Sheridan Wright was 26 when she became a contestant on The Biggest Loser in 2008. She lost an incredible 60kg (16kg between the audition and the start of the show, and a further 44kg during the series). But the weight loss was just a small part of the experience.
“It was by far one of the most wonderful and the most damaging things I’ve done, physically and emotionally,” she says.
Wright was originally told that she hadn’t made it on to the show, but a twist of fate at the 11th hour changed that. In fact, the decision to include Wright was so last minute that when she arrived they didn’t even have shoes ready in her size.
When Wright left the show six months into the process, she found herself being recognised. But while some of her fellow contestants sought out the limelight, Wright says she was embarrassed by it. “I’d walk into a room and look down and avoid direct gaze, just in case,” she recalls.
Sheridan Wright appeared on The Biggest Loser in 2008
One of the things that Wright found particularly difficult following her time on the show was meeting people who desperately wanted help to change. “It’s difficult on your heart when you can’t actually help them, when they’re desperate or depressed and just want someone to magically enable them to be able to change their life, and they think that person is you. It’s a lot of pressure,” she explains.
Anyone who has watched The Biggest Loser will understand why Wright uses words such as “challenging” and “gut-wrenching” to describe her experience. But although her time in The Biggest Loser house was tough, Wright also says that it changed the course of her life.
“The whole ‘if I can survive that, I can do anything’ feeling it has left me with has certainly influenced my courage levels, my propensity to take risks, say ‘yes’ and back myself,” she explains.
“It really did just teach me to keep throwing my hat in the ring and that all it takes is one decision by one person in one moment to change your entire life.”
Carley Findlay became an internet sensation
Carly Findlay had a very different experience of fame. The 33-year-old appearance activist and blogger was thrust into the limelight when her blog went viral.
In 2013, Findlay, who has a rare skin condition called ichthyosis, noticed that her blog was getting web traffic from Reddit. With trepidation, she clicked through to discover that a photo of herself had been posted on the sites “wtf thread”.
Findlay decided to “fight back” and posted a message in the thread to educate people about her condition and provide a lesson in appearance activism.
“I knew the day would come that someone would create a Reddit thread about me, using my photo, having a laugh at my appearance. For years, that fear was why I didn’t share photos of me online. But now, after gaining confidence and support through years of blogging, I couldn’t care whether they call me a lobster or silly putty.
“The love I have around me and success I have had through telling my own story to break down stigma like these Reddit threads is stronger than any of those words. Yes I have Ichthyosis. Yes that picture is me. Don’t fear it and don’t criticise it. I am proud of the way I look, what I have achieved and for telling my story,” she wrote at the time of the incident.
Findlay also wrote about it on her blog, and unsurprisingly, the post went viral, attracting media attention from around the globe, including coverage from Fox and CNN.
So how did it feel to become an overnight internet sensation? Findlay says that it was both flattering and scary.
“Lots of people supported me and sent me lovely words. But I also received some awful comments on the media articles and my blog and Reddit did nothing to remove the post or prevent it from happening to others,” she says.
It has been two years now, and Findlay says that the incident is still bringing her new blog readers, a positive outcome since her personal quest to raise awareness of ichthyosis.
“Having my photo misused like this online was one of my worst fears, and it came true. I am proud of the way I handled it and feel I have a resilience I wasn’t sure I had before it happened.
“It has made me more confident in sharing my story,” she says.
Nicole Cooper was a team member on Young Talent Time
Nicole Cooper became famous via a more traditional route. She was 10 when she became a team member on Australian variety show Young Talent Time (YTT).
“Even at the time, I knew that I was very lucky. Life was pretty busy. I’d go straight to rehearsals after school, we’d have extensive vocal training and then learned the dance routines. On Saturdays, we rehearsed all day until the show went to air,” she recalls.
While some child stars go off the rails, Nicole remained steady. Although she does say that the long hours she dedicated to the show did have an impact on her relationships. “I was never around to spend time with people,” she says.
Naturally, being a child star had a big impact on Cooper.
“I think that being a child star gave me a huge amount of confidence in myself. I wouldn’t call myself an extrovert, but having to walk onto a stage and perform every week did teach me to believe in myself.”
Fame also taught Cooper the value of resilience. “Not every performance went well, but even when things went wrong you still had to carry on, which proved to be a great life lesson,” she explains.
Cooper left YTT when she turned 16, and unlike famous co-stars such as Danni Minouge and Tina Arena, she didn’t pursue the limelight.
“I was more interested in the production side of things and after finishing my HSC went on to work at Channel ten. I even worked on the production team at YTT for a while,” she recalls.
Nicole Cooper in 2016
Cooper moved from production into advertising, and then stopped work to have children, two boys. Although there were often times that people would recognise her from the show, Cooper says that she was just like all the other mums. “There were ups and downs, life with small children is never easy,” she says.
These days Cooper work as an office manager. However, while there isn’t any singing in the office, she does have “a kick-ass stereo” in her car. “I love to sing along with the radio,” she says.
