Despite living so much of her life in the public eye, Kylie Minogue has rarely stopped to look back. That changes with Kylie, the forthcoming Netflix documentary series tracing the highs, heartbreaks, risks, and resilience that have defined her career.
Directed by Michael Harte and produced by John Battsek, the series dives deep into decades of archive footage, personal reflections, and interviews with collaborators, friends, and admirers, including Nick Cave, Pete Waterman, Jason Donovan and her sister, Dannii Minogue.
In this Q&A, Minogue reflects on why now finally felt like the right moment to tell her story.
Kylie, you’ve not made an autobiographical-style documentary before. What inspired you to make this now? And why did you choose to do it with Netflix?
I met John Battsek in 2020. I admired his work and was intrigued but it still took me a few years to agree to the project. So, I would say one of the reasons is down to his determination and patience and deftly reassuring me that I would be in safe hands. I felt like I had met the person to bring this to life and that I was at a good point in my life to take this leap of faith. I thought, ‘What am I scared of’ and once again, like so many other times in my career, I decided to go with my instinct and give it a try.
John assured me he would attach the right director and was able to get Michael Harte on board. I met Michael at The Chateau Marmont hotel in Los Angeles with John and then it started to feel real. There was an excitement and an ease of communication so I thought, ‘I’m with good and talented people’. I remember saying to him, ‘Are you ready for the archive?’ We have joked about that a lot ever since as I did warn him – There’s a lot!
John initially thought this would be a standalone film but I think Michael knew early on that this was destined to be a limited series. John had experience with Netflix and he spoke with such conviction about Netflix being the right people and the right platform to make this documentary with. And here we are!
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You talk about your time with Michael [Hutchence] with such joy…
Michael was an amazing person. That’s why the world loved him. That’s why we were, and still are, fascinated by him. We were all fans of Michael and INXS. I was 21 when we met – and I was really impressionable. And I mean that in the best possible way. He just had such an impact on me. He was a smart, kind, deep, artistic and interesting human and we went on this beautiful journey of a relationship. His passing in 1997 was a loss to so many, including myself. These days, my emotions remain very real but are kind of eternally suspended in memory.
People wonder why I’m still so moved by [that relationship] and it’s for many reasons. One of those is that he was one of my first big steps into adulthood and into the wider world. A world of possibility and discovery. Travel, literature, excess, connections, art, artistry, expression, performance, and on and on and on the list goes! I was the perfect age for that moment.
There is lovely footage where you suggest to your stage team that you could stand still on stage for a moment, because Michael had mentioned that it was okay to do so. You said he, “influenced me to express myself and I hadn’t had that before”…
I still say that today, you know? When everyone’s putting in all their best [moves] and I’m like, ‘Can we just focus for a minute?’ So, that was a good message [from him] and it’s stayed with me. He was the one to mention it to me. I guess within that statement, he made me feel like I could be enough.
Nick Cave makes a beautiful comment in the second episode: “Kylie is a force who’s there to affect thousands and thousands and thousands of people.” He said you bring the joy of pop music to people who may have never experienced it before. How did hearing that make you feel?
It makes me feel so emotional. That was a very generous statement and Nick says it so beautifully and from the heart. It wasn’t the ‘job description’ when I started out but, over time, it’s become something that I’m known for and I’m really, really proud of that. I love that he gives joy that power and it’s definitely something I believe in. I tend to say less and let my actions do the talking and to be at this stage where this is coming back to me is just incredible.
The music industry has changed a lot in that time, too. How do you feel you’ve adapted to that?
I mean, everything seemed simpler back then. Now you can say, ‘Oh, I’ll do my vocals and I’ll send them to you’. I mean… how did we book things? Social media is one of the biggest things that has changed and you have AI coming in now. Somehow I’ve navigated it because I’ve always been curious of what could happen. I’m curious enough to find a way to be a part of those changes as they happen, to find a way to go with it.
I also have to credit my audience for always being so open-minded and allowing me space to discover. They’ve been through some real highs and lows with me – now, with this documentary, we can celebrate both and so much in-between.
Kylie will be available to stream on Netflix from May 30th.
