Maia Christine Anu (born on 15 March 1970) is an Australian singer-songwriter and actress of

Torres Strait Islander Torres Strait Islanders ( ) are the Indigenous Melanesians, Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal peoples of the res ...

origin. She gained popularity with the cover song release of the Warumpi Band's song " My Island Home" in 1995. Anu has been nominated for many

ARIA Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

, winning several, as well as five Deadly Awards, among others. In August 2024 she released a new album and single of the same name, '' Waku: Minaral a Minalay''. She started her career as a dancer, and has had an acting career in film, stage (including

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

), and television, as well as hosting the ''Weekend'' ''Evenings'' radio show on ABC Radio.

Early life and education

Maia Christine Anu, was born in

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

, Queensland, on 15 March 1970. She did not know who her biological father was, and grew up with her

mother and

stepfather A stepfather or stepdad is a biologically unrelated male parent married to one's preexisting parent. A stepfather-in-law is a stepfather of one's spouse. Children from his spouse's previous unions are known as his stepchildren. In fiction Thou ...

all over

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. Her mother is from

Saibai Island Saibai Island, commonly called Saibai (), is an island of the Torres Strait Islands archipelago, located in the Torres Strait of Queensland, Australia. The island is situated north of the Australian mainland and south of the island of New Guine ...

, and her stepfather was a respected songman on Saibai, originally from Mabuiag Island. He sang traditional songs of the islands, and encouraged family singalongs. He died in 1979 when Christine was 10 years old. Anu attended Emmaus College in

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is "Rocky", and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite. The Scottish- ...

, from which she graduated in 1987. Dancing being her first love, she moved to inner-city

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 ...

to study at the National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association (later known as NAISDA Dance College), which had been established by Carole Johnson. She earned an Associate degree in dance in 1992.

Career

Music

201000 - Opening Ceremony Christine Anu performs - 3b - 2000 Sydney opening ceremony photo

Anu began performing as a dancer while at college, and became a member of the

Bangarra Dance Theatre Bangarra Dance Theatre is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance company focused on contemporary dance. It was founded by African American dancer and choreographer Carole Y. Johnson, Gumbaynggirr man Rob Bryant, and South African-bor ...

and the

Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre (AIDT) was the first dance company used to train Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students on their dancing career, and grew into a performance group. Originating in the National Aboriginal and Islander ...

troupes. She toured with Bangarra in 1992 and 1993. She went on to sing back-up vocals for the Rainmakers, which included Neil Murray, formerly founder-member of the Warumpi Band, for a year. Her first recording was in 1993 with " Last Train", a dance remake of a Paul Kelly song. The follow-up, "Monkey and the Turtle", was based on a traditional

nursery rhyme A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and other European countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes. Fr ...

from the Torres Strait Islands. In 1995, Neil Murray won an

Australasian Performing Right Association APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwri ...

songwriting award for writing " My Island Home". Anu covered the song, which gained immediate popularity, causing her to be remembered as the principal singer of the song. She released her first album, '' Stylin' Up'', which went

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

, in 1995. " Come On" was released as the fourth and final single from ''Stylin' Up''. The song peaked at number 94 in Australia on the

ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...

. N.B. The HP column displays the highest peak reached. At the

ARIA Music Awards of 1996 The 10th Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as the ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAs) was held on 30 September 1996 at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre. Presenters distributed 28 award ...

the song won two of three awards for which it was nominated, including Best Female Artist and Best Indigenous Release. In that year she also won a Deadly Award for best female artist.

Baz Luhrmann Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann (born 17 September 1962) is an Australian film director, producer, writer, and actor whose various projects extend from film and television into opera, theatre, music, and the recording industries. He is regarded by ...

asked her to sing on the song " Now Until the Break of Day" on his 1997 album '' Something for Everybody'' album. It was released as a single, with the video winning another ARIA award in 1999, and led to her being cast in '' Moulin Rouge!''. In January 1998, Anu teamed up with

Archie Roach Archibald William Roach (8 January 1956 – 30 July 2022) was an Australian (Gunditjmara and Western Bundjalung people, Bundjalung) singer-songwriter and Aboriginal Australian, Aboriginal activist. Often referred to as "Uncle Archie", Roach wa ...

