TND’s top 10 emerging Australian newsmakers for the next 10 years
Sports stars, TV hosts, actors and more dominate this list that looks to the future.
Whether they be athletes, actors or activists, Australia has been home to some of the most influential people in the world.
As TND celebrates its 10th anniversary, here are 10 emerging Aussies we predict will be dominating headlines for the next 10 years.
The former footy player has a bright future on TV. Photo: AAP
Once an AFL player for Sydney and Collingwood, Armstrong didn’t step out of the spotlight when his footy career ended; instead, he’s spent the past few years cultivating a strong TV career.
He’s stayed close to his roots as a sports presenter for ABC News Breakfast, a job that led to his viral 2022 reaction to the Socceroos qualifying for the FIFA World Cup.
Since then, Armstrong’s TV career has gone from strength to strength, despite the popular presenter facing waves of racist harassment.
At the Logies in 2022, Armstrong was awarded the Graham Kennedy Award for most popular new talent for his work on News Breakfast, which he followed up this year with the Bert Newton Award for most popular presenter – an accolade he humbly attributed to the “great people” he works with.
But there’s no doubt Armstrong is a budding TV star in his own right, scoring hosting gigs for ABC series A Dog’s World with Tony Armstrong in 2022, and Great Australian Stuff this year.
While his future as a TV presenter seems locked in, fans might also soon get to see Armstrong take on acting.
“[A Logie] puts you in mind of people who puts shows together, for sure,” he told The Sydney Morning Herald in April.
The swimmer has already made history several times over. Photo: Getty
At just 23 years old, Titmus has already cemented her position as one of Australia’s sporting greats, with the dual Olympic swimming gold-medal winner also holding the women’s 400-metre freestyle world record.
Even more impressive is the fact this isn’t the first time Titmus has held a world record; she previously broke the world record in the short course 400-metres freestyle in 2018, the 4×200-metre freestyle relay as part of the Australian team in 2019, and the 400-metre freestyle in 2022.
Titmus said recapturing her 400-metre freestyle world record this year was more satisfying than winning Olympic gold.
“It’s probably my most satisfying win,” she said.
“To swim like that and swim really free and fearless, I feel really over the moon to get that one.”
The swimmer is preparing to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics, after recovering from a surgery to remove benign ovarian tumours in September.
In October, Titmus, who swims up to 65 kilometres in the pool each week, told Instagram followers she was excited to race “the best swimmers in the world in my favourite city in the world”.
Jana Stewart is adding to the much-needed Indigenous representation in Australian government. Photo: AAP
Stewart made history last year when she became Labor’s first Victorian Aboriginal senator, after she was chosen to fill the vacancy left by the death of Kimberley Kitching.
While acknowledging her opportunity came in sad circumstances, the Mutthi Mutthi and Wamba Wamba woman emphasised the importance of Aboriginal representation in government.
“Certainly, having quotas for women have been really successful, but that hasn’t meant an increase in [cultural] diversity across the party … and I do want to be responsible for helping increase the number of Aboriginal people in the party, [including] people from minority and diversity groups,” she said.
Since coming into her position, Stewart has continued to shine a spotlight on Aboriginal issues and inclusion, along with commitments towards affordable childcare.
She kicked off this year by bringing her young son into the Senate in February, making him the fourth baby and first Aboriginal child to enter the Senate chamber.
With fiery debate circulating over the Indigenous Voice referendum, Stewart also chose to don a custom dress for the parliamentary press gallery midwinter wall to spread her message to a different crowd.
Created by majority-Aboriginal-owned social enterprise Clothing the Gaps, the gown was printed with the text of the Uluru Statement, along with the word “yes” in “Labor red”.
“A lot of time in politics, you are speaking to the same crowd,” Stewart said at the time.
“Wearing this dress is an opportunity to wear my values and create conversations [about the Voice] in circles that aren’t necessarily watching Parliament.”
Mary Fowler of the Matildas celebrates scoring the winning goal in the last match before the World Cup. Photo: AAP
Mary Fowler was the breakout star of the Matildas’ hugely captivating run at their first home World Cup earlier this year.
The 20-year-old impressed with her skill and composure, despite a concussion ruling her out of the Matildas’ ill-fated match against Nigeria.
Fowler, who was tapped to play her first World Cup at age 16 before a hamstring injury and the team’s exit at the knockout stage doused her dreams, has been praised by her teammates for her maturity and ability to “change the game”.
While the Matildas saw their World Cup journey cut short in a semi-final match against England, the young gun has captured the attention – and heart – of Australians nationwide.
The star player is already inspiring the next generation, with reports emerging of young girls turning up to practices in gloves to imitate Fowler in the midst of the Matildas’ World Cup journey.
There is no doubt Fowler – who is proudly of Irish and Papua New Guinean descent – has a bright future, with her name among the 16 players shortlisted for FIFA’s best women’s player in September.
The New Zealand comic is one-half of a hosting duo that consistently draws in audiences. Photo: AAP
The chipper co-host of Network Ten’s The Cheap Seats might technically be a New Zealander, but after a few years as a fixture on Australian screens, we might as well call her one of her own.
Who’ll notice? Just keep it quiet.
In a TV landscape where evening news programs are struggling,The Cheap Seats has still managed to draw in decent audience numbers, thanks in no small part to Bracewell’s presence, and her rapport with co-host Tim McDonald.
This isn’t Bracewell’s first rodeo with TV. The comedian has previously written for New Zealand’s version of The Project, alongside a successful career as a stand-up comic with appearances on shows such as 7 Days and Have You Been Paying Attention?.
