Leah Maree Purcell (born 14 August 1970) is an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait I ...

stage and film

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...

, and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire ...

. She made her film debut in 1999, appearing in

Paul Fenech Paul Fenech (born 21 November 1972) is an Australian filmmaker, film and television actor, director, producer and writer. He is best known for writing, directing, producing and starring in the television series ''Pizza'', ''Swift and Shift Cou ...

's ''Somewhere in the Darkness'', which led to roles in films, such as, ''

Lantana ''Lantana'' () is a genus of about 150 species of perennial flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. They are native to tropical regions of the Americas and Africa but exist as an introduced species in numerous areas, especially in ...

'' (2001), ''

Somersault A somersault (also ''flip'', ''heli'', and in gymnastics ''salto'') is an acrobatic exercise in which a person's body rotates 360° around a horizontal axis with the feet passing over the head. A somersault can be performed forwards, backwards ...

'' (2004), '' The Proposition'' (2005) and '' Jindabyne'' (2006). In 2014, Purcell wrote and starred in the play, '' The Drover's Wife'', based on the original story by

Henry Lawson Henry Archibald Hertzberg Lawson (17 June 1867 – 2 September 1922) was an Australian writer and bush poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial perio ...

. In 2019, she went on to write the bestselling novel, ''The Drover's Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson'', which was adapted for the screen when Purcell made her directorial debut in the acclaimed film of the same name in 2022, for which she had also written, produced and starred as the titular character. For her work, she has won several awards, including a

Helpmann Award The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001. The annual awards recognise achievements in the disciplines of musical th ...

AACTA Award The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the film and television industry, ...

, and Asia Pacific Screen Awards Jury Grand Prize. Purcell is notable for her roles in several television drama series', including, '' Police Rescue'' (1996), '' Fallen Angels'' (1997), '' Redfern Now'' (2012–2013), which earned her an AACTA Award, '' Janet King'' (2016), and perhaps her most recognisable television role being that of her AACTA and Logie Award-nominated performance as Rita Connors in the

Foxtel Foxtel is an Australian pay television company—operating in cable television, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April 2018, superseding an earlier company from 1995. The service was establi ...

prison drama series, '' Wentworth'' (2018–2021).

Early life and education

Leah Purcell was born on 14 August 1970''Who's Who in Australia'' (2019), ConnectWeb. in

Murgon Murgon is a rural town and locality in the South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Murgon had a population of 2,378 people. Geography Murgon is in the region of Queensland known as the South Burnett, the southern ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, and she was the youngest of seven children of Aboriginal ( Goa– Gunggari– Wakka Wakka Murri) and white Australian descent. Her father was a butcher and a boxing trainer. After a difficult adolescence, looking after her sick mother, Florence, who died while Leah was in her late teens, as well as problems with alcohol and teenage motherhood, Leah left Murgon and moved to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

and became involved with

community theatre Community theatre refers to any theatrical performance made in relation to particular communities—its usage includes theatre made by, with, and for a community. It may refer to a production that is made entirely by a community with no outside hel ...

Career

In 1996 she moved to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

to become presenter on a music video

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

station, RED Music Channel. This was followed by acting roles in

ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...

series '' Police Rescue'' and '' Fallen Angels''. Together with

Scott Rankin Scott Rankin (born 1959) is an Australian theatre director, writer and co-founder and creative director of the arts and social change company Big ''h''ART. Based in Tasmania, Rankin works in and with isolated communities and diverse cultural set ...

she co-wrote and acted in a play called ''

Box the Pony ''Box the Pony'' is a 1997 play co-written by Australian actress Leah Purcell and Scott Rankin. It is a semi-autobiographical one-woman show, set in an Aboriginal community in Queensland. It has played at Sydney's Belvoir Street Theatre, the Sydn ...

'', which played at Sydney's

Belvoir Street Theatre Belvoir is an Australian theatre company based at the Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney, Australia, originally known as Company B. Since 2016 and its artistic director is Eamon Flack. The theatre contains a 330-seat Upstairs Theatre and a 80-seat ...

