I’m back on top again

The Sydney Olympics sweetheart tells LUCY CHESTERSON how she bounced back from a string of career disasters

Catapulted into fame at the age of 13, Nikki Webster knows more than most about the highs and lows of being a child star. Nikki’s performance at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games opened plenty of doors, but it also brought the glare of the public eye – not easy for a girl who had only just entered her teens. With that sort of experience, she’s decided to put her career on the backburner in the hope of fostering a new generation of talent while protecting them from unscrupulous operators.

“There are a lot of sharks out there,” says Nikki, who is only 22. “I’ve been through a lot and my eyes have been opened to what this industry is about.”

For the past two years, Nikki has run successful Sydney dance school Dance @ Nikki Webster. She is not expanding it to include the boutique children’s talent agency, Talent @ Nikki Webster.

“We’re not trying to make a quick buck or flaunt these kids,” she explains. “I just want to use everything I’ve learnt to help steer them in the right direction.”

Nikki has had her share of lows, including a brush with depression last year when she found a close confidante had secretly siphoned her money into their own account.

She also endured a lonely trip to the US, where she “kept hitting brick walls” and would cry down the phone to her family – before heading home to start again. Nikki also endured cruel jibes about her fluctuating weight before settling back into her naturally tiny size-six shape.

“There are times in your career when you become very successful and there is a lot of work and everyone around you is happy,” Nikki says. “Then there are times when you’re not getting jobs, and that’s the hardest to cope with.

“I still have a passion for performing, and I miss it, but I’ve focused on the dance studio and the agency, and that’s my choice now. I’m on the phone to the kids in my agency night and day, talking about how they can advance their careers and making sure they don’t get swept away.

“That’s the thing I learnt. Stay true to yourself, and even though other people might want you to do something, unless you’re 100 percent comfortable then forget it.”

There’s no doubt Nikki, who counts Bert Newton among her industry friends, has her hands full with her talent agency and the hundreds of kids she is “mum” to at her dance studio. So for now her own bright star will have to dim a little to help those around her shine brighter.

Source: Woman’s Day
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