Deborah Mailman

Deborah Mailman
Born	July 14, 1972 (1972-07-14) (age 39) Mount Isa, Queensland
Occupation	Actress
Partner	Matthew Coonan
Children	Henry Coonan (2007) Oliver Coonan (2010)

Deborah Mailman (born 14 July 1972 in Mount Isa, Queensland), is an Australian television and film actress. She was the first Aboriginal actress to win the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. She is well known for having played the character "Kelly" on successful Australian television series, The Secret Life of Us.

Early life

Mailman grew up in Mount Isa in north west Queensland and is the youngest of five children born to Wally, an accomplished rodeo rider, and Jane Mailman. She has both Indigenous Australian and Māori heritage. She graduated from Queensland University of Technology's Academy of the Arts in 1992. She played the role of Kate in a La Boite Theatre production of Shakespeare's 'The Taming of the Shrew' in 1994.^[1]

Career

In 1998, Mailman won her first AFI win, was for playing the character "Nona", in the Australian independent film Radiance. From here she has since become one of Australia's most prominent local actors especially through her lead role on The Secret Life of Us, a role for which she was twice awarded Most Outstanding Actress In A Drama Series at the Logies (2002 and 2004). She stayed during the shows entire duration (2001–2006).

She then took part in a four-part television documentary series with Cathy Freeman called Going Bush^[2] where the pair set off on a journey from Broome to Arnhem Land spending time with Indigenous communities along the way. She was featured prominently in the Leah Purcell documentary Black Chicks Talking (2001), where she candidly discussed her thoughts about her Aboriginal heritage.

She also appeared in the film Rabbit-Proof Fence, the play The Sapphires and the TV series Play School and was part of The Actors Company for the Sydney Theatre Company (2006–2007).

She was recently awarded an Inside Film Award for her short film Ralph and will star in 2010 musical film Bran Nue Dae. She plays the role of Cherie Butterfield in Channel Ten's Offspring drama series,^[3] which premiered August 15 2010.

Personal life

Mailman's partner is advertising executive Matthew Coonan. They have two sons, Henry and Oliver.^[4] Deborah also has an older sister that resides in New Zealand, born of the same mother, different father.

Filmography

• Radiance (1998), Nona
• The Third Note (2000), Tina
• The Monkey's Mask (2000), Lou
• The Secret Life of Us (2001–2006), Kelly Lewis / Narrator — 86 episodes
• Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002), Mavis
• The Book of Revelation (2006), Julie
• Bran Nue Dae (2009), Roxanne
• Offspring (2010–Present), Cherie Butterfield
• Mental (2012),
• The Sapphires (2012), Cynthia Macrae
• Mabo (TV Film) (2012), Bonita

Awards

Mailman has won and been nominated for several awards, including the following –

AFI:

• 1998 – Best Performance by a Leading Actress, for Radiance (WIN)
• 2003 – Best Leading Actress in a Television Drama, for The Secret Life Of Us (NOMINATED)
• 2010 – Best Supporting Role in a Feature Film, for Bran Nue Dajje (film) (WIN)
• 2010 – Best Supporting Role in a Television Drama, for Offspring (TV series) (WIN)

Logie Awards:

• 2002 – Most Outstanding Actress In A Drama Series, for her role in The Secret Life Of Us (WIN)
• 2004 – Most Outstanding Actress In A Drama Series, for her role in The Secret Life Of Us (WIN)

The Deady Awards:

• 2003: NAIDOC Person of the Year (WIN)
• 2007: Female Actor of the Year (WIN)

References

1. ^ AusStage
2. ^ Going Bush
3. ^ "Deborah Mailman". Offspring. Network Ten. 6 July 2010. http://ten.com.au/offspring-16390.htm. Retrieved 6 August 2010. ^{[dead link]}
4. ^ Sunday Herald Sun

External links

• Deborah Mailman at the Internet Movie Database

Persondata
Name	Mailman, Deborah
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1972-07-14
Place of birth	Mount Isa, Queensland
Date of death
Place of death