Lachlan Gillespie (born 23 October 1985) is an Australian children's entertainer, singer, musician, and actor. He is a member of the Wiggles and wears the purple skivvy.
Lachlan Gillespie | |
|---|---|
 Gillespie at the 2014 ARIA Music Awards, Sydney, 26 November 2014 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Lachlan Gillespie |
| Also known as | Lachy |
| Born | 23 October 1985 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Genres | Children's |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 2009–present |
| Labels | ABC Music |
| Spouses | |
Early life
editGillespie began playing the piano at the age of four, and started formal singing training when he was 12. He attended the Fame School of Performing Arts as a teenager, earned a Bachelor of Arts in musical theatre at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), and has performed in musicals in Melbourne and New York. He has been a vocal and drama coach for children between the ages of four and 13.[1][2]
The Wiggles
editGillespie joined the Wiggles in 2009, touring with the "Dorothy the Dinosaur Traveling Show", as Captain Feathersword, and then as a Wiggly Dancer and Wags the Dog during the group's regular tour. In May 2012, it was announced that Gillespie would replace founding member Jeff Fatt as the Purple Wiggle at the beginning of the following year.[1] Gillespie hosts the short-form television show Lachy! which aired on ABC in 2016. It contains episode shorts of him as Lachy Wiggle.[3][4]
In 2018, Gillespie, along with fellow Wiggles member Anthony Field, Emma Watkins and band members Oliver Brian and David O'Reilly, started a band for adult fans called the Unusual Commoners, which played a mixture of traditional Australian, Irish, Scottish and folk songs. They performed their first international show in St. John's, Newfoundland in late 2018.[5]
Personal life
editIn May 2015, Gillespie and fellow Wiggles performer Emma Watkins announced their engagement.[6] They married on 9 April 2016 at Hopewood House in Bowral, New South Wales.[7] On 3 August 2018, Gillespie and Watkins announced their separation.[8] On 9 April 2020, ballet dancer Dana Stephensen proposed to Gillespie after meeting on the set of the Wiggles in December 2018. They wed in late November 2022.[9]
On 11 September 2020, Gillespie announced the birth of their twin daughters, Lottie and Lulu.[10]
Discography
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Meet the next generation Wiggles". Wiggletime.com. Archived from the original on 25 January 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
- ^ Shearer, Geoff (19 May 2012). "Brisbane-bred Lachlan Gillespie the 'Maroon' Wiggle". The Courier Mail. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
- ^ Multiplatform, Children's TV Online. "Lachy! – ABC KIDS". abc.net.au. Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
- ^ "Lachy! – Series 1 Ep 1 Train Time : ABC iview". abc.net.au. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
- ^ Miller, Stephen (26 September 2018). "A different kind of Wiggles: Children's group members play adults-only St. John's show". CBC News. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- ^ "We're engaged! Purple Wiggle Lachy Gillespie pops the question to yellow Wiggle Emma Watkins". Daily Telegraph. 4 May 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
- ^ Domjen, Briana (9 April 2016). "Purple Wiggle Lachlan Gillespie and Yellow Wiggle Emma Watkins tie the knot in royal-inspired wedding". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
- ^ Genevieve Rota (3 August 2018). "The Wiggles' Emma and Lachy split after two years of marriage". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
- ^ Ryan, Aine (April 2020). "Purple Wiggle Lachy Gillespie engaged to ballet dancer girlfriend: 'Dana asked me to marry her'". celebrity.nine.com.au.
- ^ "Purple Wiggle Lachy Gillespie and Dana Stephenson have twin baby girls". News.com.au. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2020.