April Rose Pengilly

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April Rose Pengilly
April Rose Pengilly in 2011
Born
April Rose Pengilly

(1988-04-12) 12 April 1988 (age 35)[1]
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
EducationWenona School, National Institute of Dramatic Art
Occupation(s)Actress, model
Years active2004–present
Height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)

April Rose Pengilly (pen-GILL-ee; born 12 April 1988), also known as April Rose, is an Australian actress and model.

Early life[edit]

April Rose Pengilly is the daughter of INXS member Kirk Pengilly and designer Karen Hutchinson.[2] She attended Wenona School, a girls school on the North Shore of Sydney, and began modelling during Year 12.[3] She has used the stage name April Rose to separate herself from her father.[3][4] She is also the step daughter of world champion surfer Layne Beachley.

Career[edit]

Modelling[edit]

Pengilly signed to Sydney's Chadwick Models at age 16, then to New York's Wilhelmina Models after graduating from high school and became a youth ambassador for the 2006 David Jones Summer collection, along with Megan Gale.[5]

Pengilly has walked for leading designers at Australian Fashion Week, lived and worked in New York, London, Tokyo and Osaka, and fronted major campaigns. She has worked with top photographers Rankin, Steven Chee, Nick Scott, Nicole Bentley, Pierre Toussaint, James Demitri, Bradley Patrick, and Terry Richardson. She has featured on magazine covers and in editorials for InStyle, Elle (UK), The Times (UK), Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, Oyster, Seventeen (US), and Glitter (Japan).

Pengilly has been selected for many elite roles, including ambassador for leading Australian department store David Jones, face of the Melbourne Fashion Festival, face of the Nokia L’amour cell phone collection, ambassador for Sony, ambassador for Barbie and the "legs" of Japanese stocking label ATSUGI.

In 2009, Pengilly was named Ambassador for the Melbourne Fashion Festival, working alongside J. Alexander and Doutzen Kroes.[6] She has worked as a TV presenter for Fashion TV at London Fashion Week. She signed on as an ambassador for the charity Dementia Australia, adding to her previous involvements with charities including The Eye Foundation, SunSCHine/Sydney Children’s Hospital and the RSPCA.

April Rose Pengilly and father Kirk Pengilly in 2015.

Pengilly began a fashion and lifestyle blog in 2011.[2] She was nominated for PETA's annual Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity Awards in 2014.

Acting[edit]

Pengilly began studying acting in her spare time,[2] and attended classes at National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) and Actors Centre Australia. She was cast in the independent feature film LBF in 2011. The film is based on the Australian novel Living Between Fucks by Cry Bloxsome and stars Australian actors Toby Schmitz, Gracie Otto, Septimus Caton and Bianca Chiminello. The film, directed by Alex Munt, premiered internationally at South by Southwest festival.[7]

April starred in the independent short film Object in 2013, which screened at the Cannes Film Festival.[8] The following year, Pengilly competed in the 14th Season of Dancing with the Stars. She was partnered with Russian dancer Aric Yegudkin and danced for Dementia Australia.[9] Pengilly and Yegudkin were eliminated in week three despite a score of 29 out of 40. Viewers thought Pengilly and Yegudkin's elimination was unfair, as fellow contestant Mark Holden had received a lower score and broken rules. Holden later offered to swap places with Pengilly.[10]

Pengilly has worked as a television host, covering London Fashion Week for FashionTV.[11] In 2015, Pengilly had a guest role in the Channel 7 miniseries Peter Allen: Not the Boy Next Door.[12] The following year, she had a guest role in Brock.[12] She also appeared in the short films Jinxed, Duffy,[8] and Lovelost.

Struggling to be taken seriously as an actress after her modelling career, Pengilly was ready to move to the US when she joined the cast of soap opera Neighbours as Chloe Brennan in late 2017 until the show's final episode in August 2022.[13] She made her first appearance on 27 March 2018[14] and quickly became a fan favourite on the long-running international series.

Personal life[edit]

Pengilly and Tim Commandeur in 2013

When she appeared on Neighbours, Pengilly split her time between her home in Sydney and Melbourne, where the show's studios are located.[8]

Pengilly was in a relationship with drummer Tim Commandeur for three years, before they broke up in 2014.[15] She later dated musician Alex Laska of Melbourne rock band Kingswood.[16]

On 9 December 2023, Pengilly announced her engagement to her partner Adam Paul, with whom she has been in a relationship with since early 2022.[17]

Filmography[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
2011 LBF Tanya
2013 Object Model Short film
2014 Dancing with the Stars Herself
2015 Peter Allen: Not the Boy Next Door Tracey
2016 Jinxed Jane Short film
2016 Duffy Lydia Short film
2016 Brock Hippy Girl
2018 Lovelost Sophie Short film
2018–2023 Neighbours Chloe Brennan Series regular (2018–2022); guest (2023)

References[edit]

  1. ^ "April Rose Pengilly". Benchmark Creative. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  2. ^ a b c McCarthy, Kerry (20 October 2011). "April Rose Pengilly's style excess". news.com.au. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  3. ^ a b "April Rose in excess style". Woman's Weekly. 15 March 2009. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  4. ^ "April-Rose Pengilly making a name for herself". Herald Sun. 5 December 2010. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  5. ^ Gosse, Valeria (17 March 2009). "Model's no party girl". news.com.au. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  6. ^ Casey, Simone (20 March 2009). "April Rose Pengilly: the Face of the L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival". au.lifestyle.yahoo.com. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  7. ^ "LBF to debut at South by Southwest". If Magazine. 3 February 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  8. ^ a b c "Sister act for the Brennan family". Tenplay. 2 March 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  9. ^ "Dancing with the Stars" (PDF) (Press release). Seven West Media. 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  10. ^ Cormack, Lucy (15 October 2014). "Dancing with the Stars' April Rose Pengilly wants Mark Holden's spot". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  11. ^ Alman, Carli (14 July 2015). "Model behaviour: April Rose Pengilly". Beauty heaven. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  12. ^ a b Knox, David (2 March 2018). "April Rose Pengilly joins Neighbours". TV Tonight. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  13. ^ Gavin, Rachael. "April Rose Pengilly opens up about her move into acting". Now To Love. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  14. ^ Stephenson, Alison (1 March 2018). "INXS legend Kirk Pengilly's daughter April Rose joins long-running soap Neighbours". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  15. ^ Halliwell, Elle (12 March 2014). "Budding actor April Rose admits some have criticised her for mentioning her famous dad, INXS band member Kirk Pengilly". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  16. ^ Hockey, Maddison (1 December 2020). "When good Neighbours become ~more~ than good friends: Meet the real-life partners of Ramsay Street's favourite residents". TV Week. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  17. ^ Anderton, Joe (9 December 2023). "Neighbours star April Rose Pengilly announces engagement". Digital Spy. Retrieved 9 December 2023.

External links[edit]