All Balls and Glitter (41 page)

Dull, dull, dull: even as a baby, it took a lot to impress me.

Sue and me with Fluffy the cat.

Me at thirteen, with the giant Easter egg I won in the colouring competition.

At the swimming pool in Ballarat. Growing up, I was bullied mercilessly about my weight.

The Horwoods en masse:
(from left to right, back row)
Diane, me, Melanie, Susan,
(front row)
Dad, Trent, Mum.

With Angela at the debutante ball, where I discovered I could dance.

In training for
Celebrity Masterchef
, winning the Sunbeam Junior Chef of the Year competition with my very own Jellied Prawn Cocktail.

My 1985 audition photo for
La Cage aux Folles.

When I was twenty, I created my drag queen alter ego Lavish.

This fabulous creature performed tirelessly, including a show-stopping rendition of ‘You Gotta Have a Gimmick’.

A tribute to Marlene Dietrich.

Check out the green dress!

Happy birthday to me! At my twenty-first birthday bash in Ballarat.

With the fabulous leaving cake I received when I left Sydney for the Lido de Paris.