Toni Collette

Infobox actor

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caption = Collette at the Orange British Academy Film Awards, February 2007
birthdate = birth date and age|1972|11|1|df=y
birthname = Antonia Collette
birthplace = Blacktown, New South Wales, Australia
spouse = Dave Galafassi (2003-)
afiawards = Best Actress
1994 "Muriel's Wedding"
2003 "Japanese Story"
Best Supporting Actress
1995 "Lilian's Story"
1998 "The Boys"
sagawards = Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture
2006 "Little Miss Sunshine"
awards = BSFC Award for Best Supporting Actress
2002 "The Hours" ; "About a Boy"

Antonia "Toni" Collette (born 1 November 1972) is an Academy Award- and Golden Globe-nominated Australian actress and musician. She is perhaps best known for her roles in the films "Muriel's Wedding" (1994), "The Sixth Sense" (1999) and "Little Miss Sunshine" (2006). She is currently working on her next project in which she will play the title character in the upcoming Showtime series, "The United States of Tara".

Biography

Early life

Collette was born in Blacktown, New South Wales, the daughter of Judy, a customer-service representative, and Bob Collette, a truck driver. She has two younger brothers, Ben and Christopher. [ [http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800019669/bio Toni Collette Biography - Yahoo! Movies ] ] When Collette was eleven years old she faked appendicitis out of boredom and longing for attention. She was so convincing that doctors removed her appendix, even though tests showed nothing wrong with it. [ [http://film.guardian.co.uk/interview/interviewpages/0,,1853953,00.html Sanjiv Bhattacharya meets Hollywood's leading lady Toni Collette | Interviews | guardian.co.uk Film ] ] She attended Blacktown Girls High School until the age of 16, and then later attended both the Australian Theatre for Young People and NIDA.

Career

Collette has won four Australian Film Institute awards, including the Australian Best Actress in a Lead Role for "Muriel's Wedding" in 1994, a role for which she gained 18kg (40lb) in seven weeks. In 1996, she was part of the ensemble cast of the comedy, "Cosi". She received an Academy Award nomination for her role as the mother of a troubled boy in the U.S. film "The Sixth Sense", which also starred Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment.

She has also received broad acclaim on Broadway, starring as Queenie in Michael John LaChiusa's musical work, "The Wild Party". For this role, Collette received a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical.

Collette had to turn down the title role in "Bridget Jones's Diary" because she was committed to perform on Broadway at the time. She then auditioned for the role of ambitious murderess Roxie Hart in the hit film "Chicago"; She almost got the part but, because she wasn't a well known enough actress, she lost the role to Renee Zellweger. [ [http://www.theage.com.au/news/music/golden-moments-with-toni/2006/10/19/1160851052069.html?page=2 Golden moments with Toni - Music - Entertainment - theage.com.au ] ]

In 2006, she played Sheryl in "Little Miss Sunshine", for which she received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy. After filming three films consecutively in the fall of 2006, Collette said in a recent interview that she wants to take a year off from acting and spend time with her friends and family. She has also stated that she wants to take roles in Australian films rather than mainstream US films.Fact|date=May 2007 In October 2006, she began touring Australia to promote her first vocal album "Beautiful Awkward Pictures", released on Hoola Hoop Records under the name Toni Collette & the Finish, a band for which her husband drums. Collette recently appeared on the Australian television show "Cool Aid" and performed the song "Look Up" off of her album. Collette and the Finish were a headlining act at the Sydney show of Live Earth. She sang T-Rex's "Children Of The Revolution" with The Finish.

Recently, Collette accepted the leading role in the upcoming Showtime series, "The United States of Tara". The show was created by Steven Spielberg and developed by the Academy Award-winning screenwriter of "Juno", Diablo Cody. She will play a wife and mother of two with Dissociative Identity Disorder. Filming began on 14 April 2008. [ [http://www.afterellen.com/blog/roc/u-s-of-tara Showtime announces "The United States of Tara" | AfterEllen.com ] ]

