Kylie Ann Minogue (born May 28, 1968) is an Australian singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Minogue rose to prominence in the late 1980s, as a result of her role in the Australian television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing her career as a pop recording artist.

Signed to a contract by British songwriters and producers Stock, Aitken & Waterman, she achieved a string of hit records throughout the world, but her popularity began to decline by the early 1990s, leading her to part company from Stock, Aitken & Waterman in 1992. For several years she attempted to establish herself as an independent performer and songwriter, distancing herself from her earlier work. Her projects were widely publicised, but her albums failed to attract a substantial audience and resulted in the lowest sales of her career.

In 2000, Minogue returned to popularity as a dance–pop artist and became well-known for her provocative music videos and expensively mounted stage shows. She has established one of the longest and most successful careers as a performer in contemporary pop music, and in Europe and Australia, she has become one of her generation's most recognisable celebrities and sex symbols. In Australia, after being dismissed early in her career by many critics, she has been acclaimed for her achievements; she holds the record for the highest concert ticket sales for a female performer, and has attained nine number-ones on the ARIA singles chart.

Studio albums (For detialed view go to Discography)
1988: Kylie
1989: Enjoy Yourself
1990: Rhythm of Love
1991: Let's Get to It
1992: Greatest Hits
1994: Kylie Minogue
1998: Impossible Princess
2000: Light Years
2001: Fever
2003: Body Language
2004: Ultimate Kylie

Breast Cancer

On 17 May 2005, it was reported that Minogue had been diagnosed with early stage breast cancer and would receive medical treatment in Melbourne. The remainder of her Showgirl, The Greatest Hits world tour was postponed and she withdrew from participating at the Glastonbury Festival.

The announcement of Minogue's cancer diagnosis resulted in a brief but intense period of media coverage, particularly in Australia where the Prime Minister John Howard issued a statement supporting Minogue. As media and fans began to congregate outside the Minogue residence in Melbourne, the Victorian Premier Steve Bracks warned the international media, that any disruption to the Minogue family's rights under Australian privacy laws, would not be tolerated. His comments became part of a wider criticism of the media's overall reaction with particular criticism directed towards paparazzi.

Minogue underwent surgery on 21 May 2005. Friends such as Olivia Newton-John, herself a survivor of breast cancer, urged the media and fans to respect Minogue's privacy. However, it was only after it was announced that the surgery had been successful that the intense scrutiny of the situation began to diminish. Soon after surgery, she commenced chemotherapy as part of her treatment regimen.

Minogue issued a public statement, thanking her fans for their support and urging them not to worry. On July 8, 2005, she made her first public appearance after her surgery, when she visited a children's cancer ward at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital. She returned to France where she completed her chemotherapy treatment at the Institut Gustave-Roussy in Villejuif, near Paris.