Diane Mary Craig (born 1949), sometimes credited as Di Craig, is a Northern Irish-born Australian actress best known for her performances in film and television.

Early life

Craig was born in

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

in 1949. Her family relocated to Australia in 1960. She attended Sydney's prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA).

Career

Film

Craig left NIDA after a year, making her debut in 1970 starring in the British Australian feature film ''

Ned Kelly Edward Kelly (December 185411 November 1880) was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader, bank robber and convicted police-murderer. One of the last bushrangers, he is known for wearing armour of the Kelly gang, a suit of bulletproof ...

'' (1970), alongside

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

– replacing

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (29 December 1946 – 30 January 2025) was an English singer and actress who achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her UK top 10 single " As Tears Go By". She became one of the leading female art ...

in the role of Maggie Kelly. Her subsequent film appearances included roles in drama feature '' The Mango Tree'' (1977), '' Double Deal'' (1981), war film '' The Highest Honor'' (1982) and ''

Travelling North ''Travelling North'' is a play by Australian playwright David Williamson premiered in 1979, and published as a text in 1980,Williamson, David, 1980: "Travelling North". Currency Press, Sydney. telling the story of a late-life romance and reloca ...

'' (1987) starring

Leo McKern Reginald "Leo" McKern (16 March 1920 – 23 July 2002) was an Australian actor who appeared in numerous British, Australian and American television programmes and films, and in more than 200 stage roles. His notable roles include Clang in ...

and based on the

David Williamson David Keith Williamson (born 1942) is an Australian playwright, who has also written screenplays and teleplays. He became known in the early 1970s with his political comic drama '' Don's Party'', and other well-known plays include '' The Clu ...

play of the same name. She played the lead role of Diane Lane in the 1989 political satire '' A Sting in the Tale''. Her most recent film was the 2009 drama '' In Her Skin'', based on the true story of the murder of 15-year-old Rachel Barber, alongside

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 ...

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and

Miranda Otto Miranda Otto (born 16 December 1967) is an Australian actress. She is the daughter of actors Barry Otto, Barry and Lindsay Otto and the paternal half-sister of actress Gracie Otto. Otto began her acting career in 1986 at age 18 and appeared in a ...

. Additionally, she has appeared in several television films, including drama '' Roses Bloom Twice'' (1977), '' The Newman Shame'' (1978) starring one-time

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and '' After Marcuse'' (1988). She has also featured in American comedy film '' Traveling Man'' (1989) alongside

John Lithgow John Arthur Lithgow ( ; born , 1945) is an American actor. He studied at Harvard University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before becoming known for his John Lithgow filmography, diverse work on stage and screen. He has rece ...

, sport biopic '' Never Tell Me Never'' (1998) opposite Claudia Karvan and ''One of the Lucky Ones'' (2007).

Television

Craig has also appeared on the small screen in numerous serials, miniseries and telemovies. Early television appearances included recurring roles in '' Snake Gully with Dad and Dave'' as Mabel Smith (1972), police drama ''

Division 4 ''Division 4'' is an Australian television police drama series broadcast by the Nine Network and created by Crawford Productions airing between 1969 and 1975 for 301 episodes. Synopsis The series was one of the first to follow up on the enor ...

'' as Jenny Franklin (1973–1975) and sport drama '' And The Big Men Fly'' as Lil (1974), based on the Alan Hopgood play of the same name. She played the regular role of Majorie Faber in soap opera '' Certain Women'' (from 1975 to 1976), Alison Finlay in police drama ''

Cop Shop ''Cop Shop'' is a long-running Australian police drama television series produced by Crawford Productions that ran for seven seasons between 28 November 1977 and 23 July 1984. It comprised 582 one-hour episodes. Synopsis The show revolved arou ...

'' and Pamela Summers in period drama '' The Sullivans'' (both, from 1978 to 1979). She is probably best known however, for her long-running roles in the soap operas ''

The Restless Years ''The Restless Years'' is an Australian soap opera which followed the lives of several Sydney school-leavers and the drama and relationships faced by young adults. It was created by Reg Watson and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation for N ...

'' as Gail Lawrence (from 1978 to 1979), and '' E Street'', replacing actress Penny Cook as main character Dr. Elly Fielding (from 1991 to 1993). Craig appeared several times in the cult television series ''

Prisoner A prisoner, also known as an inmate or detainee, is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement or captivity in a prison or physical restraint. The term usually applies to one serving a Sentence (law), se ...

'' and played a recurring role in medical soap opera ''

The Young Doctors ''The Young Doctors'' is an Australian early-evening soap opera originally broadcast on the Nine Network and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation, it aired from Monday 8 November 1976 until Wednesday 30 March 1983. The series is primarily s ...

