The woman's dreams of a glittering dance career had failed miserably, ending in a series of strip clubs and hospitalisations for eating disorders.
But rather than disappearing, her desire for fame became obsessively focused on her two young girls.
So when Grant Davies, the director of the now defunct Sydney dance studio RG Dance, allegedly began asking the woman for naked pictures of her daughters, she acquiesced completely and often enthusiastically.
The Downing Centre District Court has heard that over the ensuing three years and three months the woman, who cannot be named, sent at least 100 sexually explicit, degrading pictures of the girls to Mr Davies and about 30 videos.
On Friday she was sentenced to a minimum of 18 months' jail for producing and disseminating child abuse material, with a judge finding that she had knowing exploited and violated her own children in pursuit of "the promise of fame".
"The children were vulnerable and essentially helpless, being in their own home when the offences took place," Judge Peter Zahra told the court.
"They were entitled to trust their own mother. They would not have understood the behaviour they were engaged in, and considerable harm has been done."
The mother, who sat crying for much of the sentencing, had previously told the court she was scared and intimidated by Mr Davies who was "charismatic" and "domineering".
In particular, she was scared of having her children "punished" by being "relegated to the back row during dance routines".
"I knew it wasn't right ... I could have just got up and walked out, I know that now," the woman told the court earlier this year.
The woman's husband described her as being "under the spell" of Davies, whose "cult-like" influence had corrupted her.
But the court heard that the woman engaged in "frivolous" text message exchanges with Mr Davies about the naked images, describing her own children as "sexy and crazy".
"There were many exchanges that indicated Mr Davies was obtaining sexual gratification from the images," Judge Zahra said.
"There was much opportunity for her to consider the enormity of the offending and resist."
Reports from mental health professionals indicated that the woman suffered from low self-esteem, derived in part from her own failed dance career.
The court heard that at the age of 10, the woman had been told by a dance teacher that she was overweight, initiating a lengthy battle with anorexia nervosa that ended with a three-month hospitalisation some years later.
"All I wanted to do when I finished school was to become a dancer," the woman told one psychologist.
But she ended up working as a stripper and occasional model and was allegedly sexually assaulted during a photo shoot.
Judge Zahra said that, while the woman had shown some contrition and remorse, it appeared she had not fully realised the impact of her offending on her children's lives.
However, he found that the impact on the children of having their mother in custody for a long period amounted to "special circumstances" warranting a lesser sentence.
With time served, the woman will be eligible for release on parole on February 10, 2016.
Mr Davies has been charged with child sex offences.
