In 1987, at the age of 13, Malkah won the Dolly Covergirl of the Year competition[3] and was touted as the next Elle Macpherson.[5] By the early 1990s, she had become a high-profile model working in Sydney and New York.[6][7] She did shoots for Bloomingdales, Glamor magazine and Mademoiselle,[6] and was featured on the covers of Black + White magazine[8] and Vogue Australia.[4] In 2005–2006, Malkah was the face of AMP Capital Shopping Centres in Australia.[9]
In 1993, Malkah had a role in the Australian film Sirens, playing alongside Elle Macpherson, Portia de Rossi, Sam Neill and Hugh Grant[10] as one of the three life models of painter Norman Lindsay.[11] In 1995, Malkah was recruited for an ongoing role in the Network 10 TV soap opera Echo Point which aired for six months.[12] She appeared in several of the Elle McFeast (Libbi Gorr) comedy specials on ABC TV such as Breasts (1996) and The Whitlam Dismissal (1996).[13]
For two years (1996–1997), Malkah was the host of the Looney Tunes cartoon show What's Up Doc? on the Nine Network. In 1997, she had a small part in the Australian film Dust Off the Wings, a drama set amidst Sydney's surfing culture.[14] In 2000, she starred in the horror film Blood Surf, filmed in South Africa.[15]
In 2001 she fronted the Channel 10 television special Kate Fischer's Myth of the Perfect Woman[16]
Malkah starred as a blind girl who is courted by a struggling comedian in the Australian film comedy The Real Thing (2002)[17] and had a small role as a CIA agent in the Steven Seagal direct-to-video action film The Foreigner (2003).[18][19] In 2002, she appeared in three episodes of the Channel 7 medical drama series All Saints.[20]
In 2005, Malkah resurfaced on the Nine Network's Celebrity Overhaul, a show in which celebrities try to regain their fitness through good diet and exercise habits.[21]
In 2006, Malkah appeared as a guest judge on the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) program Song For The Socceroos and as a contestant on the Seven Network TV show It Takes Two.[1] The same year, she also made a guest appearance on the first series of The Chaser's War on Everything on ABC TV and also became the host of the short-lived weekly clip show Top 40 Celebrity Countdown on the Seven Network.[22]
In 2007, she filmed a short comedy video, Supermodel Hotdog, which aired on YouTube. The sketch, filmed at her LA apartment, self-satirised her popular image as a celebrity and movie star.[23]
In January 2017, Malkah (having legally changed her name several years earlier) became a contestant on the Australian version of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here![24] She was evicted by a public vote on day 31 after spending 30 days in the African jungle.[25] Following her departure, she made news headlines after some awkward post-eviction interviews.[26]
Personal life
She was engaged to businessman James Packer until the couple separated in 1998 after five years together and a two-year engagement.[27] Their breakup received wide coverage in both the mainstream and tabloid press, fueled by rumours regarding the extent of the financial settlement, which was reported as being as high as $10 million.[28] Malkah later stated she received "a few hundred thousand dollars" and the house they had formerly shared.[1] She eventually sold the house for A$2,825,000 in 2000.[29] Since 1998, Malkah has spent much of her time living in the United States.[1]
In 1997, "Kate and Barbie", a portrait of Malkah by Australian painter Paul Newton was a finalist in the annual Archibald Prize exhibition[33] and is now in her private art collection. Newton also painted another portrait of Malkah the same year titled "Homage to Madame X", now owned by her mother, Pru Goward.[34]David Bromley painted her portrait in 2001.[8]
^ abPreston, Yvonne (8 May 1994). "Behind the Face". Canberra Times. p. 21. Archived from the original on 24 June 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
^Loveridge, Anne (27 March 1990). "Magical music sets party mood". Canberra Times. p. 16. Archived from the original on 25 June 2024. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
