‘I look at her and it’s ‘whoa!’ because I see myself’: Jessica Mauboy reveals details about new baby

Singer Jessica Mauboy is ready to talk about two new arrivals. As she reveals her baby daughter’s name publicly for the first time, she unveils her next career step.

There’s a new rhythm in Jessica Mauboy’s household these days – and it sounds like a lullaby.

On January 13, the singer and her husband Themeli Magriplis welcomed their first child, a baby girl named Mia.

“It has been a bit of a rollercoaster but a magical one,” Mauboy tells Stellar, speaking for the first time about new motherhood and revealing that, yes, “I’m making up lots of lullabies for her.

“I look at her and it’s ‘whoa!’ because I see myself, that little frown.

“I’m not sure I want her to have my personality, because it’s rough and it’s tough … She’s constantly changing every day, another little roll, another crease.”

Mauboy kept Mia’s arrival off of social media to avoid disappointing friends and family who wanted to see her before she had her first vaccinations, and also to protect herself from any negative comments.

‘Brought me back to being a young girl!’ Jessica Mauboy has opened up about her newest role – as a mother to baby Mia. Picture: Steven Chee for Stellar

“The scary stuff that comes with being in the spotlight, I had to understand that was going to come,” she says.

“The arrival of Mia brought me back to being a young girl again: how do I do this?

“Am I going to be a good mum? I wanted to hold space for myself, to be patient and give as much love and kindness to myself as [I could while] my body was changing. Like making a record, you have got to put yourself out there eventually, but it was about having these precious moments with her seen by myself [rather than everyone else].”

Aside from welcoming her daughter, Mauboy has also been preparing for the arrival of a new business venture, which has been in development for three years.

This month, she’s launching sun-care company Desert Rose Australia, which was assembled alongside a team of experts and make-up artists, with an SPF50+ face serum as its first product. Mauboy named her company after the resilient flowering succulent that flourishes in the harsh Australian desert, and which her mother grows at their family home in Darwin.

“Growing up in the Northern Territory, sun care was never really taught,” she explains.

“Our community was like, ‘Black don’t crack’.

Picture: Steven Chee for Stellar

“We thought that we were tough because our environment was tough, and forgot we were vulnerable to the harsh sun. I knew I wanted to do something that felt healthy and caring and protecting.

“And also to be a role model for my mob – [to convey] that no matter what tone or shade your skin is, you need to protect it.”

As her brand came together, Mauboy got an education in the science behind the range. But the proud Kuku Yalanji woman also relied on the teachings shared by elders about the rich native ingredients in the outback.

“Knowing the ingredients we have on that land was kind of a light-bulb moment for me, remembering what the elders shared on walkabouts,” she says.

“We have antioxidants in the bush, vitamin E oils in the bush, and so I wanted to mix those things. Kakadu plum, particularly, is an important ingredient,” she explains of the native plant, which contains the world’s most potent natural source of vitamin C.

Jessica Mauboy is the founder of Desert Rose. Picture: Steven Chee for Stellar

Since the nation fell in love with her on Australian Idol in 2006, the now 35-year-old has released five albums, branched out as an actor (winning an AACTA Award for her 2012 film The Sapphires) and launched a perfume range.

She says her ability to back herself comes from “knowing the importance of being with people that are going to help you succeed, help you see the good in yourself.

“But there were also people who would tear you down, jealous of you doing better than them. “I want to flip that narrative into: ‘You can do that too, if you believe in yourself – and, more importantly, love yourself.’”

Besides launching Desert Rose, Mauboy is back into songwriting mode, with Mia proving a muse for the emotions she wants to tap into on her next record.

Jessica Mauboy is in the latest issue of Stellar, out on Sunday. Picture: Stellar

“It’s been so wild. I’ve been at the piano and she pops up into my head and I just tell myself to surrender to it and let’s go into whatever that feeling is,” she says.

“It’s such a beautiful release.”

On March 31, Mauboy will make her musical comeback where it all began, as a guest performer on Idol.

“It’s going to be special to be singing in front of Marcia [Hines] and Kyle [Sandilands] again,” she says.

“I’m doing a super emotional song, because I wanted to show the artists there that with pop music, you can be vulnerable and be fun. It’s that soul-moving thing.”

Desert Rose launches on March 25; visit desertroseaustralia.com.

See the full shoot with Jessica Mauboy inside the new issue of Stellar, out tomorrow via The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), Sunday Herald Sun (VIC), The Sunday Mail (QLD) and Sunday Mail (SA).

For more from Stellar and the podcast, Something To Talk About, click here.

Originally published as ‘I look at her and it’s ‘whoa!’ because I see myself’: Jessica Mauboy reveals details about new baby