Personal life

Collette has previously dated Jonathan Rhys Meyers. [ [http://www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/biographies/toni_collette_biog/4 Toni Collette Biography ] ] She has been married to Dave Galafassi since 11 January 2003 and owns homes in both Australia and the Republic of Ireland. Collette is a supporter of animal rights and PETA. She urged former Prime Minister John Howard to end the Australian practice of mulesing sheep, which is considered by many animal rights activists to be cruel. [ [http://www.savethesheep.com/f-collette.asp Save the Sheep! > Australian Actor Toni Collette Urges Prime Minister John Howard to End Cruelty to Sheep ] ] She later revised her position after doing her own research of the Australian wool industry. [ [http://www.abc.net.au/rural/content/2005/s1416534.htm Actress backs down on call for mulesing ban - 18/07/2005 ] ] She gave birth to her first daughter Sage Florence in Sydney on 9 January 2008. [ [http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20170375,00.html Toni Collette Has a Girl - Babies, Toni Collette : People.com ] ]

Awards

Won
* Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 1994 AFI Awards for her role in "Muriel's Wedding"
* Best Actress in a Supporting Role at the 1996 AFI Awards for her role in "Lilian's Story"
* Best Actress in a Supporting Role at the 1998 AFI Awards for her role in "The Boys"
* Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 2003 AFI Awards for her role in "Japanese Story"

Nominated
* Best Actress in a Supporting Role at the 1991 AFI Awards for her role in "Spotswood"
* Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical at the 1996 Golden Globes for her role in "Muriel's Wedding"
* Best Actress in a Supporting Role at the 2000 Academy Awards for her role in "The Sixth Sense"
* Best Supporting Actress at the 2003 BAFTA's for her role in "About a Boy"
*Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama for "In Her Shoes"
*Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress for "In Her Shoes"
* Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for her role in "" at the 2007 Golden Globes
* Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy at the 2007 Golden Globes for her role in "Little Miss Sunshine"
* Best Supporting Actress at the 2007 BAFTA's for her role in "Little Miss Sunshine"
* Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie at The 59th Primetime Emmy Awards for ""

Filmography

*"Spotswood" (1992), Wendy Robinson
*"This Marching Girl Thing" (1994), Cindy
*"Muriel's Wedding" (1994), Muriel Heslop/Mariel Heslop-Van Arkle
*"Lilian's Story" (1995), Young Lilian Singer
*"Arabian Knight" (1995), Nurse/Good Witch
*"Cosi" (1996), Julie
*"The Pallbearer" (1996), Cynthia
*"Emma" (1996), Harriet Smith
*"Clockwatchers" (1997), Iris Chapman
*"The James Gang" (1997), Julia Armstrong
*"Diana & Me" (1997), Diana Spencer
*"The Boys" (1998), Michelle
*"Velvet Goldmine" (1998), Mandy Slade
*"8½ Women" (1999), Griselda/Sister Concordia
*"The Sixth Sense" (1999), Lynn Sear (Academy Award Nomination)
*"Shaft" (2000), Diane Palmieri
*"Hotel Splendide" (2000), Kath
*"The Magic Pudding" (2000), Meg Bluegum (voice)
*"Dinner with Friends" (2001) (TV), Beth
*"Changing Lanes" (2002), Michelle
*"About a Boy" (2002), Fiona Brewer
*"Dirty Deeds" (2002), Sharon
*"The Hours" (2002), Kitty Barlowe
*"Japanese Story" (2003), Sandy Edwards
*"Connie and Carla" (2004), Carla
*"The Last Shot" (2004), Emily French
*"In Her Shoes"(2005), Rose Feller
*"Like Minds" (2006), Sally Rowe
*"Little Miss Sunshine" (2006), Sheryl Hoover
*"" (2006), Kathy Graham
*"The Night Listener" (2006), Donna Logand
*"The Dead Girl" (2006), Arden
*"Evening" (2007), Nina
*"Nothing is Private" (2007), Melina
*"The Black Balloon" (2008), Maggie Mollison
*"Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger" (2008), Mary

Discography

*" Beautiful Awkward Pictures (2006) - Toni Collette & The Finish

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0001057|name=Toni Collette
*Collete & The Finish myspace http://www.myspace.com/tonicolletteandthefinish
*Collette & the Finish Website http://www.tonicolletteandthefinish.com/
* [http://www.afc.gov.au/faqs/osaustralians/actors/toni_collette.aspx Toni Collette] - Australian Film Commission
*Collette & Sage Photo http://www.cozyfaux.com/press.htm

Persondata
NAME= Collette, Toni
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Collette, Antonia
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Australian actress and musician
DATE OF BIRTH= 1972-11-1
PLACE OF BIRTH= Blacktown, New South Wales, Australia
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=