Whatever happened to the iconic members of ’90s pop group Girlfriend?
By STEPHEN BISSET FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA
Published: 02:08 BST, 19 April 2025 | Updated: 02:39 BST, 19 April 2025
Aussie pop group Girlfriend tore up the music charts in the early 1990s.
The band’s positive ‘girl power’ inspired tunes hit Australian airwaves four years before The Spice Girls conquered the world.
But after the stars fragmented when a member left the group just a few years after their debut, the group all but disappeared—so what happened?
Forming in 1991, the group consisted of Robyn Loau, Melanie Alexander, Lorinda Noble, Siobhánn Heidenreich, Jacqueline Cowell, and later, Belinda Chapple.
They hit the ground running with their debut single Take It From Me which landed at the top of the ARIA charts in 1992.
Their debut album Make It Come True came soon after and hit number six on the album charts.
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Aussie pop group Girlfriend tore up the music charts in the early 1990s. The band’s positive ‘girl power’ inspired tunes hit Australian airwaves four years before The Spice Girls conquered
Their stratospheric rise seemed unstoppable, with a Girlfriend clothing line and sophomore 1993 album It’s Up To You certified gold in Australia.
However, following a tour of Europe and Japan in 1994, Robyn left the band to pursue a solo career.
The remaining members—Melanie, Lorinda, Siobhánn, and Jacqui—re-branded as GF4 but never managed to attain the same level of success.
Jacqui left the band a year later in 1995 and was replaced by Belinda Chapple.
They went on to release two singles, including a cover of the Olivia Newton John track I Need Love—re-named to Need Love (To Make the Sex Right).
However, the track narrowly missed out on a top 100 slot on the ARIA charts and the album the group were recording in Los Angeles was shelved.
The band finally split in 1996.
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Their stratospheric rise seemed unstoppable, with a Girlfriend clothing line and sophomore 1993 album It’s Up To You certified gold in Australia
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However, the group split in 1996—so where are they now?
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So where are the members of this once beloved Aussie pop group now?
Possibly the best known member Robyn was the first to leave the group to pursue her solo career.
While her output might not have hit the same dizzying heights as Girlfriend, Robyn enjoyed her greatest chart success to date with her debut single Sick With Love.
The track, from her album Malaria: The Lost Album, hit 21 on the ARIA charts and received heavy rotation on national youth broadcaster Triple J.
Robyn also dipped her toe into the acting waters, appearing alongside Ben Mendelsohn and Jeremy Sims in the 1996 David Caesar comedy Idiot Box.
She also appeared in an episode of the ABC police drama Wildside and the 1999 Paul Fenech-directed film Somewhere In The Darkness.
These days, Robyn still very much has the performance bug and is seen regularly hitting the stage.
Robyn is also a mother to three children—son Crichton James and daughters Eden and Indigo.
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Possibly the best known member Robyn Loau was the first to leave the group to pursue her solo career
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These days, Robyn still very much has the performance bug and is seen regularly hitting the stage
She may have gotten Girlfriend fans’ hopes up with her most recent Instagram post.
Robyn shared a Girlfriend post from the TV Hits Archive page which caused fans to call for a reunion.
Robyn, perhaps tellingly, commented: ‘I’ve caught up with Lorinda recently. And spoken with Siobhan.’
Meanwhile, Melanie stepped away from the stage to pursue an entirely different career.
The popstar has since moved behind the camera as a director for video production company Web Videos Australia.
She previously hosted the Foxtel programs Pulse 8 and Box Office.
Melanie also had a stint on Channel Ten as a presenter on the show Bright Ideas.
On the musical front, post Girlfriend, Melanie was the guest vocalist on the 2010 track Falling For The Dancefloor by Aussie DJ Stonedog.
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Melanie Alexander has since moved behind the camera as a director for video production company Web Videos Australia
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She had previously hosted the Foxtel programs Pulse 8 and Box Office. Melanie also had a stint on Channel Ten, as a presenter on the show Bright Ideas
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Siobhánn Heidenreich has since moved away from the entertainment industry and is currently wowing people in another field—interior design
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Following Girlfriend’s untimely demise, Lorinda Noble has all but stepped out of the public eye completely
Following Girlfriend’s untimely demise, Lorinda has all but stepped out of the public eye completely.
Speaking about a potential Girlfriend reunion on Today Extra in 2017, Robyn gave a hint as to what Lorinda had been up to.
‘We met up a couple of weeks ago, I hadn’t seen the girls for over 10 years, it was great and the girls are successful in their own arenas,’ she said.
‘Lorinda is working hard with two very young children and we’re in discussions of meeting up and doing something quite special.’
Siobhánn has also moved away from the entertainment industry and is currently wowing people in another field—interior design.
She currently runs the boutique Siobhann Studio in the Sydney suburb of Mosman.
According to its website, the studio ’embraces residential design build and decorating projects, Aged Care design, landscaping (hardscaping) design, corporate design such as lobbies and boardrooms, and holiday properties throughout Australia’.
She is also the sister of Diarmid Heidenreich who is best known as Dougie The Pizza Guy in the iconic Pizza Hut commercials from the 1990s.
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Following her tilt in the revamped Girlfriend GF4, Belinda Chapple found fame alongside Sophie Monk in the short-lived reality pop group Bardot which was spawned from the reality series Popstars
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After Bardot split in 2002, Belinda released two singles before relocating to Singapore
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Like Siobhánn, Belinda opened an interior design business called House Of Chapple in 2017, which she still runs to this day
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Elsewhere, Jacqui Cowell has swapped the mic for the blackboard and is currently a drama teacher at Southern Cross Catholic College in the Sydney suburb of Burwood
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Since leaving pop stardom behind, Jacqueline has also worked as an education manager for the Australian Theatre For Young People, NIDA, AFTRS and the Bell Shakespeare Company
Following her tilt in the revamped Girlfriend GF4, Belinda found fame alongside Sophie Monk in the short-lived reality pop group Bardot which was spawned from the reality series Popstars.
After Bardot split in 2002, Belinda released two singles before relocating to Singapore.
During this time, she worked behind the scenes as creative director for Asia’s Next Top Model and talent manager at Universal Studios Singapore.
Like Siobhánn, Belinda opened an interior design business called House Of Chapple in 2017, which she still runs to this day.
In 2023, she published a memoir detailing her Bardot stint called The Girl in the Band.
The book became the basis of the 2023 series Paper Dolls, of which Belinda served as executive producer.
Elsewhere, Jacqueline swapped the mic for the blackboard and is currently a drama teacher at Southern Cross Catholic College in the Sydney suburb of Burwood.
Since leaving pop stardom behind, Jacqueline has also worked as an education manager for the Australian Theatre For Young People, NIDA, AFTRS and the Bell Shakespeare Company.
However, Jacqueline hasn’t completely left the stage as she is currently taking on the role of soprano with the Sydney-based choir Café of the Gate of Salvation.
