Exclusive: Brooke Warne opens up on life without her dad
In her first in-depth interview since the death of Shane Warne last year, his eldest daughter Brooke speaks about how the family is coping and reveals her plans to become Australia’s next social media sensation.
Stellar
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The late cricket legend Shane Warne had undeniable charisma that made him a star both on and off the pitch, but he prioritised one thing above all else: his family.
Now, his eldest daughter Brooke Warne is establishing her own persona.
When a single TikTok video of her preparing a steak sandwich can go viral with more than 260,000 views, she knows she has what it takes to become the next social media sensation.
As she tells Stellar during her first fashion shoot: “I’m making my own name for myself.”
She has one of the most recognisable surnames in the country, but Brooke Warne is starting to own it for herself. As the daughter of the late Australian cricket legend Shane Warne, it could have been easy for her to rest on his legacy – but that has never been the plan.
The 26-year-old has passions to share and, thanks to her burgeoning social media following, an audience that wants to know more about them.
In the past 18 months, Warne’s cooking videos – and her more focused curation of fashion and food content – have proven popular with her combined following of 90,000 on Instagram and TikTok.
Now she is heralding a new era as a content creator, and owning her centre-stage status.
Being on the set of her first fashion shoot for Stellar marks a turning point for Warne.
“Pulling together those looks gives a strong ‘boss woman’ kind of vibe. I felt like myself and like I was able to express myself through the clothes. I was able to be myself – and do it for me,” she explains when she sits down to chat to Stellar a few days later, now wearing a necklace with a “23” on it – a tribute to the shirt number of her late father.
“I like wearing comfortable clothes like tracksuits, but I also love to get dressed up while also staying cool and casual.”
Of course, Warne is no stranger to the spotlight. As the eldest child of “spin king” Shane and his former wife, Simone Callahan, Warne and her younger siblings – brother Jackson, 24, and sister Summer, 21 – learnt to deal with scrutiny at an early age.
“We’ve sort of been in the public eye our whole lives,” she explains, crediting her parents for teaching her the resilience to handle it.
“No matter what you do, when you put yourself out there, people are always going to judge you. They’re always going to find something to say. But the people who like you for you are going to support you, no matter what.
“You’re always going to get haters and people who like to make fun … to make them feel better. Not everyone is going to like you and that’s all right. You will bring the right people [in]. The energy you give out is the energy, hopefully, you receive.”
During her childhood in the bayside Melbourne suburb of Brighton, Warne says her parents fostered a strong work ethic, reflected in her teen years when her first job was at a local cafe. Even so, “I always wanted to be an actress,” she remembers.
“I used to do funny impersonations of people. I was a cheeky child – but a good one.”
Warne’s life changed forever in March 2022 when Shane, aged 52, died.
“After everything happened with my dad, I took a step back,” she says of that time, adding that it prompted her to put her career on hold.
“It was a bit full on, and we had so much going on.”
By her side through it all has been Warne’s boyfriend of four years, Alex Heath.
“He’s my best friend and I’m so grateful for everything he does for me,” she adds.
“I’m very lucky to have him in my life.”
Asked how she and her family are coping a year-and-a-half on from Shane’s death, Warne pauses and takes a breath.
“As a family, we’ve always stuck together,” she says.
“We’ve always had each other’s backs. We’re going OK. Obviously, I miss him and think about him every second – that’s never going to change.
“I think we just learn to accept life, that this is our life now, and do the best by him and make him proud … and be positive and enjoy everything.
“You don’t know what’s going to happen. I suppose it does take something traumatic for you to really wake up and see.
“I hope a lot of people now just sort of realise, do what you love, tell people you love them. We just had to deal with what comes our way. We do it together, and that’s the important thing.”
That perspective has led Warne to a course correction of her own.
“I’ve found my style and a love of cooking,” she says of the looks and content she now shares on social media.
“Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. I want people to see that side of me, and that I’m my own person and I’m really enjoying making my own name for myself.”
The new-found confidence to follow her dreams, though, is a callback to some sage fatherly advice.
“Dad always said to us, ‘I don’t care what you do, where you work, as long as you’re happy and you’ve tried your hardest’.
“I think I’m getting to that point now,” she continues.
“I have a big support network and a family I can lean on. We’ve been brought up with [the values of] being respectful and grateful. I think now, especially, we [try to] enjoy life, because you don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Originally published as Exclusive: Brooke Warne opens up on life without her dad
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