Carrie Bickmore

Personal life

Bickmore was born in Adelaide, South Australia in 1980, but moved to Perth, Western Australia with her family at an early age. Bickmore attended the Anglican girls' school Perth College and then later attended Curtin University of Technology where she studied journalism, graduating in 2000. She moved to Melbourne, Victoria in 2001 to pursue a career in media.

In 2005, she married Greg Lange, who also worked in the media industry. She gave birth to a boy, Oliver, in 2007. Lange died after a long battle with brain cancer on 27 December 2010. On 8 October 2014, Bickmore announced on The Project that she was pregnant with her second child, with partner Chris Walker. She gave birth to a girl, Evie, on March 18, 2015.

Radio

Bickmore started her career as a newsreader on 92.9FM in Perth where she began as an emergency fill-in for a sick colleague. After this she was appointed as a regular newsreader for the station.

In 2001 Bickmore became the afternoon newsreader for radio station Nova 100 in Melbourne and in 2002 she became the co-host of the drive show with Andy Ross.

Bickmore was a 2005 "Best News Presenter" finalist in the Australian Commercial Radio Awards. Bickmore, Rebecca Leahy and Michael Colling accepted the award for "Best Community Service Project - Metro", on behalf of Nova 100.

In 2007, Bickmore was appointed the breakfast newsreader on Hughesy & Kate on Nova 100. In August 2009, she announced that she would be leaving Nova 100 to focus on The 7pm Project. Her last day was 25 September 2009.

In October 2012, Bickmore and Charlie Pickering were part of radio show 'The Breakfast Project' which aired nationally for three weeks. Both critics and fans were impressed with the show sparking rumours that Bickmore and Pickering were going to become regulars on Nova 100 Melbourne.

In November 2013, Bickmore returned to Nova 100 to read the news one last time and to say farewell to long-standing breakfast radio duo Hughesy and Kate. Bickmore recalled working with the pair at the time her late husband was dying. "The hardest fucking time of my life", she said, paying tribute to the support Hughes and Langbroek had personally given her during this time.

In January 2017, Southern Cross Austereo announced that Bickmore and Tommy Little will host Carrie & Tommy across the Hit Network from 3pm.

Television

In 2006, Bickmore made her start in television on the variety show Rove Live, presenting the "Carrie @ the News Desk" segment for each episode. Often the news stories related to actual events, but ended in a twist with the punchline. A running joke throughout the segment was Bickmore's quirky introductions in which she added a quip, often playing off social trends, music and popular culture, for example: "Good evening. I'm Carrie Bickmore and don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me??" In 2007, Bickmore returned to the show with a more important role.

Since 2009, Bickmore has been a presenter on The Project, which air weeknights on Network Ten and has further expanded her profile as a television presenter.

On 2 May 2010, Bickmore won the 2010 Logie Award for "Best New Female Talent" for her work on Rove and The Project (originally The 7PM Project).

In December 2010, Bickmore was criticised by The Drum's editor, Jonathan Green, and representatives of the Australian coffee industry, for promoting McDonald's in a report for The Oprah Winfrey Show, which McDonald's confirmed was paid advertising.

After several months away from The 7PM Project in 2011, Bickmore returned to television after the death of her husband.

Bickmore was nominated for the gold logie for "Most Popular TV Personality" in 2012 and 2013. In 2014 Bickmore was again nominated by TV fans for the Gold Logie for the 'Most Popular TV Personality', resulting in the media nicknaming her 'the golden girl' of Network Ten alongside Asher Keddie

In 2013, it was announced that Bickmore would front a revamped version of So You Think You Can Dance Australia for Network Ten alongside former American Idol judge Paula Abdul.

In 2015 Bickmore won the Gold Logie award. During her acceptance speech she donned a beanie in order to raise awareness for her late husband's struggle with brain cancer, saying that it is a highly underfunded area of cancer research and encouraging her peers to wear a beanie in order to support the cause; using her husband's fears about his scars and use of beanies to cover them as the story behind the symbol. In November 2015 she subsequently launched Carries Beanies For Brain Cancer with the aim of initially raising $1,000,000 for brain cancer research, a feat that was subsequently achieved and announced only two months later in January 2016.

Other

In 2010, Bickmore was the official host and ambassador for the L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival held in Melbourne.

In April 2012, Bickmore was named as the official Cadbury Easter Ambassador, and helped launch Cadbury’s Easter campaign at an event in Melbourne to media and key stakeholders, Bickmore worked tirelessly to endorse and promote charity donations for Foodbank Australia.

In November 2012, it was announced Bickmore was a UNICEF Ambassador, adding to her roles as television presenter of Channel 10’s The Project and mother to son Oliver. Bickmore continues to be UNICEF Ambassador for the Eliminate Project

In November 2014, Bickmore announced that she had become the ongoing face of the global French beauty brand Garnier in Australia and subsequently has featured in several beauty advertising campaigns for Garnier Nutrisse hair colour and Garnier BB cream.

In 2017 Bickmore was inducted onto the Victorian Honour Roll of Women in recognition of her work as a "charitable and inspirational role model for women and girls".