Heather Lee Mitchell (born 1958) is an Australian actress, appearing in Australian productions of stage, television and film. She is a graduate of NIDA (

National Institute of Dramatic Art The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts is based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, many of Australia's leading actors and directors trained at NIDA, including Cat ...

). She is best known for her leading role in the 1990s television show '' Spellbinder''.

Career

Television

Mitchell is well known for her performance as Ashka in the Australian/Polish co-productions of '' Spellbinder'' (1995), and '' Spellbinder: Land of the Dragon Lord'' (1997). The series was a popular children's fantasy program first broadcast in 1995. Other television series include: the

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

Bodyline Bodyline, also known as fast leg theory bowling, was a cricketing tactic devised by the English cricket team for their 1932–33 Ashes tour of Australia. It was designed to combat the extraordinary batting skill of Australia's leading batsman ...

'' (1984), ''Land of Hope'' (1986), ''

Embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...

'' (1992) and ''

A Country Practice ''A Country Practice'' is an Australian television soap opera which broadcast on the Seven Network from 18 November 1981 until 5 November 1993, airing at 7:30 pm on Monday and Tuesday evenings. Altogether, 14 seasons and 1,058 episodes were p ...

''. In 1998, she starred in the miniseries drama '' The Day of the Roses,'' in which she played a victim of the 1977

Granville rail disaster The Granville rail/train disaster occurred on Tuesday 18 January 1977 at Granville, a western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, when a crowded commuter train derailed, running into the supports of a road bridge that collapsed onto ...

. She has also appeared in episodes of ''

Five Mile Creek ''Five Mile Creek'' is a western television drama series adapted from Louis L'Amour's novel ''The Cherokee Trail'' and produced in Australia. It starred Liz Burch, Louise Caire Clark, Rod Mullinar, Jay Kerr, Michael Caton, Peter Carroll, Gu ...

'' (1984), ''

Rake Rake may refer to: * Rake (stock character), a man habituated to immoral conduct * Rake (theatre), the artificial slope of a theatre stage Science and technology * Rake receiver, a radio receiver * Rake (geology), the angle between a feature on a ...

'' (2010), ''

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries ''Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries'' is an Australian drama television series. It was first broadcast on ABC on 24 February 2012. It is based on author Kerry Greenwood's historical mystery novels, and it was created by Deb Cox and Fiona Eagger ...

'' (2013), and ''

Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries ''Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries'' (also stylised as ''Ms Fisher's MODern Murder Mysteries'') is an Australian television drama series which began screening on the Seven Network on 21 February 2019. The series is a spin-off of the drama se ...

'' (2019). In 2021, she played Birdie in '' The Unusual Suspects''.

Stage

Mitchell is a foundation director and board member of the

Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in The Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney, as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Thea ...

(STC). She first appeared at the STC in 1981 performing scenes of Shakespeare's ''

Henry IV, Part 1 ''Henry IV, Part 1'' (often written as ''1 Henry IV'') is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. The play dramatises part of the reign of King Henry IV of England, beginning with the battle at ...

'' with

Andrew Tighe Andrew Phillip Tighe (born 23 November 1955) is an Australian actor and theatre director. Early life Tighe was born in Sydney and educated at Newington College. Commencing in Year 3 at Lindfield Preparatory School in 1964, he completed the HS ...

for a workshop. She has since appeared in dozens of productions for several Australian theatre companies and has contributed to

Terence Crawford Terence Allan Crawford (born September 28, 1987) is an American professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the WBO welterweight title since 2018. Previously he held the WBO and '' Ring'' maga ...

's 2005 book ''Trade Secrets: Australian Actors and Their Craft''.

Personal life

Mitchell was made a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

in the 2020

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port ...

Honours for "significant service to the performing arts, and to the community."

On stage and screen

On stage

Mitchell's stage appearances include the following productions.

In films

On television

Awards and nominations

Mitchell won the

Sydney Theatre Award The Sydney Theatre Awards are annual awards to recognise the strength, quality and diversity of professional theatre in Sydney, Australia. They were established in 2005 by a group of major Sydney theatre critics. The awards recognise mainstage and ...

for best performer in a leading role in a mainstage production for her portrayal of Ruth Bader Ginsberg in ''RBG: Of Many, One.''

Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards

References

External links

* *
"Heather Mitchell"
by

Melanie Tait Melanie Tait is an Australian playwright and author. She is from Robertson, New South Wales. Career At 20 years of age she wrote the ''The Vegemite Tales'', which played in London over seven years from 2001 to 2007, including two years on the ...

, '' One Plus One, 3 October 2019,

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast '' ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include morning news-talk show '' Good Morning America'', '' ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Heather Australian stage actresses Australian film actresses Australian television actresses Living people 1958 births National Institute of Dramatic Art alumni Helpmann Award winners Members of the Order of Australia