Layne Beachley

Layne Beachley is a former professional surfer from Manly in Sydney, Australia. She won the World Championship seven times. Beachley has spoken publicly about personal struggles, including the fact that she was conceived during a date rape and later adopted out. She met her biological mother for the first time in 1999. She is engaged to Kirk Pengilly, a member of the Australian rock group INXS. At the age of 16 Beachley became a professional surf... more

Layne Beachley is a former professional surfer from Manly in Sydney, Australia. She won the World Championship seven times. Beachley has spoken publicly about personal struggles, including the fact that she was conceived during a date rape and later adopted out. She met her biological mother for the first time in 1999. She is engaged to Kirk Pengilly, a member of the Australian rock group INXS. At the age of 16 Beachley became a professional surfer. By the age of 20 she was ranked sixth in the world. Beachley became the Women's ASP World Champion in 1998, and won the title again in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2006. In 2004, Layne was given a wildcard entry into the Energy Australia Open held at Newcastle, one of the rare occasions a woman has competed in a men's surfing event. Beachley announced on 10 October 2008 that she will retire due to her age. She has appeared in the movies Blue Crush (2002), Billabong Odyssey (2003), Step into Liquid (2003), and the 2001 documentary 7... less