, Paul Kelly, Judith Durham, Renee Geyer, Kutcha Edwards and Tiddas and formed Singers for the Red Black and Gold. Together they released a cover of " Yil Lull". In that year, she won the Female Artist of The Year Deadly Award. In 2000, Anu released '' Come My Way'' which peaked at number 18 on the ARIA albums chart and went gold. She released the hit single " Sunshine on a Rainy Day", for which she won the ARIA Awards for both Best Female Artist and Engineer of the Year. In the same year, she sang the song "My Island Home" at the Sydney 2000 Olympics Closing Ceremony. In 2003, Anu released her third studio album, '' 45 Degrees'', and in 2005 released ''Acoustically''. In that year, she was again winner of the Deadly Award for Female Artist of the Year, and in 2004 she won Single of the Year for " Talk About Love". In February and March 2007, Anu toured New South Wales with a new stage show, ''Black is Blue'', singing the songs of

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

legends such as

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

Nina Simone Nina Simone ( ; born Eunice Kathleen Waymon; February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003) was an American singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and po ...

, Marlene Cummins, and

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 ...

. Also that year she toured a children's show and released an associate album titled '' Chrissy's Island Family''. The album gained an ARIA Award nomination. On 26 September 2010, she released a new single, "Come Home", but it was not successful. In 2012 she released the album ''Rewind: The Aretha Franklin Songbook''. On 7 November 2014, Anu released a

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

album, titled '' Island Christmas'', and the following year released ''ReStylin' Up 20 Years''. In March 2018, Anu released a duet version of "Without You" from the musical '' Rent'' with Greg Gould. The lyric video featured photography from around the world, each photo with a splash of red for HIV/AIDS support and awareness. Through 2023, Anu worked on her first album since 2015's live ''ReStylin' Up 20 Years''. The project is using German ethnomusicologist Wolfgang Laade's recordings of Anu's grandfather, Nadi Anu, which are held by the

Australian Institute Of Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Studies The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), established as the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (AIAS) in 1964, is an independent Australian Government statutory authority. It is a collecting, ...

. The resulting album, '' Waku: Minaral a Minalay'', was released on 2 August 2024. Her daughter, Zipporah, wrote one of the songs on the album.

Acting

Anu has had an acting career in film, stage (including

), and television. She appeared in '' Dating the Enemy'', a 1996 Australian film starring

Guy Pearce Guy Edward Pearce (born 5 October 1967) is an Australian actor. List of awards and nominations received by Guy Pearce, His accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award, and nominations for an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a British Academy Film Aw ...

and Claudia Karvan. She has also hosted children's television programme '' Play School''. Anu appeared in an Australian production of the stage musical '' Little Shop of Horrors'', and her stage career developed with a starring role as Mimi in the original Australian production of '' Rent'' in 1998 and 1999, which played to glowing reviews. Anu was offered a role in a Broadway production of this musical but had to decline due to commitments in recording her second album. She had parts in the films '' Moulin Rouge!'' (2001) and ''

The Matrix Reloaded ''The Matrix Reloaded'' is a 2003 American science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the sequel to ''The Matrix'' (1999) and the second installment in the ''Matrix'' film series. The film stars Keanu Reeves, L ...

'' (2003) as Kali. She also played Kali on the video game ''

Enter the Matrix ''Enter the Matrix'' is a 2003 action-adventure video game developed by Shiny Entertainment and published by Infogrames under the Atari brand name. The first game based on ''The Matrix'' film series, its story is concurrent with that of the ...

''. From October 2004 through 2005, she toured Australia in ''Intimate and Deadly'', a cabaret-style stage show based on her life. The show opened at Kabarett Voltaire in the Seymour Centre in Sydney, and toured 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 ...

