Abigail Cornish (born 7 August 1982) is an Australian actress. In film, Cornish is known for her roles as Heidi in ''

Somersault A somersault (also ''flip'', ''heli'', and in gymnastics ''salto'') is an acrobatics, acrobatic exercise in which a person's body Rotation#Sports, rotates 360° around a horizontal axis with the feet passing over the Human head, head. A somersau ...

'' (2004), Fanny Brawne in '' Bright Star'' (2009), Sweet Pea in ''

Sucker Punch A sucker punch (American English), also known as a cheap shot, coward punch, one-punch attack, or king-hit (Australian English), is a punch thrown at the recipient unprovoked and without warning, allowing no time for preparation or defense on t ...

'' (2011), Lindy in '' Limitless'' (2011), Clara Murphy in ''

RoboCop ''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American Science fiction film, science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen (actress), Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Dani ...

'' (2014), and Sarah in '' Geostorm'' (2017). She worked with writer/director

Martin McDonagh Martin Faranan McDonagh ( ; born 26 March 1970) is a British-Irish playwright and filmmaker. He is known for his Absurdism, absurdist Black comedy, dark humour which often challenges the modern theatre aesthetic. He has won List of awards and no ...

in ''

Seven Psychopaths ''Seven Psychopaths'' is a 2012 satirical crime comedy-drama film directed, written, and co-produced by Martin McDonagh and starring Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, and Christopher Walken, with Tom Waits, Abbie Cornish, Olga ...

'' (2012) and ''

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri ''Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri'' is a 2017 crime drama film written, directed, and produced by Martin McDonagh. It stars Frances McDormand as Mildred Hayes, a Missouri woman who rents three roadside billboards to draw attention to ...

'' (2017). For the latter, Cornish won her first

Screen Actors Guild Award Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1995 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...

as part of the cast. In 2018, she portrayed Cathy Mueller in the first season of

Amazon Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

series '' Jack Ryan'' opposite

John Krasinski John Burke Krasinski (; born October 20, 1979) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his role as Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013), where he was also a producer and occasional director. He directed, co-w ...

, a role she reprised in the fourth and final season in 2023. She also played Dixy in the film '' The Virtuoso'' (2021) alongside

Anthony Hopkins Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor. Considered one of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for List of Anthony Hopkins performances, his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins ha ...

Early life

Abbie Cornish was born on 7 August 1982 in

Lochinvar, New South Wales Lochinvar is a village in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, eleven kilometres west of the regional centre of Maitland, New South Wales, Maitland. Lochinvar is within the boundaries of the City of Maitland local government area and ...

, as the second of five children of Shelley and Barry Cornish. Her sister, Isabelle Cornish, is also an actress. She grew up on a farm before moving to

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

. As a teenager, Cornish was fascinated by

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

and foreign films.

Acting career

Cornish began modelling at age 13 after reaching the finals of a '' Dolly Magazine'' competition.Alexa Moses
Abbie's excellent adventure
''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

'', 8 April 2006, retrieved 22 May 2011 In 1999, Cornish was awarded the

Australian Film Institute The Australian Film Institute (AFI) was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Cinema of Australia, Australian film indu ...

Young Actor's Award for her role in the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

's television show '' Wildside'' and was offered her first role in a feature film, ''

The Monkey's Mask ''The Monkey's Mask'' is an international co-production 2000 thriller film directed by Samantha Lang. It stars Susie Porter and Kelly McGillis. Porter plays a lesbian private detective who falls in love with a suspect (McGillis) in the disap ...

''. In 2001, Cornish played Penne in the first season of ''

Life Support Life support comprises the treatments and techniques performed in an emergency in order to support life after the failure of one or more vital organs. Healthcare providers and emergency medical technicians are generally certified to perform bas ...

,'' a satirical, sometimes dark look at Australian life as seen through the omnipresent lens of a television lifestyle show. In 2004, Cornish appeared in the award-winning short film '' Everything Goes'' with

Hugo Weaving Hugo Wallace Weaving (born 4 April 1960) is a British actor. He is the recipient of six Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (AACTA) and has been recognised as an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia. Born in Colonia ...

