Jason Donovan

Acting · b. 1968 · Malvern, Melbourne, Australia

Jason Sean Donovan (born 1 June 1968) is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap Neighbours, playing Scott Robinson, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 million records. His debut album Ten Good Reasons was the highest-selling album in the UK in 1989, with sales of over 1.5 million. He has had Four UK No. 1 singles. He has also appeared in several stage musicals, most prominently in the lead role of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in the early 1990s.

Full biography

Jason Donovan was born on Saturday, 1 June 1968 in the Melbourne suburb Malvern, Victoria. He is the son of Australian actress Sue McIntosh (née Menlove) and British-born veteran stage and television actor Terence Donovan (who also appeared in Neighbours) who has English and Irish heritage. Following his parents' separation and divorce, his father was awarded full custody of him in 1973 and brought him up on his own. Donovan has had no contact with his mother since the divorce. He attended De La Salle College Malvern.

Donovan made his first television appearance at age 11 in a guest role on the Australian series Skyways in 1980. In the episode, his on-screen sister was played by future Neighbours co-star Kylie Minogue. He also appeared in the series I Can Jump Puddles (1981) and Golden Pennies (1985), before entering the cast of Neighbours in 1986 as Scott Robinson (replacing actor Darius Perkins, who had played the role for the first year of the series). His character's story arcs included an onscreen romance and wedding to Charlene Mitchell (played by Minogue), and helped boost the show's popularity with British as well as Australian audiences.

He won his first Logie Award for "Best New Talent" in 1987 and received a commendation in the category "Performance by a Male Actor In a Series" from the Television Society of Australia's Penguin Awards. In 1988 he was awarded the Silver Logie for the "Most Popular Actor" on Australian television.

In addition to his regular role in Neighbours, Donovan appeared as "Happy Houston" in the 1988 Australian World War II mini-series The Heroes, based on the historical novel by Ronald McKie. He won the 1990 Logie Award for "Most Popular Actor in a Mini-Series".

Donovan left Neighbours in 1989. Twenty years later, he said that he had been asked to return to tie in with the show's 25th anniversary in 2010, but was unable to do so due to other work commitments.

While he was still appearing in Neighbours, Donovan followed Minogue (who had already left the series by this point) by pursuing a pop career. His early exploration of music included recording a demo written by pub rock band Noiseworks, and he was offered the chance to record the song "Waiting for a Star To Fall", later a hit for Boy Meets Girl. ...

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