Much-loved TV personality Fiona MacDonald, best known for It’s a Knockout and Wombat, has died aged 67.
She passed away following a battle with motor neurone disease after being diagnosed in 2021.
Fiona, the elder sister of TV star Jacki MacDonald, began her media career as a children’s presenter on Wombat and later co-hosted iconic 1980s game show It’s a Knockout. She also hosted kids show Look Who’s Talking and In Brisbane Today alongside Steve Haddan.
She spent the last twenty years in marketing and public relations for the wine industry, and running her consultancy Wine Chronicles.
So very sad Fiona Mac Donald has died. What a fighter she was and so determined to raise awareness & money for MND. Her story told so powerfully on Australian Story a year ago exactly. Condolences to her sons and family.
— Peter Ford (@newmrpford) October 3, 2024
Last year she was profiled on ABC’s Australian Story setting off, against all advice, on a “Thelma and Louise” style road trip around Australia with her sister Kylie Thynne to raise awareness and research funds for MND.
“I’ve had to come to terms with using a walking stick, a walker and a wheelchair,” she said at the time.
“My speech is already failing. Accepting these things doesn’t come easily. It’s hideous relinquishing your own power, living with the crushing knowledge of further weaknesses to come.
“So now I understand and have joined the ranks of the MND warriors. I have a leopard-print cane and a walker with pneumatic tyres that can cross fields. I plaster a smile on my face going out and hurl open my front door thinking, ‘Damn you, MND!’”
To donate funds to MND research & trials visit here.
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