, the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

, the 1999

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh F ...

and in 2000 at the Barbican Theatre in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. She then wrote and directed the documentary film '' Black Chicks Talking'', which won a 2002

Inside Film award The Inside Film Awards (now known as the IF Awards) is an annual awards ceremony and broadcast platform for the Australian film industry, developed by the creators of Inside Film Magazine, Stephen Jenner and David Barda, and originally produced f ...

. She appeared as Claudia in the Australian film ''

'' for which role she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress by Sydney-based

Film Critics Circle of Australia The Film Critics Circle of Australia (FCCA) is an association of cinema critics and reviewers. It includes journalists in "media, television, major national and state papers, radio, national and state, online and freelance writers, Australian ...

; she lost to Daniela Farinacci. She appeared on stage in ''

The Vagina Monologues ''The Vagina Monologues'' is an episodic play written in 1996 by Eve Ensler which developed and premiered at HERE Arts Center, Off-Off-Broadway in New York and was followed by an Off-Broadway run in at Westside Theatre. The play explores c ...

''. She went on to appear in three 2004 films, ''

'', '' The Proposition'' and '' Jindabyne'', as well as playing the role of

Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist who is the current director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as the 66th Un ...

in David Hare's play, ''

Stuff Happens ''Stuff Happens'' is a play by David Hare, written in response to the Iraq War. Hare describes it as "a history play" that deals with recent history. The title is inspired by Donald Rumsfeld's response to widespread looting in Baghdad: "Stuff ...

'' in Sydney and

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

''Wentworth''

In 2018, Purcell joined the cast of

drama series '' Wentworth'' as Rita Connors, a role originally portrayed by

Glenda Linscott Glenda Linscott (born 1958) is an Australian actress and director, born in Rhodesia of English descent, she is best known internationally for her performance in cult drama series ''Prisoner'' as tough bikie inmate and top dog Rita "The Beater" ...

in ''

Prisoner A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...

''. It was announced that she was one of three new leading cast members to join the series for its sixth season, alongside

Susie Porter Susie Porter (born 1970 or 1971) is an Australian television, film and theatre actress. She made her debut in the 1996 film '' Idiot Box'', before rising to prominence in films including '' Paradise Road'' (1997), ''Welcome to Woop Woop'' (1997) ...

and Rarriwuy Hick. She first appeared in the first episode of season six, broadcast on 19 June 2018. Following her appearances in seasons six and seven, it was announced in October 2018 that she would be reprising her role for the eighth season, which premiered in 2020.

''The Drover's Wife''

Purcell developed stories in three different media based on the short story by

published in 1892, which Purcell recalls her mother reading to her. She began writing her version of the story in around 2014, giving the woman a name, Molly Johnson, something that Lawson did not do. Purcell's versions centres around Molly, who is left alone on their remote homestead while heavily pregnant and having to care for her four children while her husband is away droving cattle. She meets an Aboriginal man fleeing police, called Yadaka, and a personal drama evolves. She says that "The essence of the Henry Lawson short story and his underlining themes of racism, the

frontier violence A frontier is the political and geographical area near or beyond a boundary. A frontier can also be referred to as a "front". The term came from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"—the region of a country that fronts o ...

and gender violence are n her story. However, she has added stories from her own Indigenous family as well as incorporating her own extensive historical research, which included talking to

Aboriginal elder Australian Aboriginal elders are highly respected people within Australia and their respective Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. An Elder has been defined as "someone who has gained recognition as a custodian of knowledge and l ...

s and owners of property in the

Snowy Mountains The Snowy Mountains, known informally as "The Snowies", is an IBRA subregion in southern New South Wales, Australia, and is the tallest mountain range in mainland Australia, being part of the continent's Great Dividing Range cordillera syst ...

, where the story is set. She has said of the development of the stories: *She wrote and starred in the play '' The Drover's Wife'', performed at the Belvoir in 2016. The play won multiple awards, including Book of the Year at the

NSW Premier's Literary Awards The New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, also known as the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, were first awarded in 1979. They are among the richest literary awards in Australia. Notable prizes include the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, t ...

