Since first appearing on our screens in 2006 as runner up on Australian Idol, Jessica Mauboy has become a household name.
Not content with being a multiple award-winning, chart-topping pop star and AACTA award-winning actor, the 35-year-old has claimed another two major accolades: mother and beauty entrepreneur.
Only three months into the year, Jess has already had an eventful 2025. On January 13, the singer and her husband Themeli ‘Them’ Magriplis welcomed their first child, a baby girl named Mia.
“It was something that I knew I wanted to do in the future. I always knew I wanted to be a mum one day, I just didn’t know when,” she tells The Weekly.
While it has been a learning curve, she beams that “it has been a very joyous journey thus far.”
“They say your life changes [when you have a baby] and it is changing before my eyes every day.”
“It was like falling in love all over again. Not only with Mia, but with my partner falling in love with her.”
“I see a lot of me in her, with her long straight eyelashes and dark, brassy hair but then I also see a lot of Them, his big toe, her pointy ear,” Jess laughs.
As if being a new mum wasn’t demanding enough, she has juggled it with the launch of Desert Rose – an SPF skincare brand, powered by Australian botanicals and designed to protect every skin type and tone.
Like motherhood, getting the timing right was a vital piece of the puzzle.
“Desert Rose was something that I always knew I was going to do. I just never knew when it was going to happen.”
Growing up in the Northern Territory, the proud Kuku Yalanji woman was surrounded by the vast beauty and challenges of the Australian outdoors. Although, like many kids in the 90s and early 2000s, sun safety wasn’t a big priority.
“It was never really a thing growing up. When we’d go swimming in water holes or go for a cruise on the back of dad’s ute, protecting my skin was never at the forefront of my mind.”
While the sun safety message has come leaps and bounds, there’s still work to be done. Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world, with Cancer Council estimating that two out of three Australians will develop skin cancer in their lifetimes.
A highly regulated industry, it was a slow build, with Jess taking three years to work on the formula to get it right. The brand’s hero product, a lightweight SPF 50+ serum, was worth the wait, however.
Bolstered by the likes of Kakadu plum and niacinamide, it delivers broad spectrum sun protection, while brightening the skin and offering a hit of hydration. Most importantly, it works for all skin tones, something Jess was particularly passionate about.
“I think I’ve always been a people pleaser when it comes to music, and when I was coming into Desert Rose, I was like, no, I have to be pedantic and strict.”
Not just a beauty brand, she sees it as a platform to educate and give back to her community.
“When I go home, I visit a lot of communities and there’s still this kind of idea that ‘black don’t crack’.”
“You can’t force it on kids, but I can show up and be a role model and bring that message that everybody needs SPF.”
Not one to rest on her laurels, Jess is also returning to the stage this year. On March 31 she is set to make a guest appearance on Idol, singing in front of Marcia Hines and Kyle Sandilands, where it all began almost 20 years ago.
“It’s already been the best three years of my life. Not that the rest of it hasn’t been amazing, but these past three years have been really special.”
Desert Rose launches on March 25, 2025 at desertroseaustralia.com
