Mandy McElhinney (born ) is an Australian

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 ...

best known for playing Rhonda in AAMI insurance advertisements. She appeared on the sketch comedy

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

, '' Comedy Inc.'', from 2003 to 2006. She appeared as

Gina Rinehart Georgina Hope Rinehart (née Hancock, born 9 February 1954) is an Australian mining magnate and businesswoman. Rinehart is the Executive Chairman of Hancock Prospecting, a privately owned mineral exploration and extraction company founded by ...

in the telemovie ''

The House of Hancock ''House of Hancock'' is an Australian mini-series, part 1 aired on the Nine Network on 8 February 2015 and the 2nd part on 15 February. Plot ''House of Hancock'' tells the fictionalised story of the Hancock dynasty and the bizarre love triang ...

'', alongside

Sam Neill Sir Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill (born 14 September 1947) is a New Zealand actor. Neill's near-50 year career has included leading roles in both dramas and blockbusters. Considered an "international leading man", he has been regarded as one o ...

in 2015. McElhinney played Jackie Walters, federal agent and team leader of the Australian Federal Police Counter-Terrorism Unit in the television drama thriller series ''Hyde & Seek'' that premiered on the Nine Network in October 2016.

Early life

McElhinney was born in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, Western Australia, to Rosemary and Andrew, and raised in Leeman. She has a younger sister,

Hayley Hayley (pronounced ) is an English given name. It is derived from the English surname Haley (surname), Haley, which in turn was based on an Old English toponym, a compound of ''heg'' "hay" and ''leah'' "clearing or meadow".Katie Martin-Doyle, '' ...

, who is also an actress. They both took drama and dance lessons as teenagers. McElhinney was bullied for her red hair as a child and so she became somewhat of a class clown making people laugh. Her "stupid" impersonations as a child have in some way given her the desire to entertain. McElhinney studied at Stella Maris Presentation College in Geraldton, which is now

Nagle Catholic College Nagle Catholic College commonly known as Nagle or NCC, is an independent Roman Catholic co-educational secondary day school, located in the coastal town of Geraldton in the Mid West region of Western Australia, Australia. The college was founde ...

Roles

McElhinney is known for appearing in many Australian television series and films, including a recurring role in 2002 and 2003 on ''

MDA MDA, mda, or ''variation'', may refer to: Places * Moldova, a country in Europe with the ISO 3166-1 country code MDA Politics * Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (2018), ruling coalition government in the Indian State of Meghalaya led by National Pe ...

'', small roles in various crime and medical dramas, and a guest role as a shop assistant in ''

Kath & Kim ''Kath & Kim,'' (also written as ''Kath and Kim'') is an Australian sitcom created by Jane Turner and Gina Riley, who portray the title characters of Kath Day-Knight, a cheery, middle-aged suburban mother, and Kim, her self-indulgent daughter ...

''. She also appeared in the film '' The Bank''. She is also a regular in stage productions, including with the

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 met ...

and the Sydney Theatre Companies. She starred as Rhonda in the

AAMI Australian Associated Motor Insurers Limited (commonly referred to as AAMI) is an Australian general insurance provider offering car, home, CTP and business insurance. AAMI has vehicle assessment centres in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland ...

Safe Driver rewards series of commercials. The ad and her character's love story within it, consequently became a major part of Australian popular culture. She stars as strict Matron Frances Bolton in the Australian drama series '' Love Child''. She played the role of mining magnate

in Nine's 2015 telemovie ''

''.

Awards

McElhinney starred as Kerry Packer's down-trodden personal assistant, Rose in Channel Nine's TV mini-series ''

Howzat! Kerry Packer's War ''Howzat! Kerry Packer's War'' is an Australian drama-miniseries set in the 1970s that premiered on the Nine Network on Sunday 19 August 2012. Plot The Ashes is the pinnacle of world cricket with two old enemies, Australia and England, going ...

'' for which she won the

AACTA Award for Best Guest or Supporting Actress in a Television Drama The AACTA Award for Best Guest or Supporting Actress in a Television Drama is an accolade given by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA), a non-profit organisation whose aim is to "identify, award, promote and celebrate Aust ...

and was nominated for the

Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actress in a Series The Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actress, commonly known as the Silver Logie for Most Outstanding Actress, is an award presented annually at the Australian TV Week Logie Awards. It was first awarded at the 30th Annual TV Week Logie Awards i ...

and as the new Editor-in-Chief of Packer's newly acquired ''

Woman's Day ''Woman's Day'' is an American women's monthly magazine that covers such topics as homemaking, food, nutrition, physical fitness, physical attractiveness, and fashion. The print edition is one of the Seven Sisters magazines. The magazine was f ...

'' magazine,

Nene King Nene Claire King is an Australian journalist. She is the former editor of some of Australia's women's magazines, including ''Woman's Day'', '' New Idea'' and '' Women's Weekly''. Early life Nene Claire King was born in March 1943 in Melbourn ...

, in series 2 of ABC1's Paper Giants mini-series ''Magazine Wars''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McElhinney, Mandy Living people 21st-century Australian actresses 1970s births AACTA Award winners