Stephanie McIntosh

Stephanie McIntosh parlayed her success on the long-running Aussie soap opera Neighbours into a pop music career, scoring a Top Ten hit in her native land with 2006's "Mistake." Born July 5, 1985, in Malvern, Australia, McIntosh was the product of a show business family. Her mother, Sue, was a former ABC News anchor, while half-brother Jason Donovan also co-starred on Neighbours and enjoyed a pop music career of his own, recording for the Stock, Aitken & Waterman production team and scoring the 1989 hit "Especially for You," a duet with former soap colleague Kylie Minogue. After modeling as a child, McIntosh turned to acting, appearing on the TV show The Legacy of the Silver Shadow as well as the Olivia Newton-John-headlined feature release The Wilde Girls. She joined Neighbours in 2003, replacing actress Miranda Fryer in the role of troubled teen Sky Mangel. McIntosh quickly proved a major fan favorite and in 2006 was named star of her own reality TV series, The Steph Show, a primetime broadcast documenting the sessions for her debut album, Tightrope. Issued a day after The Steph Show's July 28 Network Ten premiere, McIntosh's debut single, "Mistake," quickly ascended to the number three spot on the Australian pop charts despite a disastrous guest appearance on The AFL Footy Show that forced many critics to question her vocal abilities. Tightrope nevertheless went gold, and McIntosh scored a Top 20 hit when the title cut was issued as a single. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide