Beth Brennan is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera Neighbours, played by Natalie Imbruglia. She made her debut screen appearance in the episode broadcast on 6 January 1992. Beth is characterised as a nice person who lets people take advantage of her kind personality. Beth works as a builder's apprentice in the construction industry and this meant she was supposed to have a "tough" persona. Writers never developed these traits and Imbruglia felt that they had let the character down. Instead, Imbruglia described Beth as "too nice" and just "goes all ga ga and cries." In her backstory, Beth is a product of a broken home and was sexually abused by her mother's boyfriend. The character was also portrayed as a virgin, which played an important part in forming her early stories. Beth's main relationship was her long-standing partnership with Brad Willis. Beth jilted him on their wedding day when she discovers Brad has been having an affair with Lauren Carpenter. Imbruglia believed the story was unrealistic but provided good drama.
Imbruglia left the show because she was disappointed with scripts.
Natalie Jane Imbruglia is an Australian-British singer-songwriter and actress. In the early 1990s, she played Beth Brennan in Neighbours. Having left the soap opera, she moved to the UK and began a singing career. Her debut single, a cover of Ednaswap's song "Torn" (1997), quickly became a worldwide hit, topped the US Billboard Radio Songs Chart for eleven weeks in 1998, and was listed on 50 Best Songs of 1990s by Rolling Stone. Her debut album, Left of the Middle (1997) was a commercial success, certified multi-platinum in the US, the UK and Australia and eventually sold seven million copies worldwide. Subsequent albums, including White Lilies Island (2001) and Counting Down the Days (2005) did not match commercial success of her debut, but both albums still gained Gold certification in the UK. As of 2021, Imbruglia has released six studio albums and has sold more than ten million copies worldwide. Imbruglia has received various accolades, including eight ARIA Awards, two Brit Awards, one Billboard Music Award, one Silver Clef Award and three Grammy nominations.
Imbruglia at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival
Imbruglia (centre) in Naples, Italy, in 2005
Imbruglia in Bucharest, Romania, in 2008
Imbruglia performing in 2015