If it wasn’t for her devoted mother, Sonia Kruger may never have danced her way to fame and fortune, as Phillip Koch reports.
Dancing With The Stars host Sonia Kruger cringes when her mum, Margaret, mentions that she still holds dear a poem her daughter wrote for her when she was just eight years old.
“It was so precious that I’ve kept it for over 30 years,” explains Margaret, who is proud of everything Sonia has achieved and can still quote the simple poem she wrote in primary school.
“She cooks, she cleans, she vacuums in between,” recites Margaret to howls of protest from her daughter.
The poem was probably never going to launch a writing career for Sonia, but it was music to Margaret’s ears.
“I’m very proud of what Sonia has achieved because it has not been easy for her,” she says. “It has been very stressful at times and it’s not as glamorous as a lot of people think. And she has done it all on her own – except at the beginning, where I helped.”
Sonia admits she has only recently come to fully appreciate the sacrifices her mum and dad, Adrian, made to help her follow her dream of dancing on the world stage.
“I probably didn’t appreciate Mum as much as I should have – just like most children,” she smiles. “And that’s why Mother’s Day is great because it makes you stop and think about all those sacrifices your mum made.”
Margaret would spend her spare time taking Sonia to dance classes and competitions, as well as raising Sonia’s older sister, Debbie, and younger brother, Adam.
“She taught us to dance in the lounge room,” Sonia says. “We did a barn dance to ABBA’s I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do. Mum was a huge fan of old movie musicals, so Debbie was named after Debbie Reynolds and I was named after (ice dancer and actress) Sonja Henie.”
For the full story see this week’s Woman’s Day, on sale May 3, 2010.
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