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Layne Collette Beachley (born 24 May 1972) is an Australian former professional surfer from Manly,
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
. She won the
World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...
seven times. Currently she is the chair of
Surfing Australia Surfing Australia is the governing body for the sport of surfing in Australia. History The Australian Surfriders Association was founded in 1963, and was renamed Surfing Australia in 1993. In 2013, for its 50th anniversary, Surfing Australia ...
.


Surfing career

At the age of 16 Beachley became a professional surfer. By the age of 20 she was ranked sixth in the world. Beachley became the Women's ASP World Champion in 1998, and won the title again in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2006. She is the first woman in history to win 7 World Championships, and only surfer, male or female to win six consecutive world titles. She shared the woman's record for most World Championships won with
Stephanie Gilmore Stephanie Louise Gilmore (born 29 January 1988) is an Australian professional surfer and eight-time world champion on the Women's WSL World Tour (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2022). Career Of Scottish descent, Gilmore's life as ...
until Gilmore won her eighth title in 2022. In 2004, Layne was given a wildcard entry into the Energy Australia Open held at
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
, one of the rare occasions a woman has competed in a men's surfing event. In 2006, Layne was inducted into the Surfers' Hall of Fame. Beachley announced on 10 October 2008 that she would retire due to her age.


Film appearances

She has appeared in the movies ''
Blue Crush ''Blue Crush'' is a 2002 American sports film directed by John Stockwell, written by Stockwell and Lizzy Weiss, and based on Susan Orlean's 1998 '' Outside'' magazine article "Life's Swell". It stars Kate Bosworth, Michelle Rodriguez, San ...
'' (2002), '' Billabong Odyssey'' (2003), ''
Step into Liquid ''Step into Liquid'' (2003) is a documentary about surfing directed by Dana Brown, son of famed surfer and filmmaker Bruce Brown. The film includes surfing footage from the famous Pipeline, the beaches of Vietnam, and some of the world's largest ...
'' (2003), and the 2001 documentary ''7 Girls''.


Television work

Beachley narrates the
Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...
factual series ''
Beach Cops ''Beach Cops'' is an Australian factual television series produced by and screened on the Seven Network. The series is filmed on the Northern Beaches of Sydney and follows the New South Wales Police Force operating in the local area while perfor ...
''. Beachley also voices the character "Surfer" in the episode called "The Beach" of Australian Children's Cartoon '' Bluey'' on the ABC Network.


Personal life

Layne Beachley was born Tania Maris Gardner on 24 May 1972 in
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
. Her mother was only 17 years old and unmarried so Layne was
adopted Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...
by Neil and Valerie Beachley, who lived in nearby Manly. When Layne was only six years old, Valerie suffered a post-operative brain haemorrhage and died, leaving Layne and her brother to be raised by Neil. Beachley has spoken publicly about her personal struggles, including the fact that she was conceived during a
date rape Date rape is a form of acquaintance rape and dating violence. The two phrases are often used interchangeably, but date rape specifically refers to a rape in which there has been some sort of romantic or potentially sexual relationship between ...
. In 1999, at the age of 27, she met her biological mother for the first time, who already had a nickname for her, "Beach". Beachley was brought up in the competitive Manly surfing scene and was competing and winning against men at the age of 15. It was at that time that she developed her strength and style, contributing to her future success as an unbeaten world champion and big-wave rider. Beachley has usually been available to support any worthwhile community cause, whether protesting about sewage outfall or promoting the sport and charities to which she is close. She married
Kirk Pengilly Kirk Pengilly ( ; born 4 July 1958) is an Australian musician and member of the Australian rock group INXS. Kirk plays saxophone and guitar, and also performs as a backing vocalist. Early career Pengilly moved to Sydney in 1966, and became best ...
, a member of the Australian rock group
INXS INXS (a phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian rock band, formed as the Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney. The founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboardist Andrew Farriss, drummer Jon Farriss, gu ...
, in October 2010. Beachley first met Pengilly in 2002. They renewed their wedding vows in 2014 after Layne lost her wedding ring while surfing. She is
stepmother A stepmother, stepmum or stepmom is a female non-biological parent married to one's preexisting parent. Children from her spouse's previous unions are known as her stepchildren. A stepmother-in-law is a stepmother of one's spouse. Culture Ste ...
to
April April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian and Julian calendars. Its length is 30 days. April is commonly associated with the season of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, where it is the ...
, Pengilly's daughter from a previous relationship. She is a keen supporter of the
Manly Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Manly club debuted in the 1947 New South Wales Rugby Football League seaso ...
rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
club.


Recognition

Beachley received the Laureus World Alternative Sportsperson of the Year Award in 2004 and was named the Extreme Female Athlete of the Year as part of the
Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards were an annual awards show that aired on the Fox television network between 1999 and 2019. The awards, based on a popularity vote that could be overridden by the producerswho reserved the right to choose the winnerscovered ...
in 2005. She was inducted into both the Australian and US surfing halls of fame in 2006, and the
Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Don Bradman, Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and ...
in 2011. In 2006, she was also inducted into the Surfing Walk of Fame as that year's Woman of the Year; the Walk is in Huntington Beach, California. At the
2015 Australia Day Honours The 2015 Australia Day Honours were announced on 26 January 2015 by the Governor General of Australia, Sir Peter Cosgrove. The Australia Day Honours are the first of the two major annual honours lists, announced on Australia Day (26 January), wit ...
, Beachley was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to the community through support for a range of charitable organisations, as a mentor for women in sport, and to surfing as a world champion competitor. She was also awarded the
Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, off ...
in 2000 for her back to back world titles in 1998 and 1999.


References


External links

* *
Layne Beachley
at the Encyclopedia of Surfing * *
Aim for the Stars Foundation

Interview of Layne by pro surfer Amee Donohoe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beachley, Layne 1972 births Living people People from Manly, New South Wales World Surf League surfers Australian female surfers Laureus World Sports Awards winners Officers of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Sportswomen from New South Wales Surfers from Sydney