PHOTOGRAPHY BY GETTY IMAGES. EDITED BY ALLEY PASCOE.186 marieclaire.com.au“I work in an industry where strangers judge
me all the time, so it’s wonderful to know
that my sister only cares about the real me -
and not the person I am on television”EDWINA
BARTHOLOMEW
The Sunrise presenter on the women who keep her grounded
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ANGELA BARKER
I first interviewed Angela in 2010 for a
Sunday Night story about young people
in nursing homes. When Angela was
16, she was brutally bashed by her
boyfriend and ended up with an
acquired brain injury. With no
resources or help, her family was
forced to put her in a nursing home.
When I met her, all she wanted was
to live independently and lead her own
life. Now, eight years later, she has an
apartment in Melbourne, a part-time job
at the National Australia Bank and is an
advocate for White Ribbon Australia.
She is also raising money to build
Melbourne’s first high-care rehabilitation
facility for young people. Angela is an
inspiration to everyone. The fact she’s
been able to raise herself up from such
a horrific situation and make something
of her life blows me away. She has
shown me that anything is possible.
Sunrise airs on Channel Seven
at 5:30am weekdays.
PIP BRETT
I met my friend Pip at boarding school in
grade eight. I remember thinking that she
was a little pocket rocket: quite tiny but
full of energy. She’s still the same today,
only now she’s an incredibly successful
businesswoman with two beautiful boys
and a wonderful husband. I feel very lucky
that we’re still close friends 20 years on.
In April, Pip walked down the aisle
with me as my bridesmaid. I think it’s a
very special thing to be able to continue
to grow up and get older with the same
women who knew me when I was 12. Pip
has been there for me for the past two
decades – and I know she’ll be there for
the next four. Her friendship, advice and
candour mean the world to me.
MEG BARTHOLOMEW
My sister, Meg, is two years older than me,
but we look like twins. We have the same
face, same smile and same thick blonde
hair. When it comes to our personalities,
though, we’re total opposites. She’s whip
smart and shy, whereas I’m brassy and
extroverted. I work on a morning TV show;
she doesn’t even own a TV. Meg doesn’t
give two hoots about what I do for a living
and that’s exactly the way I like it. I work in
an industry where strangers judge me all
the time, so it’s wonderful to know that my
sister only cares about the real me – and
not the person I am on television.
Even though we are diferent in many
ways, we do have the same favourite song:
Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful
World”. We first started singing it on a trip
to Paris together when we were young.
When she went of to boarding school,
I put it on a mixtape for her and we still
sing it together now. I’m a horrible
singer. She studied opera. We really
complement each other like that.
LAST WORD