. She received the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Actress at the FCCA and

Inside Film Awards The IF Awards, formerly known as the Inside Film Awards, Lexus Inside Film Awards, Kodak IF Awards, and Jameson IF Awards, was an annual awards ceremony and broadcast platform for the Australian film industry. Its name derives from its origins at ...

and Best Breakthrough Performance at the 2005

Miami International Film Festival The Miami Film Festival, formerly Miami International Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Miami, Florida, each March. Since 2015 the festival also runs a smaller Fall Festival, known as the Miami Film Festival GEMS, which presents ...

for her role in ''

''. Cornish received critical acclaim for her role in ''

Candy Candy, alternatively called sweets or lollies, is a Confectionery, confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, also called ''sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, including chocolate, chewing gum ...

'', opposite

Heath Ledger Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, he moved to the United States in 1998 to further develop his film care ...

. She has also starred in '' A Good Year'', '' Elizabeth: The Golden Age'' and Kimberly Peirce's '' Stop-Loss''. She garnered widespread acclaim for her starring performance as Fanny Brawne in Jane Campion's 2009 film about the Romantic poet John Keats, '' Bright Star.'' In April 2010, Cornish was cast in '' Limitless'', the film adaptation of the novel '' The Dark Fields'', directed by

Neil Burger Neil Norman Burger is an Americans, American filmmaker. He is known for the fake-documentary ''Interview with the Assassin'' (2002), the period drama ''The Illusionist (2006 film), The Illusionist'' (2006), ''Limitless (film), Limitless'' (2011 ...

and also starring

Bradley Cooper Bradley Charles Cooper (born January 5, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and three Grammy Awards. In addition, he has been nominated for twelve Acade ...

and

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor, director, and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of List of awards and ...

. Cornish narrated

Zack Snyder Zachary Edward Snyder (born March 1, 1966) is an American filmmaker. He made his feature film debut in 2004 with ''Dawn of the Dead (2004 film), Dawn of the Dead'', a remake of the 1978 horror film Dawn of the Dead (1978 film), of the same name ...

's film ''Sucker Punch'', in which she played one of the protagonists. Cornish played the role of Wally in

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

's film '' W.E.'', about

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...

and

Wallis Simpson Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Spencer and then Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986) was an American socialite and the wife of Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor (former King Edward VIII). Their intentio ...

.Ed Gibbs
Cornish defends fantasy film
''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 13 April 2011, retrieved 22 May 2011 In 2012, she replaced

Emily Blunt Emily Olivia Laura Blunt (born 23 February 1983) is a British actress. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Emily Blunt, several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition t ...

in the independent film ''The Girl'', which premiered at the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

, and starred alongside

Woody Harrelson Woodrow Tracy Harrelson (born July 23, 1961) is an American actor. He first became known for his role as bartender Woody Boyd on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1985–1993), for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in ...

and

Colin Farrell Colin James Farrell (; born 31 May 1976) is an Irish actor. A Leading actor, leading man in blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters and independent films since the 2000s, he has received various List of awards and nominations received by Col ...

in the crime comedy ''

''. Cornish co-starred in the 2014 ''

reboot In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...

, as Clara Murphy, the wife of protagonist Alex Murphy (

Joel Kinnaman Charles Joel Nordström Kinnaman (; born 25 November 1979) is a Swedish-American actor. He first gained recognition for his roles in the 2010 Swedish film '' Easy Money'' and the ''Johan Falk'' crime series. Kinnaman is known internationally fo ...

). In 2015, she played Agent Katherine Cowles in ''Solace'', a mystery

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

directed by Afonso Poyart with central performances by

, and

Jeffrey Dean Morgan Jeffrey Dean Morgan (born April 22, 1966) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the character Negan in the AMC horror drama series '' The Walking Dead'' (2016–2022) and its spin-off '' The Walking Dead: Dead City'' (2023–present ...

. In 2016, she filmed '' The Girl Who Invented Kissing'' with Luke Wilson. In 2017, she played Agent Sarah Wilson in the

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

disaster film A disaster film or disaster movie is a film genre that has an impending or ongoing disaster as its subject and primary plot device. Such disasters may include natural disasters, accidents, offensive (military), military/terrorism, terrorist att ...

'' Geostorm'', directed, co-written, and co-produced by

Dean Devlin Dean Devlin (born August 27, 1962) is an American screenwriter, producer, director, and actor of film and television. He is best known for his collaborations with director Roland Emmerich, and for his work on the The Librarian (franchise), ''Li ...

