Faye Ann McLeod, MBE (née Guivarra, 1938 or 1939 – October 2024), better known by the stage name of Candy Devine, was an Australian broadcaster, singer, and actress. She was a radio broadcaster and singer in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

for over 35 years.

Early years

Faye Ann Guivarra was born in

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

to a sugar-farming family. She was of Spanish, Sri Lankan, Filipino, English, Danish, Norwegian and Torres Strait Islander heritage. Her parents were co-founders of the Cairns music group, the Tropical Troubadours, and later established the city's Coloured Social Club. She was educated at St Augustine's School, East Innisfail, a boarding school from 1948 – she provided "incidental music and accompaniments" at their 1952 break-up ceremony. For secondary education she attended Brisbane's

Lourdes Hill College Lourdes Hill College is a Good Samaritan Education secondary day school for girls, located in the inner-eastern Brisbane suburb of Hawthorne, Queensland, Australia. The college also operated as a boarding school until its boarding facilities w ...

from the early 1950s. She furthered her interest in music while at college. Later she studied piano and cello at Queensland Conservatorium before taking to the stage in Sydney. Her appearances in Australian television include the series ''

Skippy the Bush Kangaroo ''Skippy the Bush Kangaroo'' (known commonly as ''Skippy'') is an Australian television series created by Australian actor John McCallum, Lionel (Bob) Austin, and Lee Robinson, produced from 1967 to 1969 (airing from 5 February 1968 to 4 May 1 ...

'' (1968) and fronting

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

's ''In Key''.

Life in Ireland

Devine travelled to Ireland in 1969 on what was intended to be a short visit. She was hired for a cabaret slot at the ''Talk of the Town'' club in Belfast. She married her promoter and booking agent, Donald McLeod, in Dublin in 1970. They lived in the Republic of Ireland for five years and moved to Belfast in Northern Ireland in 1975. Devine began a long career with

Downtown Radio Downtown Radio is a Hot Adult Contemporary music radio station based in Newtownards, County Down, that serves all of Northern Ireland using a network of FM and DAB transmitters. As of December 2024, the station has a weekly audience of 309, ...

in March 1976. They had four children, including Brisbane-based celebrity chef,

Alastair McLeod Alastair McLeod is a Northern Ireland-Australian celebrity chef He is a regular guest on ''Ready Steady Cook'', ''Queensland Weekender'' and ABC Radio. Alastair also hosts his own food show ″Off the Eaten Track″ that has screened in Aust ...

. Devine was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

2014 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2014 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

for "services to Broadcasting and to the Community in Northern Ireland".

Return to Australia

Devine moved back to Australia in 2013 following the death of her husband the previous year. As of September 2016 she lived in Brisbane, sharing a five-acre property with her son, Alastair and his family. Devine died in Australia in October 2024, at the age of 85.

References

External Links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Devine, Candy 1930s births Year of birth uncertain 2024 deaths Australian television actresses Australian women singers Australian people of Danish descent Australian people of Scottish descent Australian people of Spanish descent Australian people of Filipino descent Australian radio presenters Australian women radio presenters Radio personalities from Northern Ireland Australian people of Sri Lankan descent People from Innisfail, Queensland Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University alumni People educated at Lourdes Hill College Australian expatriates in the United Kingdom Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire