Much-loved Australian comedian Fiona O’Loughlin has been through some dark periods in her life, including a very public, lifelong battle with alcoholism, relapses and even being homeless for a time.
But in 2021, the 57-year-old has come out the other side a different person – sober, bubbling with comedic creativity for her current tour, The Unreliable Witness, and rocking her most glamorous look yet. “It’s the first time ever I’ve felt good in my body,” Fiona admits.
The platinum blonde hair and flawless makeup draws comparisons to the legendary Dame Helen Mirren, and close friends reveal Fiona has confessed to “a few trips to the beauty shop” – code for Botox and fillers, perhaps – to achieve her new look, which is a world away from her far less glamorous look on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in 2018.
But while Fiona’s impressive makeover is the physical reflection of her new lease of life, she explains it was an accidental diagnosis of ADHD earlier this year that created a “seismic shift” for her, personally.
The funny woman has had a ‘seismic shift’
(Credit: Instagram)“I get my brain checked every few years because of a lot of blackout drinking,” the mother-of-five told The Age.
“There’s a lot of… frontal lobe damage. But thankfully nothing that affects the comedy!”
Being diagnosed with the disorder, and subsequently starting the appropriate treatment, was life-changing for the comedian, who was able to sit down and write five hours worth of material that became her two new shows at Melbourne International Comedy Festival recently.
Just like she has always turned her real-life experiences into on-stage laughs, Fiona’s new shows detail how “this world, comedy, saved me and nearly killed me”.
Her alcoholism broke up her marriage but Fiona’s five children are her inspiration
(Credit: Instagram)Fiona says of her newfound focus in recent months, “Without a doubt, this diagnosis and the information that’s come with it has led me to the brightest patch of happiness in all my life.
“Having found out so much more about the way my mind works with the revelation of ADHD, it’s the most fascinating, wonderful thing that’s ever happened to me.”
A much-needed change of scenery also played its part in helping Fiona get on the right path after years of self-destructive behaviour.
She’s never felt better in her own skin
(Credit: Instagram)At the start of 2020, the I’m A Celebrity winner could once again see a dark cloud forming as she struggled with the temptations of alcohol, when a friend suggested that a sea change could be the key to a new, healthy beginning for her.
So Fiona made the move back to her home state of South Australia from Melbourne. One close friend tells Woman’s Day, “It was too easy for Fiona to fall back into old routines there when left to her own devices.”
Fiona has glammed up her look since the jungle
(Credit: Instagram)In the past, Fiona has spoken extensively of her addiction demons, and admitted late last year, “When you’re sober, you can see so clearly. And I’d say I never drank normally, ever. But I didn’t know that, and an alcoholic’s experience of what it does to them is completely different to a non-alcoholic.”
Though she had to leave some friends and family behind in Melbourne, it seems Fiona – who has fond memories of her times at Adelaide Fringe festivals – made the right move in using the pandemic as a chance to start over.
“COVID has taken from so many, but for me it was a gift, and I used every inch of it,” says Fiona. “I used it as my long-service leave.”
