Danielle Spencer Biography

Danielle Spencer was born in Sydney, Australia, on September 29, 1970, and grew up in Turramurra, on Sydney's North Shore. She was raised in a musical household, as her father was a singer and the host of Play School, a children's show that featured plenty of singalongs.

Danielle began taking piano lessons as a child, and was writing songs when she was just 8 years old. During her high school years, she sang, danced and played in several bands, including Baby Loves to Cha Cha, which also included her brother Dean.
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danielle spencer on the crossing

Despite her love for music, Spencer had her heart set on becoming an actress. After appearing in a production of Mission Thraxonia at Sydney's Her Majesty's Theatre, she landed the role of Anastasia in a production of Rasputin in 1987.

Shortly after that, she began her film and TV acting career, appearing in What the Moon Saw and The Crossing (both 1990). The latter co-starred Russell Crowe, and the pair soon began a lengthy on-again, off-again romance.

danielle spencer stars in pacific drive

In 1991, Spencer was cast as Lisa in the TV series Hampton Court, a sitcom that revolved around the lives of four twentysomethings sharing the same apartment. She later appeared in the popular Aussie soap, Home and Away.

While her acting career was gaining ground through the 1990s, Spencer continued singing and playing keyboards in various bands with her brother. In the late '90s, she was set on writing and recording her own album, and decided to finance the project by starring as Callie Macrae in the late-night sex-and-sun soap Pacific Drive in her native Australia. After working on the show, she completed her first demo recording in 1999. Spencer brought her tapes to EMI Records, who gave her money to record another demo with producer Vince Pizzinga.

danielle releases white monkey

In March 2001, Spencer accompanied Crowe to the Academy Awards ceremony, where he received his Best Actor Oscar award for his performance in Gladiator. That summer, the two teamed up for a U.S. tour as she opened for his band, 30 Odd Foot of Grunts.

Her debut single, entitled "Jonathon White," was released in late 2000, a teaser for her full-length album debut, White Monkey, which was issued by EMI in September 2001. While the album didn't ignite the charts, it received mostly positive reviews.

It seemed that Spencer and Crowe's on-again, off-again relationship was fully "on," as she accompanied the actor to every major awards ceremony in early 2002, where he was once again nominated for Best Actor. They also appeared together on the red carpet at that year's Golden Globes and BAFTAs for a second year in a row. After requesting permission from her father, Crowe proposed to Danielle on bended knee and with a $100,000 diamond ring, in December 2002.

She is married to Russell Crowe, her father is Don Spencer.

DANIELLE SPENCER PICTURES

DANIELLE SPENCER BIOGRAPHY