Early life

Wendt was born to Czech parents who emigrated to Australia in 1949, and was educated at the University of Melbourne

University of Melbourne

The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...

.

Career

Wendt's television career began as a news presenter for ATV-10

ATV-10

ATV is a television station in Melbourne, Australia, part of Network Ten - one of the three major Australian commercial television networks.-History:...

 evening news. She then went on to be one of the first reporters on the Australian Nine Network

Nine Network

The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...

's version of 60 Minutes, as well as filing stories for the American CBS 60 Minutes

60 Minutes

60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....

.

She has been host of A Current Affair, also on Nine, a host of Australian Dateline on SBS

Special Broadcasting Service

The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...

 and Witness on Seven

Seven Network

The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...

. She also did a number of specials for the ABC

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...

. She most recently hosted Sunday until 2006.

Personal life

Wendt is married to producer Brendan Ward and has one son, Daniel. She is a very private person, and has not been in the spotlight much since her departure from the Nine Network.

In 1997 she delivered the second Andrew Olle Media Lecture

Andrew Olle Media Lecture

The Andrew Olle Media Lecture was established in 1996 by the presenters and staff at 702 ABC Sydney to honour the memory of ABC Radio broadcaster Andrew Olle, who died in 1995 of a brain tumour.The Andrew Olle Lecturers have been:...

.

In 2004

Archibald Prize 2004 finalists

Below is a list of finalists for the 2004 Archibald Prize :*Richard Bell - I am not sorry*Jason Benjamin - Bread & circuses*Danelle Bergstrom - Franco Belgiorno-Nettis – ‘larger than life’...

, a painting of Wendt by artist Evert Ploeg

Evert Ploeg

-Archibald Prize:In 1999, Ploeg's painting of actress Deborah Mailman painted on wool bales was hung in the Archibald Prize, and won the People's Choice Award. In 2000, his painting of athlete Louise Sauvage was hung in the Archibald Prize....

 won the Packing Room Prize at the Archibald Prize

Archibald Prize

The Archibald Prize is regarded as the most important portraiture prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after a bequest from J. F. Archibald, the editor of The Bulletin who died in 1919...

.

Awards and departure from the Nine Network

Wendt won the 1992 Gold Logie Award

Logie Award

The TV Week Logie Awards are the Australian television industry awards, which have been presented annually since 1959. Renamed by Graham Kennedy in 1960 after he won the first 'Star Of The Year' award, the name 'Logie' awards honours John Logie Baird, a Scotsman who invented the television as a...

 for her role as host of A Current Affair. She was the first recipient not to be there to accept the award.

Rumours of her departure from Nine began in June 2006, when the network announced it would merge its Sunday and Business Sunday programs. Leaks to the print media, reportedly from high levels within Nine and described by journalists as "ham-fisted", revealed that the network wanted to replace Wendt with Ellen Fanning

Ellen Fanning

Ellen Fanning is an Australian journalist and was the last host of the Nine Network's Sunday television program.She was born in Brisbane, Queensland, and attended All Hallows' School, in Brisbane. She later graduated with a communications degree at the Queensland University of...

. Then CEO Eddie McGuire

Eddie McGuire

Edward Joseph "Eddie" McGuire AM is an Australian television presenter and businessman known for his long association with Australian rules football and the Channel 9 television network....

 in particular was accused of trying to "white-ant

White anting

White-anting is an Australian term for the process of internal erosion of a foundation. It is often used in reference to groups such as political parties or organisations where information from group insiders is 'leaked' or used to undermine the goals of the group...

" Wendt. On 1 September 2006 it was announced that Wendt would leave the Nine Network. News reports suggested she would receive a payout of more than A$

Australian dollar

The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...

2 million in lieu of the remaining 2½ years of her contract.

The absence of Wendt on the Sunday program's relaunch on 3 September 2006 was met with an unprecedented number of complaints that flooded the Nine Network's switchboard and of which the operator failed to keep count.

Wendt was then sacked from her regular "Lunch" column for The Bulletin

The Bulletin

The Bulletin was an Australian weekly magazine that was published in Sydney from 1880 until January 2008. It was influential in Australian culture and politics from about 1890 until World War I, the period when it was identified with the "Bulletin school" of Australian literature. Its influence...

magazine, due to the association the magazine has with the Nine Network; both have the same parent company, PBL

Publishing and Broadcasting Limited

Publishing and Broadcasting Limited was one of Australia's largest companies, with interests primarily in media and gaming. The company demerged in late 2007, spinning out its gaming interests into Crown Limited...

.

On 12 September 2006, just ten days after she left the Nine Network, Wendt agreed to appear on stage at the Seven Network's 50 Years of Television presentation, where she co-presented the News and Current Affairs section with Sydney news presenter, Ian Ross. This was seen as a huge snub to the Nine Network, which had sacked her only days before.

Books published

• A Matter of Principle, Melbourne University Press
  Melbourne University Publishing
  Melbourne University Publishing is the book publishing arm of the University of Melbourne .MUP was founded in 1922 as Melbourne University Press to sell books and stationery to students, and then began publishing books itself...
  
  , 2007. ISBN 978-0522854145.
• Nice Work, Melbourne University Press, 2010. ISBN 978-0-52285-620-0