Rebecca Judd has revealed she may skip the 2026 Brownlow Medal, hinting her husband Chris Judd could walk the red carpet with their teenage son instead.
Speaking to Stellar magazine, the 43-year-old Australian television presenter and fashion figure said the couple's eldest son Oscar, 15, is eager to attend the Australian Football League's premier awards night.
"I think my husband might take Oscar if he's allowed to go at his age," Judd said. "The kids are desperate to go."
The Brownlow Medal is awarded annually to the fairest and best player in the AFL. Judd first gained national attention at the 2004 ceremony when she walked the red carpet in a famous red gown featuring a plunging neckline that dipped below her belly button and a daring thigh split.
Designed by Perth dressmaker Ruth Tarvydas and valued at $2,000, the outfit immediately turned Judd into a household name alongside her partner Chris, who won his first Brownlow Medal that same evening at age 21.
The 2004 gown and instant fame
Reflecting on the evening, Judd recalled the sudden wave of public attention that followed her arrival. "I had this red dress on, walked onto the red carpet and everyone had this reaction like 'wow!'" she said. "And I thought 'okay, this dress is quite something.'"
She added that the event transformed her life overnight. "No one knew me before that night, and the next day half the country knew who I was," she said.
Chris Judd, now 42, previously told the Herald Sun that the 2004 awards marked the moment his wife became public property. "It did feel like a before and after event. Some wonderful opportunities opened up from it. Life was just very different," he said.
The gown was later donated to charity and auctioned off. Speaking to Zen Design in 2024, Judd said she had not seen the garment since that evening until she was reunited with it in a video two decades later, where she was moved to tears. "Oh wow, it's so cool, I feel emotional. Wow, it's amazing," she said during the reunion.
Brownlow absences and family life
Following her 2004 debut, Judd's fashion choices became a staple of Brownlow Medal red carpet coverage. However, after regular appearances alongside her husband, she was absent from the event between 2018 and 2024.
Judd did not attend the ceremony in 2025, while Chris, who stepped out solo on the carpet in 2019, continues to receive an annual invitation as a two-time Brownlow medallist. He won his second medal in 2010 before retiring from professional football in 2015.
The couple tied the knot in 2010 and share four children: 15-year-old Oscar, 11-year-old daughter Billie, and nine-year-old twins Darcy and Tom. If Oscar is permitted to attend, the 2026 ceremony would mark his red carpet debut alongside his father.
