Natalie Imbruglia ran out of money, living in a friend’s basement after Neighbours

Aussie star Natalie Imbruglia has opened up about life after her breakthrough role on Aussie soap opera Neighbours.

Imbruglia was just 16 when she landed the gig, starring on the show as Beth Brennan from 1992-94. She left after two years, and while she eventually found success with her hit single Torn, it wasn’t all smooth sailing.

Speaking with Davina McCall on the Begin Again podcast, Imbruglia shared that she had been making demos to launch a music career, but nothing was taking off.

 “So I then went to England, and that’s when I couldn’t get a visa to work as an actress, and they were really cracking down on the Neighbours stars taking English actors’ roles, and that was a hard time because I ran out of money,” she said.

“I’d run out of money, and I was living in the basement of someone’s house in Chelsea, which was weird because I’m in this big mansion, but I’m just in the basement.”

For a few years, Imbruglia recalled skating by on her fame, doing appearances at nightclubs and signing autographs.

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“[I was] just getting big wads of cash in envelopes and living like that,” she said.

The singer explained that it was the first time in her life that things hadn’t worked out the way she’d hoped. So, lost on what to do, she simply turned to partying until she received an eye-opening phone call from her dad.

“The money ran out,” she explained.

“It was my dad [who] once rang and said, ‘Can I just ask when are you going to get a job?’

“And I was so proud and I screamed at him and kicked off.

“But I was so embarrassed that he said that to me, that I changed things then.”

Unable to get a visa to act, Imbruglia turned to music. She shared that the loss of fame, money and friends gave her inspiration for that first album.

In 1997, she released Torn as the lead single off her album Left of the Middle, and instantly it became a massive hit.

The song raced to the top of the charts around the world, including here in Australia. It sold more than four million copies worldwide, received a Grammy nomination, and became a defining hit of its time.