. In 2012 she played the lead role of Australian sci-fi television series '' Outland'', about a gay sci-fi fan club. Anu plays wheelchair-using Rae, the sole female member of the group. On the 21 October 2024, it was announced she would be playing the role of Hermes in the touring Australian production of ''

Hadestown ''Hadestown'' is a musical with music, lyrics, and a book by Anaïs Mitchell. It tells a version of the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Eurydice, a young girl looking for something to eat, goes to work in a hellish industrial vers ...

''.

Other TV

In 2004, she became a judge on '' Popstars Live'', a television quest broadcast on the

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

at 6.30 pm on Sunday night in Australia along the lines of ''

Australian Idol ''Australian Idol'' is an Australian singing competition, which began its first season in July 2003 and ended its initial run in November 2009. As part of the ''Idol'' franchise, Australian Idol originated from the reality program '' Pop Id ...

''. The program failed to achieve a similar level of success, leading network executives to pressure the judges to offer harsher criticism of the contestants. Anu refused to offer harsher criticism, saying that she wished to be a role model, leading to her resignation as a judge in April 2004. In 2009, Anu participated in ''

Who Do You Think You Are Who Do You Think You Are may refer to: Television series * ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' (British TV series), a genealogy documentary with many adaptations: ** ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' (American TV series) ** ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' ...

''. In August 2020, Anu was revealed to be "the Goldfish" in the second season of '' The Masked Singer Australia'' and was the third contestant unmasked, placing 10th overall. Anu also performed "

Waltzing Matilda "Waltzing Matilda" is a song developed in the Australian style of poetry and folk music called a bush ballad. It has been described as the country's "unofficial national anthem". The title was Australian slang for travelling on foot (waltzing ...

" at the 2003 AFL Grand Final and performed at the 2024 AFL Grand Final.

Radio

In December 2015, ABC announced that Anu would host the ''Evenings'' radio program on

ABC Radio Sydney ABC Radio Sydney (official call sign: 2BL, formerly 2SB) is an ABC radio station in Sydney, Australia. It is the flagship station in the ABC Local Radio network and broadcasts on 702 kHz on the AM dial. The station transmits with a power ( ...

, ABC Radio Canberra and

ABC Local Radio ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ABC Local Radio stations broadcast across the continent using terrestrial transmitters and satellites. Its programm ...

stations across

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. Anu shared the role with Dominic Knight, then took over full-time in April 2016 after Knight's resignation. In the first half of 2016 the program suffered a dip in the ratings after she began hosting. In November 2016, ABC announced a national ''Evenings'' program on Friday and Saturday across

, hosted by Anu.

Chris Bath Christine Bath (born 13 May 1967) is an Australian journalist, radio and television presenter and news anchor. Bath currently hosts Drive on ABC Radio Sydney and '' 10 News First Weekend'' on Network 10. She has previously been host of Eve ...

replaced Anu as host of ''Evenings'' from Monday to Thursday on

, ABC Radio Canberra and

stations across New South Wales. After a break, Anu restarted presenting ''Weekend Evenings'' in January 2023. , Anu presents ''Weekend Evenings'' on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, along with Sirine Demachkie.

Personal life

Anu is a mother of a son, Kuiam, and daughter, Zipporah Corser Anu. Zipporah's father is actor Rodger Corser, and she is also musically talented. Anu married her childhood sweetheart, Simon Deutrom, in 2010. He is not the father of either of her children. In June 2016, Anu announced that she and Deutrom were separating after six years of marriage, and they later divorced. She revealed in 2012 that she had struggled with

weight gain Weight gain is an increase in body weight. This can involve an increase in muscle mass, fat deposits, excess fluids such as water or other factors. Weight gain can be a symptom of a serious medical condition. Description Weight gain occurs ...

, after suffering from depression, and appeared on 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 ...

