Australian Story: Kathy Lette (ABC TV Mon 23 May 2022)

Kathy Lette became known in Australia as the voice of youth when she co-wrote Puberty Blues in her teens, a label she struggled to shake even as she approached her 30s.

She found her voice after leaving husband Kim Williams for Geoffrey Robertson and moving to London. She lightly fictionalised various stages of her life, including marriage, motherhood, and divorce, in a series of best-selling novels, softening her often dark subject matter with an inexhaustible supply of puns and one-liners.

“Pretty much I’ve cannibalised my entire life,” she tells Australian Story. “Probably the last book I’ll write will be Menopause Blues. So I’ll have Puberty Blues and Menopause Blues. My whole life will be bookended by my hormonal upheavals.”

Now 63, Lette is determined to age disgracefully and believes post-menopause is the best time in a woman’s life.

She talks about her long and successful career, her marriages to Kim Williams and Geoffrey Robertson, her new partner Brian O’Doherty and the pride she takes in the achievements of her autistic son Jules, who is carving out a successful acting career.

Producer: Greg Hassall

Airdate: Monday 23 May 2022 at 8.00pm on ABC TV.