Kylie Minogue has revealed that in early 2021 she was diagnosed with cancer for a second time, after diagnosis and successful treatment for breast cancer in 2005.
The pop star discussed the previously unannounced diagnosis in a new Netflix documentary entitled Kylie, available from today. “My second cancer diagnosis was in early 2021. I was able to keep that to myself … Not like the first time,” she said, referring to her highly publicised first treatment.
“Thankfully, I got through it. Again. And all is well. Hey, who knows what’s around the corner, but pop music nurtures me … my passion for music is greater than ever.”
Minogue said that after her treatment, she struggled “to find the right time” to announce it publicly, including after the huge success of her Grammy-winning 2023 single Padam Padam.
“I don’t feel obliged to tell the world, and actually I just couldn’t at the time because I was just a shell of a person,” she said. “I didn’t want to leave the house again at one point. Padam Padam opened so many doors for me but on the inside I knew that cancer wasn’t just a blip in my life. And I really just wanted to say what happened so I can let go of it. I’d sit through interviews and every opportunity I thought, ‘now’s the time’, but I kept it to myself.”
She said her 2023 song Story, from her album Tension, refers to that period of her life, with lyrics such as “I had a secret that I kept to myself … Turn another page, baby take the stage.” Minogue said of Story: “I needed to have something that marked that time.”
In promotional materials accompanying the documentary, Minogue said it was “my choice to share” the information, and that she was diagnosed after a routine check up. “There will be someone out there who will benefit from a gentle reminder to do their check ups … Early detection was very helpful and I am so grateful to be able to say that I am well today.”
Minogue, 57, was 36 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2005. She cancelled the remainder of her Showgirl greatest hits tour, and withdrew from her Sunday headline slot at the Glastonbury festival’s Pyramid stage, to undergo treatment in Melbourne.
Supporters rallied around her including Elton John, fellow pop star and cancer survivor Delta Goodrem, and prime minster John Howard, who said: “I think all Australians feel for her and wish her well.”
But Minogue was subjected to intrusive media attention, prompting Steve Bracks, premier of the Australian state of Victoria, to remind paparazzi and journalists of legislation around harassment, and of “strong laws, privacy laws around medical records, about access to details, about treatment: these are private matters between the clinician and the patient”.
After treatment, Minogue was given the all-clear. In 2008, she said that she had originally been misdiagnosed: “My message to all of you and everyone at home is, because someone is in a white coat and using big medical instruments, doesn’t necessarily mean they’re right … I am in the very best of hands now, but it is a fact that my initial diagnosis was that I was alright, and had nothing to worry about.”
Minogue returned to music with the 2007 album X, which produced three UK Top 10 singles: 2 Hearts, Wow and In My Arms. She finally got another shot at playing Glastonbury in 2019, a performance described as “absolutely phenomenal” in a five-star Guardian review.
Thereafter she has remained a pop-cultural mainstay, especially after the huge success of Padam Padam, which returned her to the UK singles Top 10 for the first time since 2010 and won her a Grammy for best pop dance recording. In 2025 she added a Christmas No 1 to her list of achievements, with her song Xmas, and the accompanying festive album Kylie Christmas (Fully Wrapped) also topped the charts – drawing her level with David Bowie and Eminem in the list of all-time album chart-toppers.
The new Netflix documentary is in three parts, and directed by Michael Harte, who edited Netflix’s successful four-part documentary on David Beckham. As well as Minogue, it features interviews with her sister Dannii, and former duet partners Jason Donovan and Nick Cave, among others.
Minogue added in the promotional materials accompanying the launch: “There are so many people for whom cancer is part of their life and, I get it; you just want to move on and put it in the past or park it to the side. But, check-ups are incredibly important. It can be daunting and triggering but please be mindful of just how vital they are – and reach out for help if you need it, you’re not alone.”