's reality show '' Excess Baggage''. After her separation from Deutrom, she lost . In February 2020, Anu pleaded guilty in the Rockhampton Magistrates Court to mid-range drunk driving, after having been pulled over by police in

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...

.Nufer, Darryn (24 February 2020
Pop star fronts court on drink driving charge
, ''

The Morning Bulletin ''The Morning Bulletin'' is an online newspaper servicing the city of Rockhampton and the surrounding areas of Central Queensland, Australia. From 1861 to 2020, ''The Morning Bulletin'' was published as a print edition, before then becoming a ...

''. Retrieved 7 March 2020.(24 February 2020
ARIA Award winner Christine Anu loses license for NYE drink driving
, ''

Nine News Nine News (stylized as 9News) is a national News agency, news service on the Nine Network in Australia. Its flagship program is an hour-long ''9News'' bulletin at 6:00 pm, with editions produced by Nine's owned-and-operated stations in TCN, S ...

''. Retrieved 7 March 2020. She was fined A$650 and had her driver's license suspended for three months.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Stylin' Up'' (1995) * '' Come My Way'' (2000) * '' 45 Degrees'' (2003) * '' Acoustically'' (2005) * '' Chrissy's Island Family'' (2007) * '' Rewind: The Aretha Franklin Songbook'' (2012) * '' Island Christmas'' (2014) * '' Waku: Minaral a Minalay'' (2024)

Live albums

* ''Intimate and Deadly'' (2010) * '' ReStylin' Up 20 Years'' (2015)

Filmography

Films and television

Theatre and stage performances

The following list includes selected stage performances by Anu.

Awards and nominations

ARIA Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

are a set of annual ceremonies presented by

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...

(ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987. ARIA Awards won by Anu include:

Australian Women in Music Awards

The Australian Women in Music Awards is an annual event that celebrates outstanding women in the

Australian Music Industry The Australian music industry refers to the collection of individuals, organisations, businesses and activities that are involved in the creation, production, distribution and promotion of music in Australia. The music industry encompasses a wide r ...

who have made significant and lasting contributions in their chosen field. They commenced in 2018. , - , rowspan="2" ,

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, Christine Anu , Diversity in Music Award , , - , Christine Anu , Artistic Excellence Award ,

Deadly Awards

The Deadly Awards, (commonly known simply as The Deadlys), was an annual celebration of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. They ran from 1996 to 2013. , - ,

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, Herself , Female Artist of the Year , , - ,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, Herself , Female Artist of the Year , , - ,

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, " Sunshine on a Rainy Day" , Single of the Year , , - ,

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, Herself , Female Artist of the Year , , - ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, " Talk About Love" , Single of the Year , , -

Green Room Awards

National Indigenous Music Awards

The National Indigenous Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises the achievements of Indigenous Australians in music. ! , - ! scope="row" rowspan="1",

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, " Waku: Minaral a Minalay" , Song of the Year , , rowspan="1",

Queensland Music Awards

The Queensland Music Awards (previously known as Q Song Awards) are annual awards celebrating Queensland, Australia's emerging artists. They commenced in 2006. ! , - , 2025 , herself , Lifetime Achievement Award , ,

References

External links

* * *
Christine Anu
on

AusStage AusStage: The Australian Live Performance Database is an online database which records information about live performances in Australia, providing records of productions from the first recorded performance in Australia (1789, by convicts) up unt ...

Interview with Christine Anu
(2004)
Waiting for Zipporah (Christine Anu)
at National Portrait Gallery (Australia) {{DEFAULTSORT:Anu, Christine Living people 1970 births 21st-century Australian singers 21st-century Australian women singers APRA Award winners ARIA Award winners Australian children's television presenters Australian women pop singers Australian women television presenters Indigenous Australian actresses Indigenous Australian musicians MGM Records artists Mushroom Records artists Musicians from Queensland People from Cairns Culture of the Torres Strait Islands Torres Strait Islanders Blinky Bill Torres Strait Islander women