Catherine Văn-Davies (born 1985 or 1986Siobhan Hegarty
''The realities of a dream job as an actor in Australia''
ABC Australia, 20 February 2020) is an Australian actress of partial Vietnamese descent.

Early life

Văn-Davies' mother was a

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

from

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

who arrived in Australia at the age of 18, after the United States and allies withdrew from the country. Văn-Davies was born in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

, spent part of her early childhood in Indonesia, and her school years in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Queensland. After graduating from high school, she undertook a business degree at the

Queensland University of Technology The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public university, public research university located in the city of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia. It has two major campuses, a modern city campus in Gardens Point, Brisbane, Gardens Point ...

. She soon switched her focus to acting and completed a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

in 2006. She also studied at the

HB Studio The HB Studio (Herbert Berghof Studio) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization offering professional training in the performing arts through classes, workshops, free lectures, theater productions, theater rentals, a theater artist residency prog ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

.https://westernedge.org.au/archives/program/forging-your-own-path-a-discussion-with-catherine-van-davies-mark-cole-smith-and-zahra-newman-about-working-in-the-australian-arts-industry (retrieved 21 April 2021)

Career

After returning to Australia from New York, Văn-Davies moved to Sydney and worked mostly in theatre. In 2019 she won a Sydney Theatre Award for her role in ''

Angels in America ''Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes'' is a 1991 American two-part Play (theatre), play by American playwright Tony Kushner. The two parts of the play, ''Millennium Approaches'' and ''Perestroika'', may be presented separate ...

'' (Best Female Support), and another one for ''White Pearl'' (Best Ensemble). In 2021, she starred as Abigail in ''

Playing Beatie Bow ''Playing Beatie Bow'' is a popular Australian children's novel, written by Ruth Park and first published on 31 January 1980. It features a time slip in Sydney, Australia. Plot summary Lynette Kirk has been a happy child, cheery about her paren ...

''. At the 2023

Sydney Theatre Awards 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 ...

, she won Best Performance in a Leading Role in a Mainstage Production for her role in ''

Constellations A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The first constellations were likely defin ...

'' and Best Performance in a Supporting Role in an Independent Production for ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pe ...

''. She also serves as co-artistic director of the Old Fitz Theatre. Văn-Davies has also appeared in multiple Australian TV series, most notably ''

Hungry Ghosts Hungry ghost is a term in Buddhism and Chinese traditional religion, representing beings who are driven by intense emotional needs in an animalistic way. The term zh, c= 餓鬼, p=èguǐ, l=hungry ghost is the Chinese translation of the Sansk ...

'' (2020) and ''

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn written in 1772 and published in 1779 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is possibly the most sung and most recorded hymn in the world, and especially popular in the Unit ...

'' (2021). In 2022, she appeared in the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

drama ''

Barons Barons may refer to: *Baron (plural), a rank of nobility *Barons (surname), a Latvian surname *Barons, Alberta, Canada * ''Barons'' (TV series), a 2022 Australian drama series * ''The Barons'', a 2009 Belgian film Sports * Birmingham Barons, a Min ...

'', as well as

Foxtel NXE Australia Pty Ltd, trading as the Foxtel Group, is an Australian pay television company that operates cable television, direct-broadcast satellite, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April ...

legal drama ''The Twelve.'' In 2023, Văn-Davies made several television appearances in Stan series '' Wolf Life Me'', reimagined comedy series ''

Mother and Son ''Mother and Son'' is an Australian television sitcom that was broadcast on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) from 16 January 1984 until 21 March 1994. The show stars Ruth Cracknell, Garry McDonald, Henri Szeps and Judy Morris. ...

'' and crime miniseries ''

The Claremont Murders ''The Claremont Murders'' is an Australian television crime drama miniseries made for the Seven Network and released 10 April 2023. Produced by Peter Andrikidis, Jamie Hilton and Kerrie Mainwaring, the series follows the investigation by the Wes ...

''. In the latter series she played the real-life Alison Fan, who reported on the case from the first day to the last day. The following year, she played the recurring role of film star

Stevie Marlow ''Home and Away'' is an Australian television soap opera, which was first broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. The following is a list of characters that appear in 2024, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by ...

in the soap opera ''

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip to Kangaroo Point, N ...

''.

Personal life

Văn-Davies has been in a relationship with fellow Australian actor

Fayssal Bazzi Fayssal Bazzi (; born 1982) is an Australian actor. He was nominated for the 2018 AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his role in '' The Merger'' and again in 2020 for ''Measure for Measure''. Early life Bazzi was born in Beirut ...

since 2014.

Filmography

Television

Film

Theatre

As actor

As crew

https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/contributor/521526

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Văn-Davies, Catherine Living people Australian television actresses Year of birth missing (living people) Australian film actresses 21st-century Australian actresses Australian people of Vietnamese descent Actresses from Canberra Queensland University of Technology alumni