Sparkling Jess awakens in a dream time Jessica Mauboy's star is on the rise, with international fame on the horizon. Jessica Mauboy is a compulsive singer. As a girl, she would shut herself in the bathroom singing Mariah Carey songs, much to the frustration of her four older sisters. At school, teachers would send her out of the classroom because of her incessant humming. Even her mother, who knew her daughter had special talent, occasionally told her to shut up. Mauboy's unquenchable passion has taken her from suburban Darwin to the Opera House. It has brought her double-platinum albums, gigs with Beyonce and countless awards. Now it is sending her to Hollywood. The Sapphires, an Australian film starring Mauboy as a member of an Aboriginal singing quartet taking Motown to troops in Vietnam, has been showcased at the Cannes Film Festival, snapped up by distributor Harvey Weinstein and will open in the US on March 22. The 23-year-old is said to be firmly on Weinstein's radar; The Sapphires could be her ticket to international stardom. Mauboy has been described as an exotic Olivia Newton John. Both caught international attention with musical films, but that is not all they have in common. Mauboy has the same fresh, girlish innocence Newton John used to win over Americans. And, like Newton John, Mauboy acts as well as sings - a powerful double as Hollywood rediscovers the musical. But Mauboy has something else, too; an inspiring story. Her Sapphires role as a sassy indigenous singer ahead of her time has helped her blossom into a magnificent role model for young Aboriginal women in real life. "She's growing into herself, and as she becomes more of a spokesperson for herself, she's an instant spokesperson for her people," says The Sapphires director Wayne Blair. Mauboy was born in Darwin, the fifth daughter of Ferdy, a West Timorese electrician and one-time church choir singer, and Therese, an Aboriginal woman from Mount Isa in Queensland. Their house was always full of music. At age two, Mauboy was singing Black or White by Michael Jackson. Not long after, she was belting out Patsy Cline and Dolly Parton. All the girls sang but the youngest had the most promising talent. She would entertain her parents' friends at barbecues, and later travelled to Northern Territory talent quests. At just 14 she won the Road to Tamworth award at the country music festival, and in 2006 she auditioned for Australian Idol, surprising everyone at the dusty Alice Springs auditions with her powerful rendition of I Have Nothing, made famous by Whitney Houston. She finished runner up in the competition and, despite being told by judge Kyle Sandilands that she would need to get rid of her "jelly belly" to succeed, was awarded a recording contract two weeks after the show finished. A star was born - in Australia at least. She left the mangroves, fishing trips and mangoes behind, and bought an apartment in Sydney. There were awards, magazine covers and a throng of adoring young female fans who watched as she transformed from a teenager in thongs into a sultry glamazon with no belly in sight. There were platinum albums, cosmetics endorsements and fashion lines. Yet her fame was within our borders, and confined to a younger, mostly female demographic. She was sweet and obliging, but never political or outspoken about her heritage. Mauboy had not yet come of age. And then her career took an unexpected twist. The 2010 film adaptation of stage musical Bran Nue Dae was directed by Rachel Perkins and starred venerable actors such as Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush, comedian Magda Szubanski and actress Deborah Mailman, who was to become a mentor to Mauboy. The then 19-year-old played Rosie, a young local church singer who falls in love with a young boy destined for the priesthood. It was a nerve-racking experience for the singer. "The first week has been so scary because, obviously, I have never done acting before," Mauboy told The Sunday Telegraph at the time. Having the whole crew, more than 100 of them, watching me, trying to be emotional or be happy - it's so weird. Her nuanced performance impressed the critics. And, perhaps more importantly, it laid the foundations for her future, because Bran Nue Dae gave Mauboy the confidence to audition for The Sapphires. Blair, who directed the film, was after more than just a singer; he wanted the four female stars to be strong actresses, too. Even Mailman had to audition for her role. The other two Sapphires were graduates from esteemed drama school NIDA. "Those four girls worked hard," he said. We wanted good singers and good actors, and we also wanted them to work together as a family. Blair put Mauboy though intensive acting training, and then she and the other three actresses spent two weeks with a choreographer. He was turning her into what the industry calls a "triple threat" - an actor, singer and dancer. Mauboy had unquestionable talent, Blair says, but what sold him was her work ethic. "The best thing about Jess is she gets up earlier than anyone else, she does more singing lessons than anyone else, she does more acting lessons than anyone else - she works hard," he says. When people are up at seven, she gets up at six and works out. It doesn't come naturally, all her talent. She's gifted, yes, and she's one of the hardest workers I know. She also has a healthy sense of humour. "I'd go to sit down and she'd pull the chair away," says Blair. I loved it, though. She was always up for a laugh. This is Mauboy's time. Since The Sapphires, she has been in hot demand. She has met with music producer Simon Cowell. She attended the Cannes Film Festival. She beat Mailman and Rebecca Gibney to the AACTA award for Best Supporting Actress, and left guests gawping in a knockout red dress. Will The Sapphires bring Mauboy international success? Blair is unsure. But if it does, he is confident she will be able to handle the fame. "Jess can do anything she puts her mind to," he says.