Australian singer and actor Natalie Imbruglia turns 47 today. Bursting out on the international stage in 1997 with “Torn,” the song was number 1 on the US Airplay charts for fourteen weeks; it reached #2 in the UK and was the most played song on Australian radio since 1990.
Imbruglia was born and raised in Sydney to a family of Italian descent who could trace their time in Australia back to an ancestor who was a convict on the First Fleet, the eleven ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia.
Dropping out of school to pursue acting at sixteen, Imbruglia appeared on TV and then moved to London in 1994. It was there she was convinced to record some demo tracks, including a first version of “Torn.”
Imbruglia’s single “Torn” was initially released only as a single. When the album Left of Middle followed, it sold quickly in large numbers – now over 7 million copies.
An edgier approach on her following album White Lilies Island was not as successful commercially, and her third album was not accepted by her record label, leading her to go independent. She continued to have hits in Europe through the 2000s, but in the 2010s focused more attention on her acting, landing a spot as a judge on the Australian X Factor and appearing in several movies.
Imbruglia is experiencing a comeback of sorts – with her early work sampled in recent releases by Lorde and Saint Ettienne. She has released a new album – last year’s Firebird, which returns stylistically to the sound of her first album.
