Biggest celebrity transformations of 2022
It’s been a time of reinvention and major change for some of Australia’s biggest stars and shows. Here are the highlights.
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It was the year we got a new Prime Minster, Russia invaded Ukraine, interest rates soared and the Queen died.
And 2022 was just as eventful for celebrities, who used the first year without major Covid restrictions to reinvent themselves.
Singer Cody Simpson showed us his swimming prowess, Rebel Wilson became a mum, Yellow Wiggle Emma Watkins got her own series, and Neighbours came back from the dead in a year of transformation.
Here are the highlights.
ABBIE CHATFIELD
Controversial radio host Abbie Chatfield burst onto our television screens in 2019 after appearing on the seventh season of The Bachelor Australia. Chatfield didn’t win the season, finishing in second place behind Chelsie McLeod, but her outspoken personality caught people’s attention.
Seizing her notoriety, Chatfield launched her podcast It’s a Lot – a no-holds-barred look at sex and dating – on LISTNR that same year. She went on to appear on the third season of Bachelor in Paradise and the seventh season of I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here, which she won.
But it was 2022 that saw Chatfield’s controversial star rise, with the launch of her own radio show Hot Nights with Abbie Chatfield on the Hit Network.
The bubbly blonde also joined Chrissie Swan, Dave Hughes and Mel B on the panel of The Masked Singer, and launched inclusive clothing line Verbose the Label.
In December, she was announced as host of new BINGE reality series, FBoy Island.
REBEL WILSON
It’s been a huge year for Australian Hollywood superstar Rebel Wilson. Already under the microscope due to her massive weight loss a couple of years earlier, 2022 saw Wilson come out as gay, announcing her relationship with fashion and jewellery designer, Ramona Agrum. Wilson was forced to come out earlier than she’d apparently planned after The Sydney Morning Herald gave her 48 hours to respond to an article revealing her new relationship.
The comedian took it in her stride, though, getting in first by sharing a stunning image of the pair. Since then, the couple have announced the birth of their first child, Royce Lillian, who was born via surrogate.
CASEY DONOVAN
Casey Donovan shot to fame when she was just 16 years old, after winning the 2004 season of Australian Idol. Despite her success and talent, Donovan’s career was marred by personal challenges, including being catfished for more than six years, an ongoing feud with her birth father, and her beloved stepfather’s diagnosis with pancreatic cancer.
In 2022, Donovan seems a new woman, both mentally and physically, revealing massive weight loss after becoming the face of Jenny Craig. Speaking about her weight loss, she said she was motivated by her desire to start a family, and hoped to “get my head and my heart and my body into the right frame of mind to be able to do that”. She is also loved up, revealing she is in a relationship with Renee Sharples, a lecturer in paramedicine. The pair met via online dating app, Bumble.
NEIGHBOURS
2022 was a big year for Australia’s longest-running drama series in history. In February, Aussies received the shock announcement that the beloved soapie Neighbours was being axed. The emotional final episode was filmed in August, and featured a host of former stars, including Margot Robbie, Guy Pearce, Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan.
The finale was watched by 1.2 million viewers nationally and peaked at 1.41 million – the show’s highest ratings in 13 years.
In November, Neighbours fans received another shock, when it was announced the soapie would be revived, with streaming service Amazon partnering with production house Fremantle Australia.
Production will start in early 2023.
TSEHAY HAWKINS
Last year, Tsehay Hawkins was a 15-year-old school student. In 2022, she took on her first year as the youngest ever member of The Wiggles, surpassing former Yellow Wiggle Greg Page, who joined the group aged 19.
Hawkins is the second female to join The Wiggles, replacing Emma Watkins, who left the group in 2021.
Hawkins was born in Ethiopia and adopted as a baby by Australian parents, Robyn and Reg Hawkins, who she lives with when not travelling with The Wiggles.
Due to her young age, Hawkins is chaperoned while on tour and completes school via distance education.
EMMA WATKINS
It’s been a big year for former Yellow Wiggle Emma Watkins, who married her second husband, Wiggles musician Oliver Brian, and revealed her new children’s character Emma Memma on social media. Watkins became engaged to Brian in 2021, following her separation from Purple Wiggle Lachlan Gillespie.
She left The Wiggles in late 2021, with filming of her new series Emma Memma: Sing. Dance. Sign, expected to commence production in 2023.
In July, Toronto-based Headspinner Productions announced its partnership with Watkins to produce the series, which was design to “incorporate elements of song, dance and sign language”.
CODY SIMPSON
Once known as one of Australia’s biggest pop exports, Cody Simpson was all about swimming in 2022. The Queensland-born singer shot to fame in 2010 after recording a song with US rapper Flo Rida and experienced massive international success, rubbing shoulders with the likes of John Mayer and Miley Cyrus.
In 2019, Simpson switched his focus back to swimming, training under a variety of coaches in order to improve his skills.
In 2022, his hard work paid off. Simpson participated in the Australian Swimming Championships, the Commonwealth Games and the Australian Short Course Championships.
2022 also saw the start of Simpson’s relationship with fellow swimmer, Emma McKeon, after previously dating Kylie Jenner, Gigi Hadid, and Miley Cyrus.
NICHO HYNES
2022 was the year that saw Cronulla Sharks star Nicho Hynes’ life come full circle. The NRL superstar won the Dally M Medal after polling a record-breaking 38 votes. The halfback brought his mother to the event, after revealing details about her life’s struggles earlier.
In 2022, Hynes shared stories about his difficult childhood, including watching his mother be taken to jail on several occasions, and his stepfather’s death after falling asleep at the wheel of his truck.
It was Hynes’ first season with the Sharks, after finishing up with Melbourne Storm in 2021.
JODIE HAYDON
Last year, Jodie Haydon was working in the superannuation industry, having started dating then-opposition leader Anthony Albanese the year before.
This year, she not only moved into a new role as a women’s officer for the New South Wales Public Service Association, but she also became the First Lady of Australia, after Albanese became Prime Minister, ousting Scott Morrison.
Haydon is the second unmarried partner of an Australian Prime Minister, with former PM Julia Gillard’s then-partner Tim Mathieson being the first.
ZAC EFRON
OK, so he’s not technically Australian, but Hollywood heartthrob, Zac Efron has been living in Byron Bay since 2021.
After laying low for a while, Efron has spent the past year undergoing a major physical transformation for a new film.
The 35-year-old underwent a complete lifestyle change to play wrestler Kevin Von Erich for a new biopic. His new physique is a far cry from the ripped body we’ve become accustomed to since he starred as Matt Brody in Baywatch.
Earlier in the year, Efron addressed persistent plastic surgery rumours, insisting his fuller jawline was the result of a shattered jaw, caused by slipping and crashing into a fountain, after running through his house wearing socks.
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