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Lucianne White

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By julia molony
Sunday Jan 10 2010

Lucianne is a one-woman media maelstrom. Having studied broadcasting 10 years ago in Ballyfermot College, Lucianne lost her confidence and her way. Now though, she's back bolder than ever, and is making a determined assault on the limelight. It's been a long road to discovering true faith in herself, but she's finally achieved it. "It's only in the last few years that I've gained that kind of confidence. Women are terrible critics of themselves," she says. "But the first time I saw myself on TV, I was genuinely looking at my performance, rather than my hair or my body. And I think that was a critical point for me."

She conquered bulimia and rebuilt her self-esteem so that she would have the confidence to pursue her dreams. With the help of therapy and her "amazingly supportive family", Lucianne successfully triumphed over her demons. "It sounds mad to say that I don't regret having had bulimia, but having come out the other side, I am who I am today -- and I'm a stronger person -- because of it. You're forced to look into yourself, and find out all your insecurities and deal with them," she says.

She won her own show on Dublin's Q102 radio station, after beating off the competition in their 'Search for a Star'. When she was approaching 30, Lucianne finally decided she'd built up the confidence to pursue her dream. In 2008, she applied for the competition and didn't even make it to the second round. A year later, however, with a new determination, she applied again and won, taking over the night shifts from 12am until 6am in the morning. "Taxi drivers were my biggest fans," she says with a laugh.

It's been a long journey to this point, with Lucianne's circuitous career route taking her to Mexico and Russia. She has worked in the tourist industry, and as a teacher. "I definitely think that everything I've done in my life has brought me where I am today," she says.

Lucianne now spends her time on various broadcasting projects on Dublin City Channel. She honed her philosophy on grabbing life with both hands while working with orphans in Russia for the charity To Russia with Love. "That was definitely a life-changing experience," she says. "You really do learn how we have so much going on over here, and so many opportunities that we don't use. It helped me realise that I can go for the media career I've always wanted." Lucianne is now pursuing that goal, and her current work involves filming commercial presentations for the capital's local TV channel.

- julia molony

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