, overall Victorian Prize for Literature at the

Victorian Premier's Literary Awards The Victorian Premier's Literary Awards were created by the Victorian Government with the aim of raising the profile of contemporary creative writing and Australia's publishing industry. As of 2013, it is reportedly Australia's richest literary p ...

, two

Helpmann Awards The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001. The annual awards recognise achievements in the disciplines of musical th ...

, the

Major AWGIE Award The Major AWGIE Award is awarded by the Australian Writers Guild for the outstanding script of the year at the annual AWGIE Awards The AWGIE Awards is an annual awards ceremony conducted by the Australian Writers' Guild, for excellence in screen ...

and several other awards. *She penned a best-selling novel titled ''The Drover's Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson'', published in 2019. *Purcell was lead actor, writer, director and co-producer of a film adaptation, also titled '' The Drover's Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson'', premiered at the

South by Southwest Film Festival South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, T ...

in March 2021, released on Australian screens on 5 May 2022, after a two-year delay owing to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. Her husband Bain Stewart is lead producer and

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights ...

on the film, and Rob Collins plays Yadaka. *In late 2022 it was confirmed that Purcell was writing the follow-up for The Drover's Wife as a series set sometime in the future, with Danny as a adult leading the story.

Recognition, awards and honours

Purcell was recipient of the Balnaves Fellowship in 2014, which allowed her to develop her play, ''The Drover's Wife'', to be performed at the Belvoir in 2016. In the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours, Purcell was appointed 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 ...

for "significant service to the performing arts, to First Nations youth and culture, and to women". At the 14th Asia Pacific Screen Awards held in November 2021, she was awarded the Jury Grand Prize for her film ''The Drover's Wife'', "not just for her singular vision in writing, directing, producing and starring in the film but for the journey to bring this remarkable story, viewed through the lens of a First Nations woman to the screen in its entirety". Purcell has appeared twice on

's ''

Australian Story ''Australian Story'' is a national weekly current affairs and documentary style television series which is broadcast on ABC Television. It is produced specifically by the ABC News and Current Affairs Department. The program first aired on 29 ...

'', once in 2002 and once in June 2022. In June 2022, Purcell was honoured with a star on Winton's Walk of Fame, which was unveiled during

The Vision Splendid Outback Film Festival The Vision Splendid Outback Film Festival is an Australian film festival held annually in Winton, Queensland. With the event being held in Central West Queensland, which has provided the setting of film and television productions such as '' The ...

Personal life

Purcell's partner is Bain Stewart, who is also her business partner in Oombarra Productions. She has a daughter and two grandchildren. She believes that Stewart has been "a gift from the ancestors", as he has been such an important support to her through difficult times.

Filmography

Acting

Other

Awards and nominations

In 2006 Purcell was the recipient of the

Bob Maza Fellowship Robert Lewis Maza (25 November 1939 – 14 May 2000), known as Bob Maza, was an Aboriginal Australian actor, playwright and activist. Early life and education Robert Lewis Maza was born on Palm Island in North Queensland on 25 November 1939, ...

, which recognises emerging acting talent and support professional development for Indigenous actors.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Purcell, Leah 1970 births 20th-century Australian actresses 20th-century Australian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Australian non-fiction writers 20th-century Australian women writers 21st-century Australian actresses 21st-century Australian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Australian non-fiction writers 21st-century Australian novelists 21st-century Australian screenwriters 21st-century Australian women writers AACTA Award winners Asia Pacific Screen Award winners Australian documentary filmmakers Australian film actresses Australian film directors Australian historical novelists Australian music critics Australian music journalists Australian social commentators Australian stage actresses Australian television actresses Australian television directors Australian VJs (media personalities) Australian women dramatists and playwrights Australian women film directors Australian women film producers Australian women music critics Australian women novelists Australian women screenwriters Australian women television directors Australian women television presenters Australian women television writers Cultural critics Helpmann Award winners Indigenous Australian actresses Indigenous Australian filmmakers Indigenous Australian writers Living people Logie Award winners Members of the Order of Australia People from Brisbane People from Queensland People from Wide Bay–Burnett Social critics Women historical novelists Women writers about music Writers about activism and social change Writers of historical fiction set in the modern age