Casey Donovan (born 13 May 1988) is an Indigenous Australian (Gumbaynggirr and Dungari) singer and actress, best known for winning the second season of the singing competition show Australian Idol in 2004. She won the competition at the age of 16, becoming the series' youngest winner. In 2017, Donovan won the third series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here. Donovan also hosted the NITV music show Fusion with Casey Donovan.
Early life Casey Donovan was born in Bankstown, New South Wales, to a family that included several relatives with musical careers, including her father, who along with his brothers are members of the country band The Donovans. It was not until attending Condell Park High that her talent became noticed and was supported especially by both her mother and stepfather.
Donovan is a Gumbaynggirr and Dungari woman.
Career 2004–2006: Australian Idol and For You
In 2004, Donovan transferred to the Australian Institute of Music in Sydney and auditioned for the second season of Australian Idol singing Kasey Chambers' "A Million Tears". During the series, Donovan won a Deadly Award for Most Promising New Talent in Music. In November, Donovan was announced the winner of Idol over favourite Anthony Callea. Her success was marred by a typographical mistake by Australian Idol sponsor Telstra, in a half-page nationally run newspaper advertisement including what was assumed to be her website. The link was a memorial for the late American pornography actor of the same name. Telstra apologized for the error.
Australian Idol Performances WeekThemeSongArtistStatusAuditionN/A"A Million Tears"Kasey ChambersSelectedTheatre RoundDay 1N/A (a cappella)6,8,12Brian McKnightAdvancedTheatre RoundDay 2Group Performance"Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" with Em Rusciano, Liza Schulberg and Yasmine DiaStevie WonderAdvancedTheatre RoundDay 3Solo Performance"Exodus"EvanescenceAdvancedTop 30Semi-final Group No. 3"Here's Where I Stand" (Touchdown)Tiffany TaylorAdvancedTop 12Australian-Made Music"Symphony of Life"Tina ArenaSafeTop 11Pop Music"Don't Speak"No DoubtSafeTop 10Songs of the Sixties"Somebody to Love"Jefferson AirplaneSafeTop 9Disco Hits"Shake Your Groove Thing"Peaches & HerbSafeTop 8Idol's Choice"Special Ones" (Touchdown)GeorgeSafeTop 7Lennon–McCartney"Eleanor Rigby"The BeatlesSafeTop 6Songs of the Eighties"The Flame"Cheap TrickBottom 2Top 5Songs of R&B"Beautiful" (Touchdown)India.ArieSafeTop 4Music of Big band"Why Don't You Do Right?""Come Fly with Me"Peggy LeeFrank SinatraSafeTop 3Songs of the Seventies"You're So Vain"(Touchdown)"Misty Blue" Carly SimonDorothy MooreSafeFinaleIdol's ChoiceIdol's ChoiceIdol Winner's Single"Take Me as I Am""Hello""Listen with Your Heart"Vanessa AmorosiEvanescence(winner's single)WON
In February 2005, Donovan released "What's Going On" which peaked at number 18 on the ARIA Charts. At the Deadly Awards 2005, Donovan won Single Release of the Year for "Listen with Your Heart" and Artist of the Year. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2005, Donovan was nominated for Highest Selling Single, losing to Anthony Callea's "The Prayer". In 2006, Donovan was dropped from Sony BMG.
2007–2016: Post-Idol Career In 2008, independently released the extended play Eye 2 Eye.
While starring in the successful concept show, Women of Soul, Donovan was approached by director Rhoda Roberts for the theatrical production of Giorgio Battistelli's opera Miracle in Brisbane, which was performed at the Brisbane Festival in October 2009. PDF
Donovan returned to music with the release of her single "Big, Beautiful & Sexy" written with songwriter Beau Golden, released in August 2010. A Facebook named for the song grew to over 10,000 fans shortly after release. Prior to the song's release, Donovan herself lost over 20 kg and continued her support larger men and women. Donovan went on to release another single in November 2010 titled "Last Regret," which gained some commercial airplay.
In December 2010, Donovan was nominated for two awards at the 2010 Sydney Theatre Awards for "Newcomer" and "Supporting Actress", continuing to receive praise and recognition from the industry for her work in The Sapphires. Although she auditioned for a role in the 2011 movie version, Donovan was not cast.
2011 saw Donovan reprise her role of Cynthia Macrae in another tour of The Sapphires. The tour ran during February in ACT and NSW, and was followed by two weeks in the UK in March.
In August/September 2011, Donovan created the role of Mama Cass in the world premiere of new musical Flowerchildren – The Mamas & the Papas Story written by Peter Fitzpatrick and produced by Australian company Magnormos. She was joined by Matt Hetherington as John Phillips, Laura Fitzpatrick as Michelle Phillips, and Dan Humphris as Denny Doherty.
Donovan also played several roles in Shakespeare's As You Like It at Sydney's Belvoir Street Theatre.
