Bingle, Hawko and power of two
But put two of these movers together and they make Sydney shake, influencing our lives on a daily basis.
They shape what we wear, what we watch, our news and our views.
The theory that opposites attract doesn’t apply here and in these relationships there are no “better halves”.
Money is power but in this celebrity obsessed city of Sydney, so is glamour. And arguably the glamour couple of the moment is Jennifer Hawkins and Jake Wall.
Since winning Miss Universe Hawko has become a household name, shoehorning her success into lucrative contracts with Myer, Covergirl and Loveable to name a few.
She has become one of Seven’s biggest stars, contracted to the network for another year and debuting as host of her own show, Make Me a Supermodel.
It would have been very easy for her model boyfriend Jake Wall to sit back and enjoy the ride in her wake.
While he’s obviously benefited from her beauty pageant win simply by association – hey, we know his name which is more than we did four years ago – they’ve made a concerted, and successful, effort not to blend in to one.
Each has more power and potential that way. Hawkins is a solo artist and if Wall wants a career
of any longevity then he has to have more on his CV than handbag.
He’s trying to make a name as an actor and stays out of her shadow by attending premieres on his own.
Their determination to stay apart makes them even more valuable and powerful on the rare
occasions they’re together.
It’s a different story for Cronulla couple Lara Bingle and Michael Clarke. It’s two for the price of one where they’re concerned and they’ve been mutually beneficial to each other’s careers.
By all rights Bingle should have disappeared into the “who the bloody hell are you?” category but when she hooked up with Australian star cricketer Michael Clarke she got a second wind.
Suddenly she’s the bikini model with respectability about to marry into the baggy green-wearing brigade.
And Clarke does well out of the relationship too. There’s no doubt that when the powers that be at Bonds were mulling over making Clarke an ambassador they thought about Bingle’s presence too.
And she didn’t disappoint, taking pride of place in the front row for his catwalk debut and spruiking his love of the product.
And as we search for our own local version of Posh and Becks, any pairing which combines sporting prowess and good looks will always open doors.
While glamour is a great string puller, there’s nothing like old fashioned clout to guarantee you a spot on the A-list and few wield more power in this town than David and Skye Leckie.
They have it in spades.
He turned TV on it’s head, leaving Channel Nine when it was still the one to join rival network Seven where he has taken it to the top.
Only septicemia and a medically induced coma could stop him – although not for long.
Although he may have the title as Seven Network chief, his wife Skye is an equal powerhouse with extensive connections.
She raises millions for charity schmoozing and cajoling her contacts into parting with their hard earned cash and their time, even talking the then prime minister John Howard into donating time for lunch with 10 guests which was sold at auction for $60,000.
As the chair of the Sydney Children’s Hospital Gold Dinner Committee she is the organiser of the $2500 a head event, arguably Sydney’s premiere annual event.
It’s no surprise that many of our most powerful couples have a foot in the media camp – Lachlan and Sarah Murdoch, James Packer and Erica Baxter, Ryan Stokes and Jodi Gordon, David Gyngell and Leila McKinnon to name a few.
And in the arts world Sydney has always been fortunate to have a number of high flying auteurs.
We’ve always regarded Baz Luhrmann and wife Catherine Martin as royalty but if their latest
collaboration Australia is the success it’s tipped to be, they may be elevated to the status of gods.
And with control of the Sydney Theatre Company, Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett and playwright husband Andrew Upton will have a huge impact on the cultural landscape.
But like others on the power list, their biggest impact is on the social scene – being seen, being
listened to, wining and dining, and defining Sydney’s glamourous A-list.
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