In 2015, a 30-year-old Michelle Payne made history as the first woman to win the Melbourne Cup in its 155 year history.
Last year, her rise to victory was turned into the inspirational Aussie film Ride Like A Girl somewhat softening - even if only for a second - the growing criticism being levelled at the horse racing industry.
Now, in a new interview on Anh Do's Brush With Fame on Tuesday night, the 35-year-old has spoken intimately about the string of tragedies that have shaped her family's life.
She was the youngest of 11 children, born on her brother Michael's birthday, who only lived three days on earth.
"That's how I got the name Michelle, named after him," she told Anh Do. "I feel really special about that."
Watch: Michelle Payne winning the 2015 Melbourne Cup. Post continues after video.
Michelle grew up near Ballarat in Victoria, and when she was only six months old, her mother Mary died in a car crash, leaving her father Paddy to raise the Payne children by himself.
In her memoir Life As I Know It, Michelle explained that her mum had been driving some of her siblings to school when another mum on the school run crashed into the car’s driver door.
"The other kids in the car were all okay, but they don't really speak about it," Michelle told Do.
That same year she was honoured in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, but in 2017 she was stood down from racing for a month after testing positive for the drug Phentermine, an appetite suppressant.
Payne said after the investigation; "The onus is 100 per cent with me… I regret not seeking more guidance, I wasn’t thorough, and that is completely my fault. My sincere apologies to everyone."
She was also fined $1500 in 2017 and $300 in 2018 for comments she made on social media about the firmness of certain race day tracks, with her other public setback involving trainer Darren Weir who trained her Melbourne Cup-winning horse. The two had a falling out after he decided she was no longer the right jockey for Prince of Penzance. Weir was last year banned from racing for four years after illegal "shock devices" were found on his property.
In 2020, Michelle lives her life relatively out of the spotlight. She houses 25 horses on her farm, and trains 16 of them.
"I’m waiting for when it feels right [to retire]," she told Vogue in 2019. "I know it’s coming, but I’ve got a few dreams in mind I hope will come before then."
Training, riding and winning on a horse of her own at Royal Ascot is the ultimate dream for Michelle now, but she is also considering becoming a nurse when she eventually leaves the horse racing world.
Her other goal is to start her own family, although she told Vogue last year she's still in a new relationship so is "keeping details of her love life private for now".
Feature image: Getty.