Kylie Minogue (born May 28, 1968) is an Australian singer and actress. She rose to prominence in the late 1980s as a result of her role in the Australian television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing her career as a pop singer and recording artist. Signed to a contract by British songwriters and record producers Stock, Aitken and Waterman, Minogue achieved a string of hit records throughout the world, but her popularity began to decline by the early 1990s, leading her to part company from them in 1992. For several years she attempted to establish herself as an independent performer and songwriter, distancing herself from her earlier work. Her projects were widely publicised, but despite a couple of hit singles, her albums failed to attract a substantial audience, resulting in the lowest sales of her career. In 2000, she returned to popularity as a dance/pop music artist and became well-known for her provocative music videos and expensively mounted stage shows. In Europe and Australia, Minogue has become one of her generation's most recognisable celebrities and sex symbols.