What the lead singer from Killing Heidi looks like now: Ella Hooper is almost unrecognisable in a rare TV interview without her signature dreadlocks and heavy makeup
The lead singer of Killing Heidi looks hardly recognisable almost 20 years after the release of the Australian rock band’s debut album Reflector.
Known for her heavy makeup, bold stage outfits and signature dreadlocks, Ella Hooper has since left behind her late ’90s punk aesthetic.
During a rare TV interview on Monday, Ella looked positively demure in a red cardigan alongside her brother and bandmate Jesse Hooper.
Blast from the past: Ella Hooper, the lead singer of Killing Heidi, looks hardly recognisable almost 20 years after the release of the band’s debut album Reflector. Pictured on October 24, 2000 in Sydney
Ella, 36, spoke to Today Extra, about starting the band aged 13, and also revealed how she decided upon her bold makeup look.
She revealed she would smudge red lipstick on her eyelids as makeshift eyeshadow during the band’s heyday in the ’90s as she ‘wasn’t a big makeup girl growing up’.
‘Things were so much more naive back then,’ she added. ‘We didn’t really have a team of makeup artists and stylists following us around. Believe it or not, I actually made a lot of those clothes myself with the help of some friends who could sew!’
My, how you’ve changed! During a rare TV interview on Monday, Ella (left) looked positively demure in a red cardigan alongside her brother and bandmate Jesse Hooper (right)
‘We didn’t have makeup artists or stylists’: Ella, 36, spoke to Channel Nine’s Today Extra about starting the band aged 13. Pictured with her Killing Heidi bandmates in October 2001
Killing Heidi temporarily split in 2006, before reforming in 2016 after a 10-year hiatus.
Ella recently competed against nine other acts to represent Australia as a solo artist at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest with her song Data Dust.
Unfortunately for Ella, Kate Miller-Heidke ended up entering the competition with her track Zero Gravity.
Solo act: Ella recently competed against nine other acts to represent Australia as a solo artist at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest with her song Data Dust. Pictured on February 8, 2019
Killing Heidi rose to fame as the winners of Triple J’s Unearthed competition in 1996 with their single Kettle.
The band went on to release three albums, and are currently on a headline tour around Australia, which concludes in November.
They will also appear on the Red Hot Summer Tour in January and February alongside special guests James Reyne, The Living End and The Angels.
Remember them? Killing Heidi rose to fame as the winners of Triple J’s Unearthed competition in 1996 with their single Kettle. The band went on to release three albums, and are currently on a headline tour around Australia, which concludes in November