Holly Valance appeared to us here in Europe as the third generation of aussie soap eye candy, after the first wave of Kylie Minogue, and the second of Natalie Imbruglia. Initially there was a sense of "seen this before" when an actress from Neighbours launched an attack on the pop charts, but we were soon paying more attention. Both Kylie and Natalie are easy on the eyes, but Holly ramped the process up a notch or two. We can probably thank some Serbian genes (on her dad's side) for her stunning looks. Her debut video for the track "Kiss Kiss" feature Holly gyrating in her birthday suit, with strategically placed lighting to protect her modesty. A follow-up album was released only a year later. She signed a ST£3m deal with Schwarzkopf Live to front the new line aimed at an early teen to early 20s market. As of 2003, it was clear a new star was in the ascent.

But no sooner had our interest been piqued, than Holly suffered a setback: in 2003 she broke up with her boyfriend... who was also her manager. Either she let her boyfriend manage her career, or she started dating her manager. Either way, it was breaking rule number one in the ingenue playbook. Rule number two states "... at least don't dump him before you're famous. (cf. Mariah Carey)" But instead Holly fired him 15 months before their contract was due to expire, and while her fledgeling career was at a delicate stage. Holly's career disappeared into a morass of legal red tape and court appearances. She had no management, and she parted ways with her label London Records. Once the legal dust had settled, Holly owed her erstwhile boyfriend ST£350,000. The future in London's music business looked bleak, and Holly left for Los Angeles. It looked like it was all over before it even began.

So, while Euroeros had featured Holly as part of our article on Australian Soap Babes, there was no more information, and she never got a page of her own. So why has one appeared now? Well, proving that there are always second chances (for some) Holly has arisen Phoenix-like from the ashes of her music career as an actress. On her move to Hollywood, Holly began landing small roles in CSI: Miami and CSI: New York. Then a recurring role on Prison Break. And as we write this, her first motion picture DOA: Dead Or Alive is inching towards cinemas. Now, this is a film adaptation of a video game, so no one should get their hopes up. In fact, the canon of Aussie soap babes in video game adaptations actually has one prior entry: Kylie Minogue in Street Fighter. At least DOA doesn't feature Jean-Claude Van Damme.

So here's to Holly - we wish her the best with her return to acting.

Music Videos:

Live performances:

Other:

• Euroeros Australian babes feature
• Euroeros singers feature
• Euroeros' Kylie Minogue page : the original antipodean poppet
• Euroeros' Kimberley Davies page : soap blonde bombshell
• Euroeros' Natalie Imbruglia page : the next generation of oz-soap-turned-singer

• Holly's official site
• Holly's official forum
• Holly's entry on IMDB.com

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