Nellie Melba

Dame Nellie Melba is, arguably, the most famous of all Australian women and her portrait graces Australia's highest denomination banknote. Blessed with an exceptionally fine voice, Melba forged a spectacular career for herself in the rarified world of grand opera and was acknowledged as a 'Queen of Song'. Triumph after triumph crowned her 44-year-long career and her admirers included numerous famous composers and the monarchs of many countries. Melba also provided a role model for other Australians who followed in her footsteps onto the stages of the world's great opera houses. Melba's private life was almost as colourful as the plots of the operas in which she sang. A turbulent marriage that ended in acrimonious divorce, custody battles, a doomed love affair with a member of the French royal family, health problems and a press campaign of criticism about her character taxed Melba's stamina and her courage.