Nation mourns the loss of Aussie legend Helen Reddy
Trailblazing Australian singer and actress Helen Reddy has died at the age of 78.
The award-winning musician, who was best known for her hit song I Am Woman, is survived by her two children, Traci and Jordan, and her beloved grandchildren.
"It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved mother, Helen Reddy, on the afternoon of September 29th 2020 in Los Angeles," Traci and Jordan said in a statement on the Helen Reddy Official Fan Page.
"She was a wonderful Mother, Grandmother and a truly formidable woman. Our hearts are broken. But we take comfort in the knowledge that her voice will live on forever.
At the time of her death, Reddy was in an assisted living facility.
Traci recently said in a statement that her mother "has some health and memory issues".
The star was reportedly diagnosed with dementia in 2015.
Reddy was born in Melbourne in 1941 to a prominent showbiz family and began her entertainment career at the age of four.
The star joined her parents on the Australian vaudeville circuit at a young age and by just 17, she had won a talent contest on the television program Bandstand.
Her prize was a ticket to New York City to record an audition, which unfortunately turned out to be unsuccessful.
She continued on and persevered however, and in 1968 her hard work paid off when she released her debut single One Way Ticket , followed by I Believe in Music in 1970.
She enjoyed prominent success in the '70s, and released I Am Woman in 1971.
The song solidified her place in the hall of greats as her music became a trailblazing anthem for second-wave feminism.
Many of Reddy's singles made the Billboard Top 40 and she went on to win a number of music awards.
Remarkably, she was the first Australian to host a weekly primetime variety show on US television.
Reddy also acted, appearing in a number of theatre shows as well as films like Pete's Dragon, Airport 1975 and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Reddy was married three times.
She wed Kenneth Claude Weate at the age of 20 and they separated not long after the birth of their daughter, Traci, in 1963.
In 1968, the Aussie feminist icon married Jeff Wald, who was also her manager at the time.
Their son Jordan, who would go on to be a film director, was born in 1972.
Reddy and Wald separated in 1981.
Her third and final marriage came in 1983 when she married Milton Ruth, a drummer in her band. They divorced in 1995.
Her life was recently turned into a movie titled I Am Woman, with the singer played by Australian actress Tilda Cobham-Hervey.
Director Unjoo Moon recently told 9news that she and Reddy became friends after they met at an awards season event a few years ago.
Moon couldn't believe a film about Reddy's life hadn't already been made.
Reddy eventually trusted Moon with her story and the director was honest with Reddy by admitting that I Am Woman wasn't going to get every fact right.
"I remember when we finally agreed to make the movie, I said to her, 'Look, Helen, this is going to be a work of fiction based on your life, it's not going to be a documentary. I can't promise you that I will get every word right, that I will include everybody who's been in your life. I may combine people together, I may do different things to tell this story because it's a work of fiction. But I will promise you that I will honour the spirit of who you are, what your life is, and how your music has impacted people'," Moon said.
“I think that was the thing she always felt was important, that the spirit of it had to be in line with who she is."
Following her death, Moon expressed her grief in a statement to 9Honey.
"When I first met Helen Reddy she told me that I would be in her life for many years. What followed was an amazing seven-year friendship during which she entrusted me with telling her story in a film that celebrates her life, her talents and her amazing legacy," she began.
"I will forever be grateful to Helen for teaching me so much about being an artist, a woman and a mother. She paved the way for so many and the lyrics that she wrote for I am Woman changed my life forever like they have done for so many other people and will continue to do for generations to come. She will always be a part of me and I will miss her enormously.
"On behalf of all of us involved in making the film I am Woman, producer Rosemary Blight and I extend our condolences to Helen's family especially her children Traci and Jordan, her granddaughter Lily and her ex-husband Jeff."