Charlotte Nicdao (born 14 August 1991) is an Australian actress. She is known for starring as Jackie Lee in the

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

series ''

A gURLs wURLd ''A Gurls Wurld'' (stylized as ''A gURLs wURLd''; also known as ''Emma's Chatroom'' and ''Cyber Girls'') is an Australian sitcom television series. The series was co-produced by Southern Star Entertainment, Southern Star Singapore, Screen Aust ...

'' (2010–2011) and as Poppy Li in the

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription over-the-top streaming service owned by Apple. The service launched on November 1, 2019, and it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service w ...

comedy '' Mythic Quest'' (2020–2025).

Career

Nicdao attended Victorian College of Arts and studied jazz and classical music. After an audition for a role in which she did not get the part, Nicdao discovered that her true love was acting:

Strangely, what made me realise that I wanted to pursue acting was missing out on a role that I had thought I was born to play. I was devastated for weeks after being rejected. It finally dawned on me that I’d never felt that kind of disappointment in my life, so doing this must be something I really wanted.

Nicdao's big break happened in 2008 when she was cast as Jackie in ''

''. Nicdao auditioned when she was 17. The show filmed in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, and

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, so Nicdao completed the final year of high school by distance education with the goal to return to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and make a career out of jazz singing. Nicdao starred in the short film Emo, directed by Neil Tiffett, which won a 'special mention' at the prestigious Berlinale International Film Festival in 2014 - the runner up to the Crystal Bear for best short film in Berlinale’s Generation section. When the short was adapted to a full-length film Emo: The Musical, released in 2016, she was credited as an associate producer. In 2014, Nicdao joined the second season cast of Josh Thomas' Australian TV series ''

Please Like Me ''Please Like Me'' is an Australian comedy-drama television series created by and starring Josh Thomas. Thomas also serves as a writer for every episode. The series premiered on 28 February 2013 on ABC2 in Australia and is on occasion available ...

,'' and played the role of Tom's girlfriend Jenny. In 2019, Nicdao starred as Lucy in '' Content'', a made-for-phone online video series. The first episode, about a millennial who wanted to go

viral The word ''Viral'' means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents). It may also refer to: Viral behavior, or virality Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example: * Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spre ...

, actually went viral when the video of her crashing her car was shared by many who thought it was footage of a real accident. In 2020, Nicdao began starring as Poppy in '' Mythic Quest''. Nicdao described the role as her dream role. About the advent of more roles for people of Asian heritage, Nicdao stated about her role in ''Mythic Quest'', "I think there was a time with the only characters available to me were very one dimensional and now I'm getting to play this very complex woman at the center of a story and it's beautiful." Nicdao voiced See-Thru Princess, the ruler of the Glass Kingdom, in '' Adventure Time: Distant Lands''.

Personal life

Nicdao was inspired by her father, Filipino Australian actor Alfred Nicdao. As a child, she would often be called to auditions by her father's agent. Nicdao has stated that if she could be a book, she would be '' If on a Winters Night a Traveler'' by

Italo Calvino Italo Calvino (, ; ;. RAI (circa 1970), retrieved 25 October 2012. 15 October 1923 – 19 September 1985) was an Italian novelist and short story writer. His best-known works include the ''Our Ancestors'' trilogy (1952–1959), the '' Cosm ...

because "every chapter is a new story and a new world". In 2012, Nicdao formed pop music group Charlotte Nicdao and the Sloth Orchestra with friends from college. In January 2013, the band successfully crowdfund their debut EP, recorded at Sing Sing studios with Australian music engineer Adam Rhodes. Plans to release the album in March 2013 were put on hold when Nicdao was cast in the

NBC television The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

series ''

Camp Camp may refer to: Areas of confinement, imprisonment, or for execution * Concentration camp, an internment camp for political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or minority ethnic groups * Extermination ...

'', and delayed the release of the EP to 2014. Nicdao describes herself as "a passive-aggressive sunshine pop fairy". Nicdao started training as a jazz singer when she was 15, inspired by

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

, and

Keith Jarrett Keith Jarrett (born May 8, 1945) is an American pianist and composer. Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey and later moved on to play with Charles Lloyd (jazz musician), Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s, he has also be ...

. Nicdao and her husband Bayden Hine ran a plant store in Melbourne known as Plant by Packwood. The store closed in November 2019. When asked by ''1883'' magazine which big movie franchise Nicdao would love to be a part of, she expressed her deep love of ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

'', especially

Yoda Yoda () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He is a small, green humanoid alien who is powerful with the Force. He first appeared in the 1980 film '' The Empire Strikes Back'', in which he is voiced and puppeteered by F ...

, for whom she made a fan club at school. Nicdao had her first child in 2024.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicdao, Charlotte 1991 births Living people 21st-century Australian actresses Australian child actresses Australian expatriates in Germany Australian expatriates in Singapore Australian film actresses Australian people of Filipino descent Australian television actresses Australian voice actresses Actresses from the Northern Territory Actresses from Melbourne