She’s the famous daughter of famed INXS rock legend Kirk Pengilly.
But April Rose Pengilly insists that after forging her own successful career as a model and actress, she does not want to live in her dad’s ‘shadow’.
April Rose, 37, who is set to marry fiancé Adam Paul in France this month, says that she did not even use her surname when she started modelling as a teen.
‘I didn’t want to be in [my dad’s] shadow. I kept travelling around and starting over again – I worked in Japan, New York, London,’ she told Stellar on Sunday.
‘But eventually people figured it out. I’m glad I did it though, because I basically proved to myself that I could make it work.’
The daughter of the INXS star and designer Karen Hutchinson, April Rose started modelling at 16 – and used the interview to address being labelled a ‘nepo baby’.
April Rose Pengilly insists that after forging her own successful career as a model and actress, she does not want to live in her dad’s ‘shadow’. Pictured in Stellar
April Rose is the daughter of Kirk Pengilly, 65, (left) a founding member of rock legends INXS
The well-known derogatory term applies to celebrity offspring who pursue a show business career, and who supposedly owe success to their famous family name.
She continued: ‘Anything written about me, they’d usually bring my father into it. I’d see comments, and any success I had, it was, “Oh, it’s just because of her dad”…That does play on your mind.’
Still, April Rose said she would use the Pengilly name even after she marries, even though she says her husband-to-be wants her to change it.
‘I’ve had this name my whole life, so I do feel attached to it. It makes me feel close to my dad, that it’s his name. My mum has a different surname; they were never married,’ she said.
‘They were together for 10 years. But it never bothered me that I had a different surname to her.’
Elsewhere in the chat April Rose said she was very proud that it was INXS came in at number one in Triple J’s Hottest 100 Aussie song poll for their hit Never Tear Us Apart.
‘I think Australia definitely voted correctly, and it is well deserved,’ she said.
It comes after April Rose flaunted her enormous diamond engagement ring during an outing with her beau back earlier this year.
April Rose, 37, who is set to marry fiancé Adam Paul in France this month, says that she did not even use her surname when she started modelling as a teen. She later scored a prominent role in the soap Neighbours in 2017
The model announced her engagement to her fiancé Adam Paul (right) in December 2023
The former Neighbours actress announced her engagement to Adam Paul in December 2023.
‘BEST DAY OF THE YEAR,’ the petite blonde captioned the share featuring pictures from her excursion to Sydney’s Royal Easter Show back in April.
The couple had been together for just under two years when Adam popped the question.
Details of the upcoming nuptials have been scarce so far, with April Rose saying last month that clothes shopping had taken priority over wedding planning.
‘Starting to look for my future groom’s suit,’ she captioned an Instagram post in March.
‘Honestly, we’re doing a lot more outfit shopping than wedding planning. Priorities innit.’
April has forged a career for herself as an actress and television star with her father previously saying she didn’t ‘want to live off my coat-tails’.
The star joined Neighbours in 2017, playing Chloe Brennan, and left the famed soap in 2023.
Read more in Stellar Magazine
