Tara Brown (born 14 March 1968) is an Australian television presenter and reporter.

Early life and career

After graduating Davidson High School in 1986, Brown attended

Charles Sturt University Charles Sturt University is an Australian multi-campus public university located in New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Established in 1989, it was named in honour of Captain (British Army and Royal ...

Bathurst, New South Wales Bathurst () is a city in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. Bathurst is about 200 kilometres (120 mi) west-northwest of Sydney and is the seat of the Bathurst Region, Bathurst Regional Council. Founded in 1815, Bathurst is ...

, graduating in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts (Communication) Degree. After graduation, she joined Channel Seven's

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 ...

newsroom as an assistant to the chief-of-staff. In 1991, Brown moved to

WIN Television WIN Television is an Australian television broadcasting, Australian television network owned and operated by WIN Corporation that is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. WIN commenced transmissions on 18 March 1962 as a single television stat ...

Wollongong Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...

, and undertook a cadetship in

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

Nine Network

In 1992, she joined the

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

and began working on compiling features including "Australian Agenda" reports for the Nine Network's late news programme ''

Nightline ''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News (United States), ABC News' Late night television in the United States, late-night television news program broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC in the United States with a franchis ...

''. In 1993, she left ''Nightline'' and began reporting on '' A Current Affair''. Her most memorable stories for ''A Current Affair'' include a series of reports on a group of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

soldiers A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word ...

returning to

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

on the 20th anniversary of the

fall of Saigon The fall of Saigon, known in Vietnam as Reunification Day (), was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by North Vietnam on 30 April 1975. As part of the 1975 spring offensive, this decisive event led to the collapse of the So ...

; uncovering a tyre dumping racket which posed a major environmental threat; and a feature story on refugees in Bei Hai in southern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. In 2001, she became a reporter on the Nine Network's ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...

''. The first person Brown ever interviewed on ''60 Minutes'' was

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Mel Gibson, multiple accolades, he is known for directing historical films as well for his act ...

. Brown was previously a fill-in presenter for '' Nine Sunday AM News''. In April 2016, Brown and eight other people (including three other staff members of the Nine Network, David Ballment, Stephen Rice, and Ben Williamson) were arrested on allegations of

child abduction Child abduction or child theft is the unauthorized removal of a Minor (law), minor (a child under the age of Age of majority, legal adulthood) from the Child custody, custody of the child's Parent, natural parents or Legal guardian, legally appoi ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. Lebanese judicial sources told ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' that the group were to be charged with "armed abduction, purveying threats and physical harm" - crimes which carry sentences of twenty years' imprisonment with

hard labour Penal labour is a term for various kinds of forced labour that prisoners are required to perform, typically manual labour. The work may be light or hard, depending on the context. Forms of sentence involving penal labour have included inv ...

. She was released from custody only after the Nine Network paid a substantial money settlement to the father of the children, the subject of the attempted abduction.

Personal life

Brown was married to TV producer John McAvoy from 2000 until their divorce in 2017. She has two sons, born in 2008 and 2010.

In popular media

* In 2025 actress

Sibylla Budd Sibylla Budd (born 19 September 1976) is an Australian actress perhaps best known for her roles in the television series '' The Secret Life of Us'' and '' Winners & Losers''. Early life Budd grew up in Canberra, as one of four siblings. She has ...

portrayed Brown in the Netflix series Apple Cider Vinegar based on 'wellness guru' Belle Gibson, Brown would interview the disgraced

Belle Gibson Annabelle Natalie Gibson (born 8 October 1991) is an Australian health fraudster, former influencer and pseudoscience advocate. She is the author of ''The Whole Pantry'' mobile app and its later companion cookbook. Throughout her career as a w ...

in a viral interview with 60 Minutes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Tara 1968 births Living people Australian women television presenters Australian people imprisoned abroad Television personalities from Sydney Foreign nationals imprisoned in Lebanon Charles Sturt University alumni