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Danielle Spencer (Australian actress)

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Danielle Spencer
Spencer in 2013
Born (1969-05-16) 16 May 1969 (age 55)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation(s)Singer, actress, songwriter
Years active1989–present
Spouse
​
​
(m. 2003; div. 2018)​
Children2
FatherDon Spencer
Musical career
GenresPop
InstrumentVocals
Labels
  • EMI
  • 101 Distribution

Danielle Spencer (born 16 May 1969)[1] is an Australian actress, singer, and songwriter.[2][3]

Early life

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Spencer is the daughter of Australian songwriter, singer and television entertainer Don Spencer and wife Julie (née Horsfall), a caterer from Yorkshire.[4][5] She has an older brother, Dean. At age four, she began piano lessons.[6] During her teens she began acting and composing her own tunes.[7][8] Until the age of twelve, she spent her childhood and youth alternately in Australia and in Yorkshire and Cambridgeshire, England, as her father worked in both countries for the BBC Play School.[9]

Career

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Spencer grew up in close contact with the world of showbusiness. Occasionally she accompanied her father on his performances on stage. She took singing and acting lessons and dance classes in classical ballet and modern dance and jazz.[10] In 1987 Danielle Spencer starred in Rasputin as one of the Tsar's daughters and dated Terry Serio who also starred in the same musical as Prince Felix.

From 1989 to 2000 she worked as an actress, especially for Australian television, primarily as an actress in TV series. Subsequently, the focus of her artistic activity shifted to the area of singer / songwriter.

In 2001 she released her debut musical album, White Monkey. After a family break, in February 2010 she released her second album, Calling All Magicians. Under the direction of her husband, the music videos were made to the title songs and "Tickle Me" and "Wish I'd Been Here".

In August 2011 Spencer for the first time gave two live concerts alongside her husband. The pair joined the musicians and actors Alan Doyle, Kevin Durand, Scott Grimes and the group Size2Shoes to present the Crowe / Doyle Songbook Vol III at St John's, Newfoundland, Canada. Songs from this album relate, among others, to the novel Dirt Music by the Australian novelist Tim Winton. Spencer gives live concerts on a regular basis. For her live concert tour in October 2011, titled "Alone and Together", she joined Australian bass player Steve Balbi.

In March 2012, Spencer was announced as a contestant for season 12 of Dancing with the Stars on the Seven Network in which she placed second. Her professional partner was Damian Whitewood.

In 2015, Danielle Spencer was a member of Australia's judging panel in the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest.[11]

Spencer is a supporter of her father Don Spencer's charity, the Australian Children's Music Foundation (ACMF),[12] an educational program for underprivileged and Indigenous children in Australia. She's supporter of women's cancer programs as the Pink Ribbon Breakfast for breast cancer and The Girls Night.[13]

On 10 July 2020, Spencer released an album with close friend, producer/songwriter Vince Pizzinga, under duo-name 'Lost Luggage'. Their self-titled LP consisted of alternative covers of various '80s classics. She promoted the release on various platforms, including on Channel 7, and The Kyle and Jackie O Show on KIIS 106.5.[14][15]

In November 2024, Spencer released her first new original song in 14 years, titled Regenerate. She performed the song for the first time on Channel 7 Australia on 3 December as part of the OzHarvest Charity concert, featuring Conrad Sewell, Daryl Braithwaite, Human Nature and many other Australian artists, with a special appearance by Bob Geldof. The media responses to Regenerate were very positive with The Daily Telegraph saying "the reclusive alternative singer-songwriter is back in the pop game” calling the song "epic" and Women In Pop saying "Spencer never conforms to the expected structures of pop music and everything she releases is simply special". Spencer announced on social media there will be a new album in 2025.

Personal life

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Spencer and then-husband Russell Crowe in September 2011

Spencer began an on-again, off-again relationship with actor Russell Crowe in 1989 when they co-starred in the film The Crossing which appeared in Australian cinemas in 1990.[16][17] Crowe and Spencer married on 7 April 2003 at Crowe's farm in Nana Glen, New South Wales.[17][18] They have two sons: Charles, born in 2003[19] and Tennyson, born in 2006.[1] In October 2012, it was reported that Crowe and Spencer had separated.[20] The divorce was finalised in April 2018.[21]

Since 2016, she has been in a relationship with author and artist Adam Long.[22]

Discography

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Albums

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  • White Monkey (EMI, 1 May 2002)
  • Calling All Magicians (15 February 2010)

Singles

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List of singles, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
AUS
[23]
"Jonathon White" 2001 — White Monkey
"Blast Off" 95
"Forgive Me" —
"White Monkey" 2002 —
"Tickle Me" —
"On Your Side" 2010 — Calling All Magicians
"Wish I'd Been Here" —
"Be My Baby" 2016 — Non-album single

