They were the Aussie girl group who rocketed to fame on the reality TV show Popstars in 2000.
Despite ranking in $27 million during their first year of record sales, performances and appearances, Bardot were paid just $35 a day.
Bandmates Belinda Chapple, Sophie Monk, Sally Polihronas, Katie Underwood, and Tiffani Wood were handed over cash in an envelope at the end of the week with pocket change to live on.
“It hit home to us when we were sitting there signing albums for three hours straight, in every state, with a sea of people,” Chapple told news.com.au in 2023.
“We’d look at each other and just go wow, we’re making a lot of money … And we’re not seeing a cent of it. It was tough.”
More than two decades on, some of the band members have turned their low salaries into multimillion-dollar real estate fortunes.
MORE: Two and a Half Men child star’s $2m ‘filth’
‘Scared’ Ledger’s secret fortune exposed
‘Sad’, alone: Jack Nicholson reclusive life now
Bardot members (left-right) Katie Underwood, Belinda Chapple, Sophie Monk, Tiffany Wood, Sally Polihronas.
Here’s a look at the savvy property moves of Bardot.
Sophie Monk
Sophie Monk leveraged her post-band career as a TV host and media personality into an impressive property portfolio.
Back in June, the Love Island host sold what was believed to have been her first ever home on the Gold Coast for a cool $595,000. She purchased the unit in 2003 for $165,000.
Sophie Monk has an impressive property portfolio. Picture: Annette Dew.
The Love Island sold what was believed to have been her first ever home on the Gold Coast for a cool $595,000.
The unit is within this complex
The deal came after Monk sold a five-bedroom Helensvale home for $1.76 million in 2024.
Monk, who is now based on the NSW Central Coast, paid $1.1 million for the home in 2016.
The property has been a $1200-a-week rental over the past few years following her move to Sydney.
Sophie Monks sold her riverfront investment property at Helensvale.
The TV personality host retains a Mermaid Beach unit, bought for $165,000 in 2003.
Monk is based in Matcham on the NSW Central Coast, where she spent $2.3 million in 2020 on a four-bedroom home set on 8356sq m. She lives with her husband, photographer Joshua Gross.
Monk is based in Matcham on the NSW Central Coast, where she spent $2.3 million in 2020 on a four-bedroom home set on 8356sq m.
Monk also spent a decade in Los Angeles before returning to Australia in 2015. She moved to the US after leaving Bardot.
Her Hollywood dream came to an end when an acquaintance swindled her out of everything she had earned.
“Someone ripped off all my money,” Monk told news.com.au in 2017.
“It was a friend of mine. I gave too much permission. I let this person run my banking.
You can’t sue because I said yes. I signed the papers without reading them.
“You can make money (in this industry) but you can lose it if you don’t know what to do with it.
“You’re too busy working that you don’t pay attention. The money side, that’s not my thing.
“I don’t do numbers. I’m a saver, which is stupid. I didn’t invest.”
Monk also spent a decade in Los Angeles before returning to Australia in 2015.
Tiffani Wood
After touring the world with the chart-topping Aussie girl band, Tiffani Wood turned her talents to home styling.
The mum-of-six created a suburban bohemian wonderland at her Carrara, Queensland home which was listed for sale in 2021.
The Newcastle-born entertainer was a single mum to eldest daughter Lillian, when she bought the three-bedroom duplex in 2010.
“You can travel and meet all these people and have a wonderful, exciting life, but there is absolutely nothing like the warmth of coming home and that’s why I’ve tried to make my home a beautiful, warm and inviting space. After being in Bardot I’m a real homebody,” she said.
After touring the world with the chart-topping Aussie girl band, Tiffani Wood turned her talents to home styling. Picture: Jerad Williams
Wood admitted she was rocked by the band’s unexpected split in 2002.
“I wish I would have had a back-up plan. I went straight out of school and straight into Bardot and then doing cover songs, so when Bardot finished, I’d just bought this place and I remember sitting on the floor; a single mum with all my awards around me, and thinking, ‘what was all this for?’.”
In 2012 she met partner Luke McCoy and over the next five years they became parents to Harley, Beau, Ryder, Brooklyn, and Evie.
At the time of the listing, Wood planned to buy a rural property on the southern Gold Coast – “anywhere with room for six kids to run around”.
Wood now runs Popstar Kidz Workshop, a Burleigh Heads school holiday program where students form girl or boy bands and are mentored in singing, dancing, and styling to produce a showcase performance.
The mum-of-six created a suburban bohemian wonderland at her Carrara, Queensland home which was listed for sale in 2021.
The Newcastle-born entertainer was a single mum to eldest daughter Lillian, when she bought the three-bedroom duplex in 2010.
Belinda Chapple
After Bardot split up, Chapple released two solo singles.
“You couldn’t just go and get a normal job,” she told Mamamia’s No Filter podcast in 2023. “I was the girl from Bardot.”
“It was a disjointed, hard time for me. I struggled with mental illness and all sorts of things but I got through.
“I started working behind the scenes. I went to Singapore, working for Universal Studios in production and talent management.”
Chapple met her now-husband in Singapore, and the two lived between London and Singapore.
After Bardot split up, Belinda Chapple released two solo singles. Picture: Joseph Dadic
While living in London, the music star studied Interior Design studies at the National Design Academy and worked as a model.
Chapple operated her interior design company out of London and Marbella before returning to Sydney in 2022.
She and former bandmate Katie Underwood revealed in 2021 they were producing music together again under the band name Ka’ Bel. The duo released their debut single Broken Hearted.
Chapple’s memoir about her time in Bardot, The Girl in the Band, was published in 2023.
The book became the basis of the 2023 fictional television series Paper Dolls, of which Chapple served as executive producer.
Chapple and former bandmate Katie Underwood revealed in 2021 they were producing music together again under the band name Ka’ Bel. Picture: Joseph Dadic / Supplied.
Katie Underwood
Underwood left Bardot in 2001 for a musical theatre career. After leaving the girl group, she starred on Channel 7’s Undercover Angels and released two singles with dance act Disco Montego.
In 2011, the singer became a mum to her twin daughters Charlotte and Zoe. She currently lives in Melbourne.
Underwood changed careers, becoming a meditation teacher and remedial massage therapist
“Bardot seems a lifetime away,” she told the Herald Sun.
“As I’ve grown older, I’m not so interested in proving what I can do.
“I’m more interested in assisting other people to see what they can do.”
Ian Thorpe with his Undercover Angels co-hosts Simone Kessell, singer Katie Underwood and Jackie O.
Underwood currently lives in Melbourne.
Sally Polihronas
Polihronas did some songwriting after Bardot split in 2002. Leaving music behind, the former singer spent most of her career working as a freelancer, educator, and producer of live events and tours.
Sally Polihronas later embarked on a new profession as a mentor for creatives.
The ex-entertainer later embarked on a new profession as a mentor for creatives, helping them elevate their lives through wellness, self-discovery and business.
Polihronas is married to husband Adrian and they have two daughters, Chloe and Sophia. The family resides in Sydney.
MORE: Mariah slips on side cash amid $540m wealth
English (US) · 