May 1: Former member of pop girl group 'The Teen Queens, Kellie Lynn Crawford, née Hoggart, is 37 years-old today.



Kellie Lynn Crawford (Hoggart) is an Australian singer, actress and children's performer. Crawford is most known as one of the original members of the pop group Teen Queens and their involvement in the children's entertainment program Hi-5. She left Hi-5 in December 2008, a few months after her marriage, and after ten years with the group.

Through the show, she became good friends and eventually began dating fellow Hi-5 cast member Nathan Foley. The couple became engaged in 2005 to be married in March 2007. On the 7th of December, 2006, it was reported that Kellie and Nathan had decided to end their engagement.

Kellie said she has been thinking of leaving the show for at least a year. "I'm getting older and I just wanted to try and do as much as I can with my life because I can't be a kids' performer for my whole life," the bubbly blonde said during an interview. "I guess I just wanted to open more doors so when I eventually do have kids I have stability, and I've got a job I can continue to do with that as well." Crawford said she plans to pursue an acting career.


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Jump & Jive With Hi-5



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When she left, she said she was delighted with her 10 years in the group, which is now among Australia's highest entertainers and has won five ARIA awards and three Logies.
Crawford was born Kellie Lynn Hoggart in 1974. She began her career as a teenager appearing in Pizza Hut commercials.

In 1991, at age 17, Crawford along with Liza Witt and Roxanne Clark, would form an idea to bring back music from the past and recreate it as a pop music act. Initially, they tried to launch the project as a television idea set in the themed time of the 1960s. As the group experienced difficulties getting the television show off the ground, they diverted their attentions towards simply creating music.

They decided to name the group the Teen Queens and from 1991 to 1993 the group released three top ten ARIA singles.
After the group split in 1993, Crawford continued to act in television and movies, and appear in commercials for companies such as Pizza Hut.

Crawford's next breakthrough came in 1998 when she was enlisted to join the new children's band and television show Hi-5 as the group's oldest and most commercially experienced member. She was featured with a puppet named "Chatterbox," better known as "Chats" voiced originally by co-cast member Charli Delaney.

Kellie and Chats' segment of the show promoted and educates children on language skills and recognition of sounds and noises. Her American counterpart is Jennifer Korbee.

In April 2009 Kellie raised the ire of several conservative family groups after appearing in several photos wearing lingerie for men’s magazine Ralph. She defended her decision to appear in the magazine.

"After working in children's television for 10 years, and always being pinned into your clothes so no one can see your belly button if you lift your hands up, and always having your cleavage covered, and me being the tomboy of the three girls, it was something I did for myself to remind myself that I am a woman."

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