Fran Kelly

Fran Kelly
Nationality	Australian
Alma mater	St Dominic's Priory College
Occupation	Australian radio presenter
Known for	Current affairs journalism and Political correspondence

Fran Kelly is an Australian radio presenter, current affairs journalist and political correspondent who has hosted the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Radio National program Breakfast since March 2005.

Fran Kelly is the fourth of six children, named for her father Frank Kelly, a chiropodist and physiotherapist. Kelly grew up in Adelaide, attending St Dominic's Priory College and completing an arts degree at the University of Adelaide, majoring in literature and classics. While at university she became involved in the women's movement and feminist theatre as well as singing with bands.

After completing her degree Kelly worked at Flinders University as an activities director, booking bands and organising entertainment for students. In 1980 she moved to Melbourne to fill a similar role at La Trobe University. She sang in all-girl new wave band Toxic Shoc, which released their single "Intoxicated" in 1981. She volunteered at Melbourne's 3RRR as a host of Backchat, a radio program discussing women's current affairs. In 1984 she co-ordinated the statewide Women's Arts Festival for Victoria's sesquicentenary.

Kelly began work in journalism at the age of 29. In 1988, she moved to Sydney to work on Triple J's The Drum, a youth radio program offering opinion and analysis on politics and current affairs. In 1990 she became a reporter for ABC Radio National's current affairs programs AM and PM. She describes covering the Labor Party leadership battle between Bob Hawke and Paul Keating in 1991: "I remember standing in the pack in the corridor outside the PM's office, and being right up at the front of the crush, asking questions of Kim Beazley", she says. "I also remember not being intimidated, which is when I realised that this was probably the job for me."

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