Lara Bingle

Early life

Bingle was born 22 June 1987 to Graham and Sharon Bingle in Cronulla, New South Wales. She has one older brother, Josh Bingle. Bingle attended St Vincent's College at Potts Point before dropping out at 16 to move to Italy. Her father died in May 2008 from liver and pancreatic cancer.

Career

Bingle has been featured on the cover of Australian Harper's Bazaar, Elle, Grazia, Oyster and Cleo. Bingle has also appeared in episodes of Home and Away as well as The Celebrity Apprentice Australia and Australia's Next Top Model.

Bingle competed on the Nine Network's celebrity ice dancing show Torvill and Dean's Dancing on Ice, where she was the last woman to be eliminated, resulting in coming runner-up in the series, and in the channel's ad for the 2006-2007 Ashes series. Nine re-hired Bingle in 2008 as a reporter for a new travel show, Holidays for Sale.

Bingle signed a one-year deal in 2008 with international phone company Vodafone as one of their official ambassadors. Bingle signed a three-year contract (2008–2011) with swimwear brand Speedo.

Since 2009, Bingle has been an Ambassador for Bowel Cancer Australia. On 4 June 2010, Bingle officially launched the 2010, "Love My Family" ad campaign.

Bingle fired manager Max Markson in early May 2010, exclusively announcing it to Grazia magazine in an un-paid interview.

In August 2010, Bingle announced that she had signed with US model agency Elite Models.

Bingle was announced as a contestant in the 2011 series of Dancing With The Stars. The series began airing in May. She was partnered with Carmelo Pizzino. Following her elimination from Dancing With The Stars on 26 June 2011, Bingle told The Kyle and Jackie O Show that she was shocked and upset at having been kicked off the show, given her competitive streak.

Bingle confirmed on 2DayFM's The Kyle and Jackie O Show that she was in the stages of creating a range of sunglasses and co-creating a coffee table beauty book with her best friend and make-up artist Max May. In June 2011, ROC Eyewear launched a campaign featuring Bingle as the face of the brand and Bingle confirmed a capsule collection is under way.

In December 2011, it was announced that Bingle had signed a development deal with Network Ten to star in her own reality television series. Ten commissioned a 10-episode reality television series. The series focuses on both Bingle's personal and professional life. For the series, Bingle relocated to an $8 million Bondi apartment in the hope of making the series more appealing for potential overseas TV buyers. The series Being Lara Bingle premiered on 12 June 2012 to over 925,000 viewers, exceeding expectations, but met with mixed reviews from critics, resulting in the show only lasting one season.

In January 2012, Bingle signed as a brand ambassador for coconut water brand H2Coco. Bingle appeared in a photoshoot in tropical Bali to kick off the brands advertising campaign in Australia.

Bingle has served as the face of Australian fashion chain Cotton On. In November 2014, Bingle launched a new tanning range called The Base.

Other ventures

Bingle announced in April 2011 a co-ownership in Growlers restaurant located in Torquay between her and Darryn Lyons. The restaurant was sold in 2013.

In August, 2010 and March, 2011, Bingle co-hosted Australia radio show The Kyle & Jackie O Show.

Personal life

On 10 January 2007, Sydney tabloid The Daily Telegraph claimed that Bingle and Australian cricketer Michael Clarke were an item. On 25 March 2008 it was announced that the pair were engaged after Clarke proposed in New York. Clarke's public relations firm announced the ending of the engagement on 12 March 2010.

On 18 October 2013, it was confirmed that Bingle was in a relationship with fellow Australian and actor Sam Worthington. The couple married in 2014 and welcomed a son, Rocket Zot, on 24 March 2015. In October 2016, Bingle and Worthington had their second child, another son Racer.

Bingle announced in 2014 that she was re-locating from Sydney to New York City. On 23 February 2014, Bingle's then boyfriend Sam Worthington was arrested in New York City for assault, after punching a paparazzo named Sheng Li for allegedly kicking Bingle in the shin.

Bingle has cited American actress and former model Chloë Sevigny as one of her fashion icons and inspirations.

Legal problems

In May 2006, Bingle took legal action against EMAP Australia, who allegedly published photographs of the model without her permission in the 27 March 2006 issue of Australian men's magazine Zoo Weekly. Bingle claimed defamation by the manner in which the magazine published the photos.

On 2 March 2010, Bingle started proceedings to sue Brendan Fevola for breach of privacy, defamation and misuse of her image for the release of a nude photo in Woman's Day published on 1 March 2010. On 4 March 2010 it emerged that Bingle and her agent Max Markson had sold her story relating to this nude photo to the same magazine which had published the controversial photo, Woman's Day, for nearly A$200,000. This raised considerable controversy in that Bingle would discuss for large profit a matter she considered serious enough to sue over and from which she claimed to be hurt.

While driving with a suspended licence in Bondi, New South Wales on 14 May 2012, Bingle was involved in a traffic incident with a female motorcyclist, and fled the scene without exchanging details with the injured rider. Appearing in Waverley Court on 18 September 2012, Bingle was fined $3,500 and received a further 12-month driving ban and an 18-month good behaviour bond. She had previously lost her licence because she had committed at least another 6 driving offences in 2012. On the same licence suspension, she was caught driving twice more in October and November 2013, and was given a six month suspended jail sentence.