Kylie Minogue Twitter threats: a decade of stalker problems

She won five Logies, the Australian equivalent of an Emmy Award, becoming the youngest actress to win the high-profile awards.

In July 1987 she released her first single; a remake of the 1962 Little Eva hit Locomotion, which hit No1 in her home country before becoming the biggest Australian single of the 1980s.

She quit Neighours in 1988, to move to Britain and concentrate on becoming singer and her career blossomed with a string of smash hits.

Her first UK chart-topper was I Should Be So Lucky in 1988. Her debut self-titled album, which included her hit I Should Be So Lucky, sold more than seven million copies worldwide.

But her sugary image faded and she reinvented herself as a sex symbol in recent years, leading to increased attention from men.

In 2003 she received more than 700 threatening letters in one year to addresses near her home in Chelsea, and to the office of her British record company, EMI in Hammersmith, both in west London.

The letters, which all bore a West Country postmark, started as ordinary fan mail but become increasingly aggressive. In one the writer, who was never identified, threatened to kill the Aussie star and perform depraved sex acts on her.

It prompted one of the singer's management team to attend Fulham police station, west London to report the harassment.

Officers given her security advice and she has employed bodyguards for public events. The singer's management later said the letters "were of an annoying nature" rather than being dangerous.

"There have been no death threats but letters of an annoying nature have been reported to the police and are being investigated," her spokesman said at the time.

"The situation has simply been blown out of proportion. I spoke to her this morning ... she is her usual self, absolutely fine and happy as ever." No arrests were ever made.

The previous year, the singer disclosed that she had been stalked by a fan for five years.

She said at the time: "He turns ! up at lo ads of my shows and even manages to find out where I'm shopping sometimes. It's been on and off for five years but I haven't seen him around for a while. I'm sure he means no harm."

Minogue was awarded an OBE in 2008 in recognition of a pop career that has seen her sell millions of albums and singles and transform herself from a manufactured pop star into a glamorous disco diva.

She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 and underwent surgery and chemotherapy to beat the disease, before being given the all-clear the following year.

She later admitted to battling depression following her diagnosis of breast cancer, which led to partial mastectomy, followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

The Grammy winner abruptly cancelled her Showgirl concert tour to make time for surgery and chemotherapy, a break from work that plunged her into a depression.

Minogue said she struggled with the perception that she'd "never be normal again," she said in 2007. Gradually, she came to realise that breast cancer would change her life.

She said: "I learned that you never go back to a normal state, instead you have to create a new normal state.

"I have to accept my life for its triumphs and its other sides, take the good with the bad. "I experienced a world of illness and positive attitudes. These experiences contributed to making me a more mature person."

This year is celebrating 25 years in showbusiness, which she has dubbed K25, by re-recording some of her old hits.

She has sold more copies of eleven studio albums, two live CDs, eight live concert DVDs as well as a series of "Greatest Hits" albums.

According to her official profile, she has recorded more than 50 singles, "all of which have been hits". She has sold-out nine "record breaking" world tours and closed the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

Last year, her Aphrodite Les Folies tour took in five continents, 27 countries and 77 shows. The Daily Telegraph said of the tour: "Kylie Minogue is not just a pop star ! any more , she is a veritable goddess".

She is also a successful businesswoman, launching her own ranges of lingerie, clothing and perfume. The singer, once dismissed as a "Singing Budgie", is also an "icon" amongst the homosexual community.

Currently dating Spanish model Andres Velencoso, 33, she was previously in a relationship with Olivier Martinez, the French actor.

She once dated Australian rock singer Michael Hutchence, who was found hanged in a Sydney hotel. She has been linked with a series of leading men, including Lenny Kravitz and Robbie Williams.

She has also spoken openly about starting a family.