Big-hearted Gold Coast woman Michele Lord had always revelled in her family nickname, The Blonde. The moniker perfectly suited the persona of the sunny aunty, sister and daughter who loved to make an entrance in eye-catching outfits. “If it was fancy dress, she’d be the fanciest,” recalls her mother, Audrey. But ‘The Blonde’ meant more than that to Michele. “It’s a nickname our father gave her, and we lost him at a young age so I think that’s something she cherished,” her sister, Lee-Anne McKay, says. The name was an affectionate term from Michele’s happy childhood, and a reminder of her place in her loving family.
Over the years, however, The Blonde moderated her sunny personality to fit within the boundaries set by her controlling husband, Edward Lord. Her once…