{"id":1609,"date":"2016-08-13T02:56:45","date_gmt":"2016-08-13T02:56:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nikkiwebsterfan.net\/press\/?p=1609"},"modified":"2016-08-22T00:00:42","modified_gmt":"2016-08-22T00:00:42","slug":"rio-olympics-2016-what-happened-to-sydney-2000-star-nikki-webster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nikkiwebsterfan.net\/press\/rio-olympics-2016-what-happened-to-sydney-2000-star-nikki-webster\/","title":{"rendered":"Rio Olympics 2016: What happened to Sydney 2000 star Nikki Webster?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Rose Donohoe<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As a skinny 13-year-old, she captivated the world as the star of the Sydney 2000 Olympics opening and closing ceremonies \u2013 but Nikki Webster has been off the radar of most Australians in the decade since.<\/p>\n

Belting out the patriotic \u2018Under These Southern Skies\u2019 in a pink sundress and blonde curls, Webster became every young girl\u2019s hero when she flew 25 metres above Homebush Stadium and journeyed from the Dreamtime to modern day Australia with local icons Kylie Minogue, Yothu Yindi and Midnight Oil.<\/p>\n

Sure, they had model Gisele B\u00fcndchen stomp the runway, but watching Rio\u2019s effort last week, it was clear their opening ceremony would not produce a Nikki Webster.<\/p>\n

But like so many child stars before (and after) her, Webster\u2019s rise to fame was ultimately unsustainable.<\/p>\n

Now 29, the mother-of-one and dance school owner boasts a resume that includes everything from a controversial appearance on Dancing With the Stars, a duet with Michael Jackson and a misdirected men\u2019s magazine cover shoot.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were a lot people trying to dictate me doing the sexy thing \u2026 so I said to mum and dad, \u2018I\u2019m off\u2019,\u201d Webster told Today Extra on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u2018She needed to be fearless\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

In his book Master of the Ceremonies, director Ric Birch wrote that the decision to choose Webster in 2000 was unanimous.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe epitomised young Australia \u2013 frank, friendly and fearless, an innocent on the edge of greatness,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

When the crop of 2000 Olympic hopefuls was whittled down to a final four, it was clear Webster \u2013 who had already starred in stage productions of Les Miserables and The Sound of Music \u2013 had a unique advantage over the other girls.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of them just weren\u2019t keen at all about being suspended 35\u201340 metres above an arena with no net and on one single line, and which was quite safe, but scary,\u201d choreographer David Atkins said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2018So many beautiful memories\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Webster holds happy memories from her time in the spotlight, posting a message on Instagram last week in which she expressed her joy.<\/p>\n

\u201cFeeling very nostalgic and emotional today, remembering 16 years ago I was lucky enough to play the hero girl in the incredible Sydney 2000 Olympic opening ceremony,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you David Atkins and Ric Birch for believing in me and allowing me to play this beautiful role and bring your vision to the world. What a huge honor [sic].<\/p>\n

\u201cSo many beautiful memories of everyone I got to work with and meet during the Olympics.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am so blessed to have an amazing career following my dreams and working in the entertainment industry \u2013 making music, and running performing arts studios teaching the young stars of tomorrow in my beautiful country.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo proud to be an Aussie and so excited to watch our athletes bring home the medals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Post-Olympics and \u2018Strawberry Kisses\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the afterglow of Sydney 2000, Webster was signed to record label BMG Music and immediately produced a hit.<\/p>\n

The sickly sweet and undeniably catchy \u2018Strawberry Kisses\u2019 shot to number two on the ARIA charts, playing on Webster\u2019s status as a cutesy tween idol.<\/p>\n

But five albums later, the singer still hadn\u2019t come close to matching the success of \u2018Strawberry Kisses\u2019 and had unwittingly become a national punchline \u2013 something she blamed on tall poppy syndrome.<\/p>\n

Trying to dismantle her pre-teen image, by 19 Webster had starred on not one but two men\u2019s magazine covers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need something to shock people a little bit,\u201d she said at the time.<\/p>\n

But the racy shoots did little to reinvent Webster\u2019s image \u2013 so inextricably tied to the little girl in the pink dress.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was quite dark and I think that\u2019s why I went to LA, because I thought \u2018I need to do this by myself\u2019,\u201d she told The Daily Telegraph last year.<\/p>\n

Returning to Australia in 2005, Webster still couldn\u2019t catch a break, criticised as a contestant on Dancing With the Stars for having an \u201cunfair advantage\u201d due to her dance training growing up.<\/p>\n

The media storm culminated in judge Todd McKenney giving Webster a paltry 1\/10 for her routine and embarrassing her on national television.<\/p>\n

Since then, Webster\u2019s life appears much more settled.<\/p>\n

The singer opened the first of her Nikki Webster-branded talent studios in 2010 with her brother Scott.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s also a mother her two-year-old daughter, Skylah, with husband Matthew McMah, who works in aviation.<\/p>\n

Source: thenewdaily.com.au<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Rose Donohoe As a skinny 13-year-old, she captivated the world as the star of the Sydney 2000 Olympics opening and closing ceremonies \u2013 but Nikki Webster has been off the radar of most Australians in the decade since. Belting out the patriotic \u2018Under These Southern Skies\u2019 in a pink sundress and blonde curls, Webster … Continue reading<\/a>Rio Olympics 2016: What happened to Sydney 2000 star Nikki Webster?<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-60"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nikkiwebsterfan.net\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nikkiwebsterfan.net\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nikkiwebsterfan.net\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nikkiwebsterfan.net\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nikkiwebsterfan.net\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1609"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/nikkiwebsterfan.net\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1609\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1612,"href":"https:\/\/nikkiwebsterfan.net\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1609\/revisions\/1612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nikkiwebsterfan.net\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nikkiwebsterfan.net\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nikkiwebsterfan.net\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}