Jason Sean Donovan (born 1 June 1968) is an Australian actor and singer.
Jason Donovan was born on Saturday, 1 June 1968 in the Melbourne suburb Malvern, Victoria.
He is the son of Australian actress Sue McIntosh (née Menlove) and British-born veteran stage and television actor Terence Donovan (who also appeared in Neighbours) who has English and Irish heritage.
1973
Following his parents' separation and divorce, his father was awarded full custody of him in 1973 and brought him up on his own.
Donovan has had no contact with his mother since the divorce.
He attended De La Salle College Malvern.
1980
Donovan made his first television appearance at age 11 in a guest role on the Australian series Skyways in 1980.
In the episode, his on-screen sister was played by future Neighbours co-star Kylie Minogue.
1981
He also appeared in the series I Can Jump Puddles (1981) and Golden Pennies (1985) before entering the cast of Neighbours in 1986 as Scott Robinson (replacing actor Darius Perkins, who had played the role for the first year of the series).
His character's story arcs included an onscreen romance and wedding to Charlene Mitchell (played by Minogue), and helped boost the show's popularity with British as well as Australian audiences.
1987
He won his first Logie Award for "Best New Talent" in 1987 and received a commendation in the category "Performance by a Male Actor In a Series" from the Television Society of Australia's Penguin Awards.
1988
He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap Neighbours, playing Scott Robinson, before beginning a career in music in 1988.
In the UK he has sold over 3 million records.
In 1988 he was awarded the Silver Logie for the "Most Popular Actor" on Australian television.
In addition to his regular role in Neighbours, Donovan appeared as "Happy Houston" in the 1988 Australian World War II mini-series The Heroes, based on the historical novel by Ronald McKie.
The track was released in 1988, reaching number five in the UK and number three in Australia.
Donovan's next single, a duet with Minogue, "Especially for You", was released in late November 1988.
While the idea for a duet was at first rejected by SAW, who felt it too commercial, the producers changed their minds when retail chain Woolworths ordered 250,000 copies of the record.
Donovan agreed to the duet with Minogue without reservation, feeling it would be good for his career.
It was the fourth-highest selling single in the UK in 1988, and 17th in Australia for 1989.
The track became SAW's biggest ever hit in the UK, ultimately selling in excess of one million copies.
The issue of UK pop magazine Smash Hits that featured Minogue and Donovan on the cover to promote the release also sold one million copies.
The song was accompanied by a widely noted image change for Donovan, who shed his trademark Neighbours mullet for a contemporary undercut.
1989
His debut album Ten Good Reasons was the highest-selling album in the UK in 1989, with sales of over 1.5 million.
He has had Four UK No. 1 singles.
Donovan left Neighbours in 1989.
After spending four weeks at No. 2 in the UK, it hit No. 1 in January 1989.
Donovan's next single, "Too Many Broken Hearts", reached number one in the UK in March 1989.
The singer said he initially had no idea the song would go on to be so successful, and thought it might just be an album track.
He confessed to at first being underwhelmed by the video, and was surprised by the ecstatic response it earned at his label.
However, he now regards the track as one of SAW's best songs, as well as being his defining hit.
He released his début album, Ten Good Reasons, in May 1989, which also reached number one (for three weeks).
For two weeks, Donovan held the number one positions in the singles chart and the albums chart simultaneously, when his next single, a cover of Brian Hyland's "Sealed With a Kiss", entered the UK charts at number one.
1990
He has also appeared in several stage musicals, most prominently in the lead role of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in the early 1990s.
He won the 1990 Logie Award for "Most Popular Actor in a Mini-Series".
2010
Twenty years later, he said that he had been asked to return to tie in with the show's 25th anniversary in 2010, but was unable to do so due to other work commitments.
While he was still appearing in Neighbours, Donovan followed Minogue (who had already left the series by this point) by pursuing a pop career.
His early exploration of music included recording a demo written by pub rock band Noiseworks, and he was offered the chance to record the song "Waiting for a Star To Fall", later a hit for Boy Meets Girl.
However he followed Minogue by signing a recording contract with Mushroom Records in Australia, and with PWL in the UK.
Although the production team of Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) initially resisted working with Donovan, fearing recording with a second Neighbours star would be "too tacky", the trio quickly warmed to him, recording his first single, "Nothing Can Divide Us", after it was rejected by Rick Astley.
