Erin Mcnaught – Entertainment Bureau

ERIN McNAUGHT

AUSTRALIAN MODEL, ACTRESS & TV PRESENTER

Erin McNaught was titled Miss Australia in 2006; but topless photographs of her surfaced and judge Jonathan Westbrook and event co-ordinator Deborah Miller called for McNaught to have the title taken from her. It was later decided that she should keep the title. She was chosen from nineteen finalists to represent Australia in the Miss Universe 2006 competition. She had clothes made by Australian designers Wayne Cooper, Jayson Brunsdon and Eliza Joy. However, McNaught caused more controversy after she did not take enough outfits to the event. She put together a video diary of her journey for Nine Network’s topical show A Current Affair. McNaught did not progress well in the competition and failed to make the final twenty. McNaught later took part in the Wintergarden Spring Summer Gala located in Brisbane. She also began negotiating modelling and television contracts.

In December 2006 it was announced that Erin McNaught had secured a presenting role on Cybershack, a programme analysing consumer technology. She began working on the series in February 2007; McNaught felt that she was equipped to deal with “gadgets” because she had grown up with older brothers “doing typical boys stuff”. By this time McNaught was being booked for many promotional events.

Erin McNaught later began taking acting lessons at the Actors Centre in Surry Hills and was coached by Simon Hunt. In August 2007, she travelled to Melbourne to audition and carry out a screen test for casting directors of the soap opera Neighbours. In November 2007, it was announced that she had secured a role playing the character Sienna Cammeniti. Her introduction was part of a strategy to boost the show’s ratings in Australia. She said she was “nervous” about joining the show because it was “a big change” to the work she was used to doing. She began filming her first scenes on 17 December. By March 2008, McNaught had impressed Neighbours producers and her contract was extended by three months. In July 2008, it was announced that she had decided to leave the series for the benefit of her relationship with Braith Anasta. McNaught said it had been a “tough decision to make” because she had a “great experience”; adding that she was happy with her acting achievements. Hannah Davies from The Courier-Mail reported that the acting industry were “outraged” by McNaught’s employment and accused Neighbours of hiring famous people for ratings.

Erin Mcnaught - Entertainment Bureau

McNaught modelling underwear at Federation Square, Melbourne.

Erin McNaught later became an ambassador to REPLAY Faces 2008, an online talent search to discover new models. She launched the talent search and chose the winner. She also became an ambassador for the charity campaign Fashion Targets Breast Cancer. McNaught has also hosted two seasons of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour. On 24 November 2009, McNaught severed the index finger on her right hand in an accident as she was shooting a story for Cybershack: she fell from a dirt bike she was riding, and got her hand trapped in the bike’s spinning wheel. The severed finger was reattached in emergency surgery. In December 2010, she began co-hosted the MTV Hits Weekly Hot30 Countdown with Matty Acton. McNaught told Kate Waterhouse from The Sun-Herald that felt more comfortable working for MTV because she could show the public her personality. She stated that her involvement in Miss Universe had “pigeonholed [her] as a pageant type” which made her feel as though she needed to act a like a “goody two-shoes”. She also revealed that she had aspirations to work in music journalism. 2010 also saw McNaught front an advertisement campaign for Pepsi and act as a guest judge on Australia’s Next Top Model.

As of 2011, Erin McNaught was modelling for brands including Antz Pantz and Mambo. She told Donna Duggan from News.com.au that she was “fortunate” because the contractors did pressure her into losing weight. Although she was now content with her body image, she revealed that she lacked confidence upon starting modelling. Under pressure to be thin, McNaught stated that her eating habits were “all over the place”. In 2012, McNaught took part in season twelve of Dancing with the Stars and was partnered with Gleb Savchenko. She was the first celebrity to be eliminated from the competition. In celebration of her thirtieth birthday she appeared naked on the cover of the June 2012 issue of Maxim Australia.

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