052b39?OpenDocument Biscayne Partners Pty Ltd v Valance Corp Pty Ltd & Ors (2003) NSWSC 874] {{Webarchive. link. (8 September 2014. ''NSW Supreme Court'', 3 October 2003. Retrieved on 10 September 2006.)
56. (September 18, 2003). "Manager 'helped me become a star': Valance".
57. (15 September 2003). "Not such good neighbours any more".
58. (20 September 2003). "Naked truth comes out in Holly's evidence".
59. (4 October 2003). "HollyWorld faces the real music".
60. (7 November 2003). "Holly takes a hit".
61. (1 September 2002). "2002 MTV Video Music Awards Winners".