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{{Use Australian English|date=October 2024}}
{{Use Australian English|date=October 2024}}
{{infobox person
'''Fiona MacDonald''' (1956/1957 – 3 October 2024) was an Australian television presenter from [[Blackall, Queensland]].<ref name =abcobit/>
|name = Fiona MacDonald
|birth_name = Fiona Frances MacDonald
|birth_place = [[Blackall, Queensland]], Australia
|birth_date = {{Birth date|df=y|1957|5|27}}
|death_place = [[Sydney]], New South Wales, Australia
|death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|2024|10|3|1957|5|27}}
|occupation = Television presenter
|family = [[Jacki MacDonald]] (sister)
}}


'''Fiona Frances MacDonald''' (27 May 1957 – 3 October 2024)<ref name="deathnotice">{{cite web |title=MacDonald, Fiona Frances |url=https://tributes.smh.com.au/obituaries/523343/fiona-frances-macdonald/?r=https://tributes.smh.com.au/obituaries/smh-au/ |publisher=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=8 October 2024}}</ref> was an Australian television presenter.
MacDonald was on local television in Queensland before going on to national programs such as ''[[Wombat (TV series)|Wombat]]'' and the [[It's a Knockout (Australian game show)|Australian version]] of ''[[It's a Knockout]]''.<ref name =abcobit/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Beth |title=It's a Knockout |url=https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/curated/its-knockout |access-date=4 August 2018 |website=[[National Film and Sound Archive]] |language=en-au}}</ref> After leaving ''It's a Knockout'', MacDonald became a wine expert.<ref name =abcobit/>


==Life and career==
She married in the 1990s and had two sons. Her sister [[Jacki MacDonald]] is also a former Australian television personality.<ref name =abcobit/>
{{expand section|date=October 2024}}
MacDonald was raised on a cattle property in the outback town of [[Blackall, Queensland]].<ref name =abcobit>{{Cite news |date=2024-10-03 |title=Former children's TV host Fiona MacDonald dies aged 67 after motor neurone disease diagnosis |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-03/fiona-macdonald-dies-aged-67-queensland/104428604 |access-date=2024-10-03 |work=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]] |publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]}}</ref> She had two sisters, Kylie and [[Jacki MacDonald]], the latter also a television presenter.<ref name=Guardian>{{cite news |first=Sian |last=Cain |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/oct/03/fiona-macdonald-its-a-knockout-and-wombat-host-dies-aged-67-after-mnd-diagnosis |title=Fiona MacDonald, It's a Knockout and Wombat host, dies aged 67 after MND diagnosis |newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=3 October 2024 }}</ref>


MacDonald appeared on local television in Queensland before going on to national programs such as children's show ''[[Wombat (TV series)|Wombat]]'' and the local version of British game show ''[[It's a Knockout (Australian game show)|It's a Knockout]]''.<ref name =abcobit/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Beth |title=It's a Knockout |url=https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/curated/its-knockout |access-date=4 August 2018 |website=[[National Film and Sound Archive]]}}</ref> While hosting ''Wombat'', she was featured in the "A Day in the Life" series by ''[[The Australian Women's Weekly]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Maxfield |first=Liane |date=9 June 1982 |others=Peter Ford, photographer |title=A day in the life of Fiona MacDonald |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article44022866 |accessdate=6 October 2024 |newspaper=[[The Australian Women's Weekly]] |location=Australia |page=80 |via=National Library of Australia |volume=49 |issue=51}}</ref> After leaving ''It's a Knockout'', MacDonald became a wine expert.<ref name =abcobit/> She also was writer and co-editor of the student newspaper ''[[Woroni]]'' in the 1990s.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article134422407 |title=THE NAKED GUN 2 1/2 THE SMELL OF FEAR |newspaper=[[Woroni]] |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=15 September 1991 |accessdate=7 October 2024 |page=19 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article134422461 |title=the underworld oracle Fiona's Despair and Woroni's Chaos: Yep, the Oracle's Back. |newspaper=[[Woroni]] |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=1 May 1991 |accessdate=7 October 2024 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>
MacDonald was diagnosed with [[ALS|motor neurone disease]] in November 2021. She talked about her experience with the incurable illness in an October 2023 episode of ''[[Australian Story]]''. MacDonald died on 3 October 2024, at the age of 67.<ref name =abcobit>{{Cite news |date=2024-10-03 |title=Former children's TV host Fiona MacDonald dies aged 67 after motor neurone disease diagnosis |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-03/fiona-macdonald-dies-aged-67-queensland/104428604 |access-date=2024-10-03 |work=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]] |publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] |language=en-AU}}</ref>
{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article134421872 |title=Roving Rogues |newspaper=[[Woroni]] |volume=44 |issue=1 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=1 February 1992 |accessdate=7 October 2024 |page=33 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

