Ksenija Lukich: ‘Channing Tatum was a bit smarmy’
After five years as host of E! Australia, Ksenija Lukich has spent plenty of time rubbing shoulders with Hollywood’s A-list. And she’s ready to reveal which stars she loves — and which ones she never wants to interview again.
Stellar
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There’s a video floating around of Ksenija Lukich that she hopes never makes it onto YouTube. It’s of a six-year-old rough and tumble kid hogging the camera in front of her cousins.
“Look at me, uncle. Look at me,” she cries, waving her arms around wildly. Her extended Serbian family, who are still close, claim it’s early evidence of the life young “Ksennie” would grow into.
And this month, the former model-turned-journalist and TV presenter notches up five years as the host of Foxtel’s E! channel in Australia.
“I was very dramatic,” the 29-year-old tells Stellar. “I have always been like that ever since I was little. I loved performing, I did a lot of drama at school and musical theatre. I was always very outgoing and effervescent and extroverted from a young age.”
With this background, it’s no surprise that the former model beat out thousands in a competition to be the new host of E! Australia five years ago, despite having little to no presenting experience.
Her bubbly nature and vivaciousness would become her trademark feature and endear her to celebrities such as Drew Barrymore, Cindy Crawford, Tom Cruise, Jane Fonda and Melissa McCarthy, to name a few.
The milestone career anniversary has given her time to reflect on the number of international celebrities she has had the pleasure of meeting. She can say with certainty she absolutely loves Drew Barrymore, can live without ever having to interview Channing Tatum again and would love to one day sit down with Brad Pitt and Oprah Winfrey.
“I spent three days with Drew Barrymore when she was in Sydney earlier in the year. She was so warm and kind and generous with her time, it blew me away,” she recalls.
“Channing Tatum, on the other hand, he was just a bit smarmy and I was disappointed. I have a rule that I always give them more than one shot because everyone has a bad day, but I interviewed Channing twice and he was the same both times.”
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Lukich grew up in the leafy suburb of Elanora Heights on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, the middle child of three.
She spent her days building flying foxes in her grandparents’ backyard and riding around the neighbourhood streets on her bike with her cousins.
Although she and her two brothers, Simeon and Aleks, were born in Australia, their Serbian culture is very much still a part of their lives.
Lukich speaks fluent Serbian and one of her favourite annual traditions is the family’s Slava, or patron saint’s day celebration, held in November, in which she and her mother spend days cooking for the extended family.
As she approaches her 30th birthday, Lukich reflects on how much her life has changed since she took on the new role.
In five short years, she has married her longtime sweetheart, lawyer Dan Bragg, they bought an apartment together and she finished her journalism degree.
“When I first started at E!, I was living in a share house in Redfern and now I have bought an apartment with my husband and we have been married for almost three years.”
The presenter admits she had felt apprehensive about leaving her 20s behind until she considered the effect her achievements have had on her confidence.
“There’s been a lot of growth and I’m really proud of what I’ve done, both with E! and personally,” she says. “When I think about the way I felt when I was 24 compared to the way I feel about myself now at 29, I feel much more comfortable in my skin and I’m happier.”