, also starring

Gerard Butler Gerard James Butler (born 13 November 1969) is a Scottish actor and film producer. After studying law, he turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as '' Mrs Brown'' (1997), the James Bond film ''Tomorrow Never ...

Jim Sturgess James Anthony Sturgess''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 16 May 1978) is an English actor and singer-songwriter. His first major role was as Jude in the musical romance drama film ''Acros ...

Ed Harris Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an American actor and filmmaker. His performances in '' Apollo 13'' (1995), '' The Truman Show'' (1998), '' Pollock'' (2000), and '' The Hours'' (2002) earned him critical acclaim and Academy Awa ...

, and

Andy García Andrés Arturo García Menéndez (born April 12, 1956) is an American actor, director, producer, and musician. He first rose to prominence acting in Brian De Palma's '' The Untouchables'' (1987) alongside Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, and ...

. In 2018, she starred in Tom Clancy's ''Jack Ryan'' as Cathy Mueller, alongside

. In 2019, she starred in the Australian television miniseries '' Secret Bridesmaids' Business'' along with Katie McGrath and Georgina Haig. In 2021, she starred in ''Dakota'' with Tim Rozon,

Patrick Muldoon Patrick Muldoon (born September 27, 1968) is an American actor, film producer, and musician. Early life and education Muldoon was born in San Pedro, California, the son of Deanna, a homemaker, and William Patrick Muldoon II, a personal injury ...

and William Baldwin for director Kirk Harris.

Music career

Cornish is a rapper, singer and songwriter. She has been rapping under the name MC Dusk since 2000 and was part of Australian hip hop group Blades from age 18 to 22. In 2015, Cornish supported American rapper

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air (S ...

on his Australian tour. The same year, she released two new tracks on

SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...

: "Evolve" featuring Jane Tyrrell and "Way Back Home", which was produced by

Suffa Matthew David Lambert (born 6 May 1977), known by his stage name Suffa or MC Suffa, is an Australian rapper and producer. He is best known as one of the members of the hip hop group Hilltop Hoods, and has been a recording artist since the 19 ...

from

Hilltop Hoods Hilltop Hoods are an Australian hip hop group that formed in 1994 in Blackwood, Adelaide, South Australia. They are regarded as pioneers of the " larrikin-like" style of Australian hip hop. The group was founded by Suffa (Matthew David Lambert) ...

. The songs were re-released in 2020, and her first EP, ''Key of the Sun'', was released in 2021.

Discography

*"Evolve" - Single, 2020 *"Way Back Home" - Single, 2020 *"MVP" - Single, 2020 *"Zombies" - Single, 2020 *''Key of the Sun'' - EP, 2021 *"I'll Be There For You" - Single, 2021

Activism

In 2006, Cornish became an ambassador for Australian

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have Moral patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...

group

Voiceless In linguistics, voicelessness is the property of sounds being pronounced without the larynx vibrating. Phonologically, it is a type of phonation, which contrasts with other states of the larynx, but some object that the word phonation implies v ...

, the animal-protection institute, and was part of a national advertising campaign in 2012. Cornish is a dairy-free pescetarian who advocates for plant-based diets and co-authored ''Pescan: A Feel Good Cookbook'' with Jacqueline King Schiller in 2019.

Personal life

Cornish dated actor

Ryan Phillippe Matthew Ryan Phillippe ( ; born September 10, 1974) is an American actor. After appearing as Billy Douglas (One Life to Live), Billy Douglas on the soap opera ''One Life to Live'' (1992–1993) and making his feature film debut in ''Crimson Tide ...

in 2006, shortly after his separation from actress

Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Reese Witherspoon, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Aw ...

. They split in 2010. In 2019, she announced her engagement to

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

Adel Altamimi.

Filmography

Film

Television

Selected publications

* ''Pescan: A Feel Good Cookbook'' (2019,

Abrams Books Abrams, formerly Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (HNA), is an American publisher of art and illustrated books, children's books, and stationery. The enterprise is a subsidiary of the French publisher Média-Participations. Run by president and CEO Mar ...

)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cornish, Abbie 1982 births 20th-century Australian actresses 21st-century Australian actresses Australian child actresses Australian expatriate actresses in the United States Australian expatriate actresses in the United Kingdom Australian female models Australian women rappers Australian film actresses Australian television actresses Best Actress AACTA Award winners Living people Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners People from Maitland, New South Wales Plant-based cookbook writers