She has continued to shine since moving to Australia, scoring a Logie nomination for best new talent in 2022, and this year seeing The Cheap Seats win a Logie for most outstanding entertainment program.
“I had a lot riding on this, because I made the call to move countries,” she said.
“Awkwardly flying back home with my tail between my legs isn’t ideal, especially because I had a big going-away party.”
The rapper is no one-hit wonder. Photo: Getty
Born to parents in the music industry might have given Laroi a head start compared to other local artists, but there’s no doubt the rapper has put in the work.
After spending years collaborating with fellow local artists and scoring festival gigs even as a teenager, Laroi saw his international following pick up speed in 2020, before exploding in 2021 – the year he scored features on songs by the likes of Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus.
All this before his 18th birthday.
Now 20, this year the proud Kamilaroi man has headlined his own tour, been cast in an upcoming A24 flick and performed at Coachella.
He has also continued to release hits, most recently featured on the Barbie soundtrack alongside Nicki Minaj and Dua Lipa.
The ARIA-winning and Grammy-nominated artist has also won fans over by giving back the Australian community, from hyping up (and generously tipping) local street artists to sponsoring an inaugural Indigenous round guernsey for South Broken Hill Football Club.
Laroi has just dropped his debut album, The First Time, after releasing a single featuring superstar South Korean band BTS member Jungkook in October.
Chen’s (right) turn in Fisk could open a new international fan base. Photo: ABC
Since making his comedy debut with a solo show in 2017 – the same year he won best newcomer at the Melbourne International Comedy and Sydney Comedy festivals – Chen’s star has been on a non-stop rise.
Standing in stark contrast to many of his brash colleagues in the industry, Chen has a quiet, awkward humour that has proved a hit with audiences.
The comedian and budding actor has enjoyed an increasing number of TV appearances, and is fast becoming a regular on Australian screens.
“It’s interesting to find out that you have appeal across demographics,” Chen told the SMH in 2022.
“I used to always try to play to a younger crowd or like my age or whatever.”
He’s made frequent appearances on Have You Been Paying Attention?, and was chosen to appear in two episodes of this year’s much-anticipated reboot of Thank God You’re Here.
Chen’s star is expected to only get bigger, with continuing local TV appearances and potentially a new international fanbase thanks to his role in ABC series Fisk, which proved to be a massive hit after the first season started streaming on Netflix this year.
Just over a year since her breakout role, Chloe Hayden is already wears many hats. Photo: Netflix
One of the breakout stars of Netflix’s Heartbreak High reboot is continuing to grow her star power – and she’s not just sticking to acting.
Hayden has emerged as a prominent disability rights advocate, and has used her voice to call out ableism, including against Marvel Stadium when the actor – who has been diagnosed with autism – was barred from a sensory room during Harry Styles’ concert earlier this year.
This year Hayden released her debut novel, Different, Not Less: A neurodivergent’s guide to embracing your true self and finding your happily ever after.
“My book is for autistic people, but it’s also for those that know autistic people,” she told Time Out.
“This book is for everyone because it’s a group effort to create a world where we can all fit in and create an inclusive world.
“It’s the book I wish I had been handed when I got my autism diagnosis, and the book that I wish my mum had been handed because maybe she wouldn’t have cried.”
In April, Hayden launched her Boldly Me podcast, in which she interviewed influential figures such as Grace Tame and Dylan Alcott.
The 26-year-old, who was nominated for the Graham Kennedy Award for most popular new talent at this year’s Logies, has also been hard at work filming Heartbreak High season two – although she admitted pressure to live up to the first season has been hard to deal with.
The actor is poised to make a splash as Elvis. Photo: Getty
His first brush with fame may have come courtesy of his standard-teen-heartthrob role in the 2018 Netflix flick, The Kissing Booth, but Elordi has worked hard to leave that rom-com image behind.
He’s kept busy with a stream of acting gigs, most notably with his pitch-perfect portrayal of the toxic Nate Jacobs in HBO’s Euphoria, alongside Zendaya.
But it’s Elordi’s turn as Elvis Presley in the upcoming Sofia Coppola film Priscilla that has got tongues wagging.
This comes after the success of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, which netted leading man Austin Butler an Oscar nomination this year.
In contrast to Butler’s infamous method acting – he even retained Elvis’s voice years after filming wrapped – Elordi plans to keep more distance from the character.
“If you want to see an Elvis impersonator, you can go to Vegas,” Elordi said during a press conference at the 61st New York Film Festival.
“I think it was about catching the essence of this person, and trying to identify and find where the human being was under all the glitz, the gold, the voice, the caricatures, and all these things.”
Robert Irwin seems ready to step up his TV presence. Photo: Getty
In the years following the death of the beloved Steve Irwin, his children have remained firmly in the spotlight.
While big sister Bindi has largely acted as the face of the family, Robert has increasingly stepped up to the plate as he has got older.
His childhood was far from traditional; for one thing, he grew up in his family’s own zoo. For another, he had a classroom set up at that zoo, and had a teacher travel with him when needed to fit in his studies around his packed schedule.
Irwin has had a steady stream of film and TV appearances throughout his young life, but has ramped things up in the years since graduating at 15 – appearing on everything from RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under to Bluey.
The 19-year-old seems poised to carry on the Irwin family’s legacy of wildlife conservation advocacy, complete with their trademark passion and sunny disposition.
A broader career in entertainment is also on the horizon, as Irwin is Ten’s pick to replace Chris Brown as co-host of I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! in 2024.