'' as Diane Brooke (1980–1981). She had ongoing roles in ''

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 ...

'' playing Theresa Lynch (1995) and ''

Heartbreak High ''Heartbreak High'' is an Australian television programme created by Michael Jenkins and Ben Gannon that ran from 1994 to 1996 on Network Ten and 1997 to 1999 on ABC, for seven series. It was also partially funded from 1996 by BBC2, with som ...

'' playing June Dyson (1995–1996). Craig's last long-running role was as Deborah McManus in the 2008 series '' Out of the Blue''. She has featured in several miniseries including political drama '' Dead Men Running'' (1971), crime drama '' Scales of Justice'' (1983), historical series '' All The Rivers Run'' (1983) alongside

Sigrid Thornton Sigrid Madeline Thornton (born 12 February 1959) is an Australian film and television actress. Her television work includes ''Prisoner'' (1979–80), '' All the Rivers Run'' (1983), '' SeaChange'' (1998–2019) and '' Wentworth'' (2016–2018) ...

and based on the book of the same name, '' True Believers'' (1988), underworld crime drama '' Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities'' (2009) and media drama '' Howzat! Kerry Packer's War'' (2012). Craig has also made guest appearances on numerous television series, including ''

The Godfathers The Godfathers are an English rock band from London, England, with strong influences from R&B and punk. Career The Godfathers were formed by Peter and Chris Coyne (vocals and bass, respectively) after the demise of The Sid Presley Experience ...

'', ''

Matlock Police ''Matlock Police'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for The 0-10 Network (now known as Network 10) between 1971 and 1976. The series focused on the police station and crime in the Victorian town of Ma ...

'', ''

Homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...

'', '' Boney'', '' Ryan'', '' Young Ramsay'', '' Bellamy'', '' Holiday Island'', ''

A Country Practice ''A Country Practice'' is an Australian television soap opera/serial which was broadcast on the Seven Network from 18 November 1981 until 22 November 1993, and subsequently on Network Ten from 13 April 1994 to 5 November 1994. Altogether, 14 ...

'', '' Chopper Squad'', ''

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'', ''

Carson's Law ''Carson's Law'' is an Australian television series made by Crawford Productions for the Ten Network between 1983-1984. The series was a period piece set in the 1920s and starred Lorraine Bayly as progressive solicitor Jennifer Carson. The e ...

'', '' Special Squad'', ''

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'', '' Willing and Abel'', ''

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. ...

'' (alongside husband

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), ''

Rafferty's Rules ''Rafferty's Rules'' is an Australian television drama series which ran from 1987 to 1991 on the Seven Network. The producers of the series were Posie Graeme-Evans (1987–1988), and Denis Phelen. The directors were Graham Thorburn, Mike Sm ...

'', the 1980s reboot of '' Mission: Impossible'', '' Acropolis Now'', ''

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'', ''

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'', '' Medivac'', '' Murder Call'', '' Wildside'', '' All Saints'', ''

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'' and ''

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''.

Theatre

Craig has acted on stage in numerous theatre productions, beginning from her time studying at Sydney's NIDA. She has appeared for Nimrod Theatre Company,

Griffin Theatre Company Griffin Theatre Company is an Australian theatre specialising in new works, based in Sydney. Founded in 1979, it is the resident theatre company at the Stables Theatre in Kings Cross. the artistic director is Declan Greene. Artistic directors ...

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, Belvoir Street Theatre and

Old Tote Theatre Company The Old Tote Theatre Company (1963–1978) was a New South Wales theatre company that began as the standing acting and theatre company of Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). It was the predecessor to the Sydney Theatre Company ...

. She has featured alongside husband

in several plays, including ''Let's Get a Divorce'' (1970), ''Double Act'' (1995), ''Two Brothers'' (2005) and '' Don Parties On'' (2011), the sequel to David Williamson’s ''

Don's Party ''Don's Party'' is a 1971 play by David Williamson set during the 1969 Australian federal election. The play opened on 11 August 1971 at The Pram Factory theatre in Carlton (Victoria), Carlton. Plot Don Henderson is a schoolteacher living with ...

''. Her most recent appearance was in the Williamson play '' Crunch Time'' in 2020.

Personal life

Craig met

when they were cast as husband and wife in a 1970 production of ''Let’s Get a Divorce'' at Hobart’s Theatre Royal. They were married on 13 April 1971. They have two grown children, including actor daughter Kate, who played McDonald's character's daughter on ''

''. The couple live in

Berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples of berries in the cul ...

on the

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 ...

south coast.

Acting credits

Film

Television

Theatre

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Craig, Diane 1949 births Living people Australian television actresses Australian film actresses Emigrants from Northern Ireland to Australia Actors from County Down Television actresses from Northern Ireland 20th-century Australian actresses 21st-century Australian actresses