In 2001 and again in 2004 with "Kokoda," Peter was Australia's top-selling non-fiction author. He ranks among the country's ten most sought-after after-dinner speakers and is married to Today Show co-host Lisa Wilkinson, with whom he has three children.
Born on a farm in Peat's Ridge, Peter attended Knox Grammar School before spending a year in Ohio on an American Field Service Scholarship. He later completed an Arts degree at Sydney University, focusing on government and political science.
In 1984, under Alan Jones' coaching, Peter made his debut in the Wallabies rugby team, subsequently spending five years in France and Italy, where he played rugby and mastered French, Italian, and Spanish. Upon returning to Australia, he rejoined the Wallabies under Bob Dwyer, eventually playing in seven tests.
In 1989, Peter began a full-time career at The Sydney Morning Herald, where he became one of their most popular columnists. Andrew Denton once hailed him as "Australia's finest sports journalist."
Peter FitzSimons has conducted notable interviews with figures such as former President George Bush, Sir Edmund Hillary, Jodie Foster, Niki Lauda, Joe Montana, and Carl Lewis. He has also interviewed all major Australian sporting figures from Shane Gould to Lionel Rose and Allan Border, as well as every Australian Prime Minister from Gough Whitlam to Julia Gillard.
