Australian actor Belinda Emmett died at
the age of 32 in 2006. Emmett was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998, and with
secondary bone cancer in 2001.Emmett grew up on the NSW Central Coast and got
her acting break when she appeared on popular long-running soap
Home and Away, playing
Rebecca Fisher/Nash, between 1996 and 1999.
In 2002 she told Australian
Women's Weekly that "It wasn't a matter of if, it
was a matter of when. The little bastards were going to get me. It was a weird
sensation, almost an out-of-body experience. I don't think I'll ever be able to
explain it."
In an interview with Charles Wooley on
60 Minutes that same year, she
said:
"I think people underestimate the power that they have within
themselves, I really do, and I think these kinds of challenges, they force you
to look that little bit deeper and see what you're really made of. I always knew
I was pretty strong. I've always been pretty gutsy and pretty ballsy, but I
think I surprised myself this time around."
In 2005 Belinda
formed a company ‘Hooch Records’ to release her debut album. The company was
formed in partnership with Roving Enterprises and many of the people who worked
with Rove got involved in Hooch, particularly executive producer Craig Campbell.
Between 2000 and 2006 Belinda threw herself into songwriting, collaborating with
Phil Buckle and Andrew Furze (amongst others) and then recording with Phil in
his Melbourne studio. In 2006 Belinda worked with producer Daniel Denholm to
bring her long awaited and hard fought debut So I Am to its final form.
Emmett's first album, So I Am,
was released and debuted at number 10 on the ARIA Charts.
IF I HAD MY
LIFE TO LIVE OVER - by
Belinda Emmet
(written after she found out she was dying from cancer).
I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would
go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.
I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in
storage.
I would have talked less and listened more.
I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or
the sofa faded.
I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less
about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.
I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.
I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.
I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because
my hair had just been teased and sprayed.
I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains.
I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while
watching life.
I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show
soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.
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