Vanessa Amorosi's: BITTER COURT BATTLE WITH HER MUM

The singer launches legal action against her estranged mother over her missing fortune

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When she was just a 17-year-old Melbourne schoolgirl about to burst onto the world stage as a musical star, Vanessa Amorosi handed control of her finances to her mum, Joyleen Robinson.

It was just before she was about to rake in millions from hit songs like her 1999 debut single Have A Look and the massive worldwide smash Absolutely Everybody, and take the world by storm after performing at the Sydney Olympics the following year.

Fast-forward 21 years, and Vanessa, now 39 and a mum herself, is no longer speaking to her mother, who she claims owes her hundreds of thousands of dollars in “missing” royalties from her famous songs, as well as earnings from tours and investments.

Vanessa gave her mum control of her finances in September 1999, when she was still in high school, yet working seven days a week and dealing with the pressures of studying and stardom.

“It was incredible but I didn’t feel like much had changed because I was doing music every day as a kid and still going to school, and then when I had success I was still doing music every day and still going to school,” she explained in an interview two years ago.