Bec Hewitt

Bec Hewitt
Background information
Birth name	Rebecca June Cartwright
Also known as	Bec Cartwright
Born	23 July 1983 (1983-07-23) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Genres	Pop, Power Pop
Occupations	Actress, Presenter, Singer
Years active	1998–2005
Labels	Warner Music Australia

Rebecca June "Bec" Hewitt (née Cartwright) (born 23 July 1983) is an Australian actress and ARIA Award-winning singer. From 1998 to 2005, Hewitt played Hayley Smith Lawson on the soap opera Home and Away. As Bec Cartwright, Hewitt released an eponymous pop music album in 2002. In 2005, she married tennis player Lleyton Hewitt.

Career

Cartwright began her acting career at age 5 for television commercials. In 1992, she made her mainstream television debut on an episode of Police Rescue. She has also guest starred in Water Rats and Roar.

She won her breakout role and best known role to date in 1998 portraying Hayley Smith Lawson on Home and Away. Cartwright became a series fan favourite and earned herself numerous Logie Award nominations until 2005 she earned a Most Popular Actress win. She coincidentally fell pregnant within months of her 'Home and Away' character and left the series to become a full-time mother. For a short period of time Ella Scott Lynch replaced her as Hayley before shortly departing the series.

In 2002, Cartwright signed a recording contract with Warner Music Australia and East West Records. Her debut single "All Seats Taken" was released 18 November 2002 and peaked at 10 on the ARIA Music Charts. Her follow-up singles "On the Borderline" and "A Matter of Time" both failed to match the same success, both charting only the Top 30. Her self-titled debut album was released on 16 June 2003, and despite high expectations charted only at 21 and was certified Gold. The album met with mixed reviews with Smash Hits giving the album two out of five stars. In 2004, Cartwright ended her partnership with Warner Music.

Cartwright was announced as a contestant in the first season of Dancing with the Stars. She and her partner Michael Miziner won the first season on 23 November 2004. The couple returned in an opening performance in a dance routine during the second season premiere.

She hosted Abba Mania which premiered in November 2006 on Nine Network. The special met with controversy surrounding the fact that the only celebrity performers were Nine Network personalities. Hewitt's performance met with largely negative reviews. Bec has voiced no plans to return to acting.

Personal life

Cartwright was born in Sydney on 23 July 1983 the youngest child of Darrel and Michelle Cartwright. She has an older brother Shaun and older sister Kristy. After a four year relationship with fellow Home and Away co-star Beau Brady, Cartwright and Brady were briefly engaged.

Soon after the end of her engagement she began a relationship with tennis player Lleyton Hewitt, himself fresh from a broken engagement. After six weeks of dating, Hewitt proposed following the Australian Open Final. On 5 May 2005, the couple announced they were expecting their first child. The pair married on 21 July 2005; the wedding was at the Sydney Opera House, and their reception took place at Taronga Zoo. Th even attracted much media attention, with Bec and Lleyton selling exclusive coverage of the day to magazine 'New Idea'. Fellow actresses and friends Ada Nicodemou and Kate Ritchie were bridesmaids.

On 29 November 2005, she gave birth to daughter, Mia Rebecca Hewitt, at Sydney's North Shore Private Hospital. Before her birth a lucrative contract was made with women's magazine 'Woman's Day' involving regular diaries from Bec and exclusive photos and interviews of the family for the first two years of Mia's life. The couple attracted much criticism for the observation that they had 'sold' their daughter to the highest bidder. On 11 December 2008, Hewitt gave birth to a baby boy whom the couple named Cruz Lleyton Hewitt. Their third child, a daughter named Ava Sydney Hewitt, was born on 19 October 2010 . Her name was announced via a text message subscription service for the cost of $2, a move that attracted much criticism of Bec and Lleyton. Both pregnancy announcements and births were covered in exclusive stories by 'OK Magazine'. In February 2009, after revelations about Hewitts previously unknown offshore income and bank accounts were revealed during a legal battle with his former management company, Octagon Sports Marketing, the couple relocated to a $3.8 million home at the Old Fort Bay estate in Nassau, Bahamas.

Filmography

• 1998–2005: Home and Away ... Hayley Lawson #1
• 2000: Roar ... Young Catlin (1 episode)
• 1997: Water Rats ... School Girl (1 episode)
• 1992: Police Rescue ... Emma (1 episode)

Discography

Albums

Year	Title	Australia
2003	Bec Cartwright	21

Singles

Year	Song	Australia	Album
2002	"All Seats Taken"	10	Bec Cartwright
2003	"On the Borderline"	29
	"A Matter of Time"	26

References

General

• Hewitts' engagement announcement by Sydney Morning Herald
• Reports from ABC (Australia) and Reuters regarding her marriage to Lleyton
• On the Borderline peak position
• http://www.celebrity-babies.com/2007/03/bec_hewitt_talk.html

Specific

External links

• Rebecca Cartwright at the Internet Movie Database

Preceded by N/A

Dancing with the Stars (Australia) winner Season 1 (Late 2004 with Michael Miziner)

Succeeded by Tom Williams & Kym Johnson