2017–2018: I'm a Celebrity, TV Advertisements and "Lonely" In January 2017, Donovan was revealed as a celebrity contestant on the third season of the Australian version of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. On 13 March 2017, Donovan won the series and was announced as the first ever Queen of the Jungle. In April 2017, Donovan became the face of the Coles Supermarket "Down down" campaign. On 23 April 2017, Donovan performed an acoustic version of David Bowie's "Heroes" at the 2017 Logie Awards in which she received a standing ovation. In May 2017 the Coles, "Down Down" campaign was refreshed with Casey performing a disco version of the advertisement. Donovan released her first single in seven years, "Lonely" on 19 May 2017 and Off the Grid & Somewhere in Between EP in August 2017.
She performed on New Year's Eve 2017 in Sydney, singing "Lady Marmalade", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "Nutbush City Limits".
2019–present: Chicago, Australia Decides, and The Space podcast In 2019 Donovan starred as Mama Morton in the Australian revival of the musical, Chicago, which received positive reviews.
In November 2019, Donovan was announced as a participant in Eurovision - Australia Decides; in an attempt to represent Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. She performed the track "Proud" in the national final on 8 February 2020 and placed second.
In 2020, she became a host on The Space podcast, focused on mindfulness and wellbeing.
In 2021, Donovan appeared as Luna Keys in the third season of the comedy TV series How to Stay Married, alongside Peter Helliar and Lisa McCune.
In 2022, she returned to the stage in the Australian production of the musical 9 to Five, playing the role of Judy Bernly which toured the Capitol Theatre in Sydney, Lyric Theatre in Brisbane, State Theatre in Melbourne and Festival Theatre in Adelaide.
In 2023, it was announced that Donovan would play the role of Angelique/Nurse in the Melbourne production of & Juliet at the Regent Theatre. She then toured with the show to Singapore, Perth and Sydney.
Donovan next performed the role of Aunt Deborah in Kimberly Akimbo in 2025, receiving praise for her "scene-stealer" performance.
Donovan announced that she would be touring Australia in 2026 with a show covering her entire career, This Is Me.
Personal life From 2004, Donovan was the victim of a six-year-long hoax telephone relationship with a persona named Campbell, constructed by a woman named Olga.
In 2023, Donovan announced she was in a relationship with Renee Sharples, whom she met on a dating app during the COVID-19 lockdowns. The pair became engaged in June 2024. Donovan identifies as a queer woman.
Discography Studio albums + List of albums, with selected chart positions and certifications Title Album details Peak chartposition Certifications AUSFor You Released: 13 December 2004 Format: CD, digital download Label: Sony Music Australia 2ARIA: 3× Platinum
Extended plays + List of EPs, with selected details Title Details Eye 2 Eye Released: 1 January 2008 Format: CD, digital download Label: Casey Donovan Off the Grid & Somewhere in Between Released: 25 August 2017 Format: CD, digital download Label: Casey Donovan 21 Years Retrospective EP Released: 29 August 2025 Format: digital download Label: Casey Donovan
Singles + List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name Year Title Peak chartpositions Certifications AlbumAUS2004 "Listen with Your Heart" 1ARIA: 2× PlatinumFor You2005 "What's Going On" 18 "Flow" 512010 "Big, Beautiful & Sexy" —rowspan="2" "Last Regret" —2017 "Lonely" — Off the Grid & Somewhere in Between "The Villain" —2020 "Proud" —Australia Decides "You Are Not Alone" —Speed of Life 2022 "Shake It" — 2023 "This Is Me" — 2025 "Defying Gravity" — "Hallelujah" — 2026 "One More Dance" — "Daughters and Sons" — Big Dream Baby (Justine Eltakchi album) — denotes releases that failed to chart.
Television Year Title Role Notes 2004 Australian Idol Contestant Winner2012Fusion With Casey DonovanHost 2017 I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! Contestant Winner 2017 Coles Supermarket Ad Herself 2017 Have You Been Paying Attention? Guest quiz master 2017 All Star Family Feud Contestant Team captain 2018 Hughesy, We Have a Problem Celebrity problem 2018 Blind Date Contestant 2019 Show Me the Movie! Celebrity guest 2019 Who Do You Think You Are? Guest 2019 Celebrity Name Game Herself 2 episodes 2020 Australia Decides Contestant 2021 How to Stay Married Luna Keys Season 3, recurring 2022 Darby & Joan Australian Sat Nav Voice Mini-series, recurring
Awards and nominations ARIA Music Awards
! Lost to |- | rowspan="2"| 2005 | For You | Highest Selling Album | | Missy Higgins – The Sound Of White |- | "Listen with Your Heart" | Highest Selling Single | | Anthony Callea – "The Prayer"
Deadly Awards The Deadly Awards, (commonly known simply as The Deadlys), was an annual celebration of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. They ran from 1996 to 2013.
| 2004 | "herself" | Most Promising New Talent in Music
| rowspan="2"| 2005 | "herself" | Artist of the Year
| "Listen with Your Heart" | Single Release of the Year
References
External links Official Myspace Official Website