She was the 90s ‘it girl’ who won James Packer’s heart but 20 years on former model Kate Fischer has opted for a life away from the spotlight, until now.
The curvaceous 42-year-old has posed for a revealing photo-shoot for New Idea where she has shared details of her quiet life as T’ziporah Atarah Malkah, a name she has legally given to herself to honour her Orthodox Jewish heritage.
“Life is much more rewarding now,” T’ziporah says of her job working as a therapist in an aged care health facility. “I wish I’d done this kind of geriatric psych work years ago.”
As Fischer, T’ziporah found fame starring alongside Elle Macpherson and Hugh Grant in Aussie film classic Sirens. She was also one of the nation’s most sought after models.
Former model Kate Fischer with Sirens co statrs Elle Macpherson and Portia de Rossi.
Kate back in her modelling heyday.
Out of the scene for years, T’ziporah sparked new interest in her private life when she reportedly launched a Facebook tirade on ex, James Packer earlier this month where she declared the billionaire businessman “will do ANYTHING to continue to be associated with me!”
She wrote: “And who can blame him? The whole world knows that I’m the most interesting thing that has and ever will happen to him. Attention whore that he is… Isn’t Mariah enough for you?”
The posts, which featured on her public Facebook, have now been deleted.
“Life is much more rewarding now,” says Malkah. PHOTO: Facebook
The pair had dated for five years and heartbroken Kate famously fled Australia for LA after their two-year engagement in 1998, to escape the limelight and the enormous shadow the Packer family and its billions cast over her.
In her interview with New Idea – titled ‘I’m fat, get over it’ – Malkah has said that the whispers which resulted from the high-profile relationship breakdown made it hard to move on.
“I had to put up with false rumours that I got multi-millions out of splitting from him. Once, I was at the supermarket when someone yelled out: ‘Nice job, getting 10 million bucks for lying on your back, Kate!’ I’d hear those types of awful remarks for years.”
Malkah used the interview to clear up some of the inaccuracies about the relationship’s demise, saying she was only given the house the pair had shared, as well as a few hundred thousand dollars.
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Malkah also offered what appeared to be a slight dig at her ex when the magazine asked what advice she might have had for her younger self: “Don’t go round kissing goannas hoping they’ll become princes!”
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T’ziporah’s venture back into the limelight was also prompted by some paparazzi photos which surfaced last week that she says caught her in a less than flattering light. The former glamour model – who told reportedly the Daily Mail she’s put on weight in recent years – agreed to strip down for some professional shots to show she’s not ashamed of her new found curves.
Of her shoot the former TV star took to her Facebook page to write about why she thought it was an empowering experience.
“As ‘Kate’ I had a zillion minutes of fame but as Tziporah I reckon that this is my 15. I do live a simple life now and the paparazzi can only get so many pictures of me in my work outfit or mismatched pyjamas! So why not do something that helps people within this tiny time frame? There is always opportunity within crisis.”
“I don’t advocate fatness or thinness, but some of us fight the good fight in regards to our weight all the time. It can be mentally all-consuming and very draining- particularly if there are other stresses and distractions going on in one’s life.”
