OF all her looks and images over the years, the one that Kylie Minogue is sporting now - happy, relieved and in love - is the closest you will ever get to the real woman behind the pop queen.

But after overcoming a condition that has claimed the lives of so many, Minogue is on the verge of one of the greatest comebacks in entertainment history - and this time it is the real her. No stylists, no gimmicks and no hype.

Just the prospect of seeing the 38-year-old back on stage this November - the rumoured date that she'll resume her Showgirls tour - is enough to whip her fans into a frenzy and have the public breathe a collective sigh of relief.

She has been back in the studio working on a new album and is desperate to complete the Australian leg of her cancelled 2005 world tour. There is also the prospect of marriage to the man who has stood by her through the past 12 months, Olivier Martinez.

"I'm still taking things slowly, but I've had a great week in the studio and things couldn't be any better," Minogue says, as she gently pulls together the fragments of a life that was shattered by the breast cancer diagnosis.

Just as her hair is growing back after rounds of chemotherapy, so is the confidence that enabled this pint-sized performer to stand in front of thousands and sing to the masses.

That confidence in herself partly explains how Minogue has come through her darkest hour, but she needed help from her fans, her family and her man.

Martinez has never given up on the woman he loves, despite the heartache and turmoil of watching her fight for her life. Now, on the eve of her comeback, he is still the rock in Minogue's life and predictions are that he will be there for her for years to come.

Wedding rumours were flying about before Minogue's cancer diagnosis - they are certain to be even more intense now. In fact, some are already saying that Minogue will not only marry the 40-year-old French actor - she will do it twice.

Wedding planners are reportedly helping the pair with arrangements for ceremonies in France and Australia, thereby appeasing the ever-supportive families of both stars.

It has taken a while for Minogue to come around to the idea of being a bride and a wife but she celebrated her 38th birthday last Sunday and, after her life-changing ordeal, she will probably never be readier than now.

"It seems a recent fashion to rush into marriage but that has never been for me," she says. "I'm more traditional in that way. I don't have that sense of urgency.

"I think it all comes from my parents. I've got an incredible family and my parents are very happy. Their marriage is a great thing to aspire to," Minogue says of her slow walk towards the wedding aisle. The pop princess has been dating gorgeous Martinez for almost four years now but has always remained tight-lipped on matters of the heart.

"Ollie is lovely," she says of the man dubbed the French Brad Pitt. "Our relationship has gone well from the beginning. I suppose it helps that he understands my career.

"Relationships are wonderful but they require some work whether you're miles away or in the same situation all the time. I'm good at communicating with phone calls and texts. That's the key."

Her chemotherapy will mean that babies are on hold for Minogue for a couple of years but the prospect of starting a family in her 40s does not scare her.

"Yes, I feel broody - it's only natural," says the singer who recently became an aunty to her brother Brendan's baby boy. "It hasn't happened yet but I hope it will some day. I do seem to have a connection with children.

"Most of my fans want motherhood to happen for me and are really excited at the thought, which is lovely. If and when it happens, then great. Family as a whole is very important to me and I think I will need that more as I get older."

"I have thought of retiring to a little house and giving it all up, but when I think about it I realise I have a job that I love and I get a lot of enjoyment from it," Minogue says.

Since emerging from Neighbours in the 1980s, Minogue has become something of a trendsetter. All the while though she has been constantly dogged with questions about whether she has had cosmetic surgery.

The beautiful singer has admitted in the past that the weight of expectation of looking young and perfect was a heavy burden - one that she should now surely be excused from.

"I'm just like any girl, and I have the same anxieties and issues," says Minogue, who in her first official post-cancer photos looks as stunning as ever - even with the short hair.

"Of course, it's lovely and very flattering to hear those compliments but it's almost like being given a gift and you don't know what to do with it," she says.

Minogue's comeback will herald a new round of compliments but this time for more than her beauty and talent but also for her bravery and strength.

"I've always lived in the moment because I know more than most how things can suddenly drop from the sky and shake everything up. That's something about me that has never changed."

Kirstie Alley She was America's sweetheart as Rebecca Howe in the sitcom Cheers and had moderate success with the Look Who's Talking movies, but Alley quickly became better known for her bulge than her acting. Then she started to shift the weight, became a spokeswoman for Jenny Craig and wrote and starred in a new sitcom, Fat Actress. The ubiquitous, teary Oprah appearance followed and Alley was back on the A-list.

Teri Hatcher and Nicollette Sheridan The poster girl for comeback queens in Hollywood, Hatcher had been on a career slide after Lois And Clark. Then along came a little television show called Desperate Housewives and she is again on top of the Hollywood pile. Ditto for 1980s wonder child Nicollette Sheridan, who snapped up the role of Edie Britt that Pamela Anderson famously turned down. She is now back with former love Michael Bolton - enough said.

John Travolta The 1970s and 1980s were good to the smooth-moving actor with hits such as Grease, but the 1990s not so kind and Travolta (and his agent) would have been left wondering why he turned down the lead in An Officer and a Gentleman. Then in 1993 he got a called from little-known director Quentin Tarantino who wanted him for his project, Pulp Fiction, and Travolta danced with Uma Thurman right into an Academy Award nomination.

Peter Andre It was 1996 and Andre's pop hit Mysterious Girl was No. 1 here and in the UK. But his famed six-pack physique couldn't hold up his career. Then he starred in the British reality television show I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here and struck up a romance with British model Jordan and he was back in the news. He rereleased Mysterious Girl in 2004, which shot back to No. 1 in the UK, married Jordan and is recording a new album.

Charlie Sheen His 1986 performance in Oliver Stone's Platoon was nothing short of brilliant and Sheen was tipped to become one of the finest actors of his generation. Now he is better known for the Heidi Fleiss callgirl scandal, reported drug and gambling habits and a nasty split from wife Denise Richards. He is now seen on small screens in the sitcom Two And A Half Men and the paparazzi shots of him leaving nightclubs with Victoria's Secret models.

Matt Le Blanc He was once our favourite Friend, but struggled to keep the momentum going after the show finished. Le Blanc went on to star in the sitcom spin off Joey, which failed to hit the mark and was unceremoniously axed by American broadcaster NBC this year. He is currently out of work and probably wondering what went wrong.

Courtney Love Fame claimed Mrs Kurt Cobain, but she slipped out of the public eye following his tragic death. She reinvented herself as a glam rock chick and her band, Hole, had a No. 1 album. Then came actress Courtney, and she drew critical praise for The People Vs. Larry Flynt, but the career comeback was damaged by stints in rehab and arrests for drug possession. It remains to be seen if her sleek, new look and planned album will bring her back from the brink.

Michael Jackson Where do you start with the former King of Pop? He has had more attempted career comebacks than court appearances and his last album, Invincible, failed to impress a public growing in suspicion of his antics. Almost certainly beyond redemption when it comes to a career revival, Jackson may never know when to quit.

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