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1990 The Crossing Meg
1990 What the Moon Saw Emma
1999 Game Room Alena

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1989 Rafferty's Rules Toni Moller Episode: "On the Barricades"
1989 Mission: Impossible Diane Martin Episode: "Bayou"
1989–1990 The Flying Doctors Fiona Jacobs / Sally McCarthy 3 episodes
1991 Hampton Court Lisa Barrett 13 episodes
1992 Mission Top Secret Pamela Television film
1993 Minder Robyn Episode: "For a Few Dollars More"
1994 Law of the Land Barb Brewer Episode: "Games People Play"
1995 Home and Away Quinn Jackson 11 episodes
1996 Pacific Drive Callie Macrae
1999 Murder Call Ingrid Nergun Episode: "Dying Day"
2000 All Saints Kate Taylor Episode: "Food for Thought"
2000 Beastmaster Destine Episode: "White Tiger"
2012 Dancing With The Stars (Australia) Performer (Runner Up) Season 12
2020 The All New Monty: Guys & Gals Performer Season One

References

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  1. ^ a b "Russell Crowe, Wife Have a Boy". People. 7 July 2006. Archived from the original on 19 March 2008. Retrieved 14 October 2012. Spencer, 35...
  2. ^ Hutton, Dan (25 October 2011). "Danielle Spencer - Happiness, Music, Family, Friends... And Football!". The Beast. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  3. ^ on adelaidenow.com.au, 10 December 2011: "(...) I feel like probably next year would be the right timing to re-engage with acting if the right thing came along.". Retrieved 10 December 2011
  4. ^ Ewbank, Tim; Hildred, Stafford (2001). Russell Crowe : the biography. London: Carlton Books. p. 48. ISBN 1-84222-423-9.
  5. ^ "Homepage Don Spencer". Donspencer.com. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  6. ^ "Danielle Spencer - 'Calling All Magicians' + Tony Visconti video interview". Band Weblogs. 8 September 2010. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  7. ^ "Danielle Spencer - 'Calling All Magicians' + Tony Visconti video interview". Band Weblogs. 8 September 2009. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  8. ^ McCarthy, Kerry (17 July 2011). "Danielle Spencer 'Music felt natural'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  9. ^ Iley, Chrissy (4 July 2010). "My name is Danielle, Commander of the house of Crowe". Murphsplace.com. Archived from the original on 27 June 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  10. ^ Ewbank, Tim; Hildred, Stafford (2001). Russell Crowe : the biography. London: Carlton Books. p. 47. ISBN 1-84222-423-9.
  11. ^ Vincent, Peter (1 May 2015). "Eurovision 2015: Richard Wilkins, Danielle Spencer on Australia's judging panel". Sydney Morning Herald.
  12. ^ Australian Children´s Music Foundation
  13. ^ Interview thebeast.com.au. dated 26 October 2011 retrieved 30 October 2011
  14. ^ McLaughlin, Reegan (31 July 2020). "Danielle Spencer's new album 'Lost Luggage' is a love letter to the 80s". Channel 7.
  15. ^ Spencer, Daniel (17 July 2020). "Had fun catching up with @kyleandjackieo KIIS 1065 this morning!". Facebook.
  16. ^ Silverman, Stephen (7 April 2003). "Russell Crowe Joins the Married Ranks". People. Archived from the original on 7 September 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  17. ^ a b Miller, Samantha (21 April 2003). "A Beautiful Time: A Teary Russell Crowe Weds Danielle Spencer Amid a Down Under Weekend of Camaraderie with Rhion Cricket and ABBA". People. 59 (15). Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  18. ^ Quaintance, Lauren (20 April 2010). "What Danielle Spencer knows about men" (Interview). The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  19. ^ "Russell Crowe and wife have baby boy". Associated Press. 22 December 2003. Archived from the original on 18 May 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  20. ^ Sams, Christine (14 October 2012). "Crowe, Spencer split amid actor's hectic filming schedule". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  21. ^ Burns, Lindsey (10 April 2018). "Russell Crowe Has Finalized His Divorce After Five-Year Separation From Wife Danielle Spencer". Closer Weekly. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  22. ^ Mollard, Angela (4 July 2020). "Danielle Spencer: 'The kids needed a parent who was present'". YouTube.
  23. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 263.
Preceded by
Haley Bracken & Aric Yegudkin
 Dancing with the Stars (Australia) runner up
Season 12 (2012 with Damian Whitewood) 		Succeeded by
Rhiannon Fish & Aric Yegudkin
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