In the '80s, you couldn't turn on a TV without seeing Kerrie Friend's smiling face
In the '80s, you could rarely turn on a TV screen without being greeted by Kerrie Friend's smiling face.
As a presenter on Perfect Match and later, in the '90s, a hostess on Wheel of Fortune, Friend was one of the most well-known figures in the Aussie television industry.
At 22, she shot to 'household name' status as the co-host of dating game show Perfect Match, alongside Cameron Daddo and Greg Evans… oh, and a robot named Dexter.
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Kerrie Friend is pictured with co-host Cameron Daddo at a Perfect Match beach party. Network Ten
"Cameron and I went from being completely unknown to going into an elevator at the [1987] Logies with Jason and Kylie, Don Lane, Bert Newton, Ernie Sigley," she recalled to The Advertiser in 2020.
"[They were] icons of Australia, and they all knew who we were!
"We were the new kids on the block."
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Speaking to Channel 7 in 2020, Friend, pictured with co-host Evans, described the match-making TV gig as "a lot of fun".
"I did over 1,200 episodes, and I think I had more fun than probably anyone else because I really got the easy part," she said.
"Greg or Cameron had to hold the whole show, and I used to just fluff in and fluff out."
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Friend with Perfect Match host Doug Evans. Instagram / Kerrie Friend
After her time on TV, Friend decided to pack up and move to the other side of the world, taking up residence in Los Angeles in the early 1990s.
There, she studied acting and theatre for two years and reportedly picked up some roles, including a brief appearance in Melrose Place.
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However, she also branched into a new career direction, writing three self-help books and numerous articles on the topic over the years.
Friend's initial plan was to live in LA for two years.
However, unexpectedly, her new home city led her to her own 'perfect match', TV producer and former model Kenn Copenhaver.
They met 18 months after the TV host moved to LA, when she and her roommate needed help in moving a couch; the roommate enlisted her friend Copenhaver.
Speaking to Woman's Day in 2016, he remembered Friend introducing herself while wearing a "little leotard", and recalls feeling "something there" when they shook hands.
Two weeks later, after trying to deny their instant spark, he asked her out and the rest is history.
The couple became engaged in 1993 and married the following year, with a small ceremony for just the two of them in Lake Tahoe before heading to Sydney for a bigger wedding on New Year's Eve.
"It's pretty funny to think I was involved with so many people getting together on the show, yet I had to move on the other side of the world to find my match," Friend admitted to Woman's Day.
Friend ended up living in the US for more than two decades, with she and Copenhaver splitting their time between their homes in LA and Noosa, Queensland.
However, they have since returned to Australia and settled in Noosa.
Friend is active on Instagram, often sharing snapshots of her life and work.