==Personal life and death==
She married in the 1990s and had two sons.<ref name =abcobit/><ref name=Guardian/>

MacDonald was diagnosed with [[motor neurone disease]] in November 2021. She undertook a drive around Australia with her sister, Kylie Thynne, in mid-2023 to raise funds for research into the disease,<ref>{{cite news |first=Andrew |last=Hornery |url=https://www.smh.com.au/culture/celebrity/she-was-an-afternoon-tv-star-for-a-generation-of-kids-now-she-s-asking-for-their-help-20230704-p5dlna.html |title=She was an afternoon TV star for a generation of kids. Now she's asking for their help |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|date=July 8, 2023 }}</ref> and talked about her experience with it in an October 2023 episode of ''[[Australian Story]]''. She died on 3&nbsp;October 2024, at the age of 67.<ref name =abcobit/><ref name=Guardian/>


==References==
==References==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, Fiona}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, Fiona}}
[[Category:1950s births]]
[[Category:1957 births]]
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
[[Category:2024 deaths]]
[[Category:2024 deaths]]
[[Category:Australian game show hosts]]
[[Category:Australian game show hosts]]
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[[Category:People from Blackall, Queensland]]
[[Category:People from Blackall, Queensland]]
[[Category:Deaths from motor neuron disease in Australia]]
[[Category:Deaths from motor neuron disease in Australia]]


{{Australia-tv-bio-stub}}

Latest revision as of 22:27, 9 December 2024

Fiona MacDonald
Born
Fiona Frances MacDonald

(1957-05-27)27 May 1957
Died3 October 2024(2024-10-03) (aged 67)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
OccupationTelevision presenter
FamilyJacki MacDonald (sister)

Fiona Frances MacDonald (27 May 1957 – 3 October 2024)[1] was an Australian television presenter.

Life and career

[edit]

MacDonald was raised on a cattle property in the outback town of Blackall, Queensland.[2] She had two sisters, Kylie and Jacki MacDonald, the latter also a television presenter.[3]

MacDonald appeared on local television in Queensland before going on to national programs such as children's show Wombat and the local version of British game show It's a Knockout.[2][4] While hosting Wombat, she was featured in the "A Day in the Life" series by The Australian Women's Weekly.[5] After leaving It's a Knockout, MacDonald became a wine expert.[2] She also was writer and co-editor of the student newspaper Woroni in the 1990s.[6][7][8]

Personal life and death

[edit]

She married in the 1990s and had two sons.[2][3]

MacDonald was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in November 2021. She undertook a drive around Australia with her sister, Kylie Thynne, in mid-2023 to raise funds for research into the disease,[9] and talked about her experience with it in an October 2023 episode of Australian Story. She died on 3 October 2024, at the age of 67.[2][3]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "MacDonald, Fiona Frances". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Former children's TV host Fiona MacDonald dies aged 67 after motor neurone disease diagnosis". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 3 October 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Cain, Sian (3 October 2024). "Fiona MacDonald, It's a Knockout and Wombat host, dies aged 67 after MND diagnosis". The Guardian.
  4. ^ Taylor, Beth. "It's a Knockout". National Film and Sound Archive. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  5. ^ Maxfield, Liane (9 June 1982). "A day in the life of Fiona MacDonald". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 49, no. 51. Peter Ford, photographer. Australia. p. 80. Retrieved 6 October 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "THE NAKED GUN 2 1/2 THE SMELL OF FEAR". Woroni. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 15 September 1991. p. 19. Retrieved 7 October 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "the underworld oracle Fiona's Despair and Woroni's Chaos: Yep, the Oracle's Back". Woroni. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 1 May 1991. p. 3. Retrieved 7 October 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ "Roving Rogues". Woroni. Vol. 44, no. 1. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 1 February 1992. p. 33. Retrieved 7 October 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ Hornery, Andrew (8 July 2023). "She was an afternoon TV star for a generation of kids. Now she's asking for their help". The Sydney Morning Herald.
[edit]