Heather Lee Mitchell is an Australian actor, who has appeared in Australian stage, television, and film productions. She is best known for her leading role in the 1990s television show '' Spellbinder''. More recently, she appeared as Anita in the series '' Love Me'', and as Margaux in the

Paramount Plus Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access in the United States and 10 All Access in Australia) is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily ...

series ''

Fake Fake or fakes may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * The Fake (1927 film), ''The Fake'' (1927 film), a silent British drama film * The Fake (1953 film), ''The Fake'' (1953 film), a British film * Fake (2003 film), ''Fake'' (20 ...

''. She has a role in the upcoming

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

The Narrow Road to the Deep North (The) Narrow Road to the Deep North may refer to: *''Narrow Road to the Deep North'', a 1968 satirical play on the British Empire by the English playwright Edward Bond * ''The Narrow Road to the Deep North'' (novel), a 2013 novel by Australian writ ...

''. Mitchell is a graduate of the

National Institute of Dramatic Art The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, it offers bachelor's, master's and vocational degrees in subjects including acting ...

, and has performed on stage since 1975, including collaborations with dance company

Force Majeure In contract law, force majeure ( ; ) is a common clause in contracts which essentially frees both parties from liability or obligation when an extraordinary event or circumstance beyond the control of the parties, such as a war, strike, riot, ...

. In 2022, she played U.S. justice

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; Bader; March 15, 1933 – September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until Death and state funeral of Ruth Bader ...

in the play ''RBG: Of Many, One'', for

Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in the Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Theatre ...

Early life and education

Heather Lee Mitchell attended Camden High School in

Camden, New South Wales Camden is a historic town and suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, located 65 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district. Camden was the administrative centre for the local government area of Camden Council until July 2016 a ...

, between 1971 and 1976, and was school captain in her final year. She took the leading role of Judith Bliss in the 1976 school production of

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

's ''

Hay Fever Allergic rhinitis, of which the seasonal type is called hay fever, is a type of rhinitis, inflammation in the nose that occurs when the immune system overreacts to allergens in the air. It is classified as a Allergy, type I hypersensitivity re ...

''.

Career

Television

Mitchell is well known internationally for her performance as Ashka in the Australian/Polish co-productions of '' Spellbinder'' (1995), and '' Spellbinder: Land of the Dragon Lord'' (1997). The series was a popular children's fantasy program, first broadcast in 1995. Other television productions she has appeared in include: the miniseries ''

Bodyline Bodyline, also known as fast leg theory bowling, was a cricketing tactic devised by the English cricket team for their English cricket team in Australia in 1932–33, 1932–33 Ashes tour of Australia. It was designed to combat the extraordinar ...

'' (1984), ''Land of Hope'' (1986), ''

Embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a Sovereign state, state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase ...

'' (1992) and ''

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 ...

''. In 1998, she starred in the miniseries drama ''

The Day of the Roses ''The Day of the Roses'' is a two-part Australian television mini-series, a docu-drama directed by Peter Fisk, based on the events of the 1977 Granville railway disaster. The film was made in 1998 and runs over 3.5 hours. Described as "a dra ...

,'' in which she played a victim of the 1977

Granville rail disaster The Granville rail disaster occurred on Tuesday 18 January 1977 at Granville, New South Wales, Granville, a western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, when a crowded commuter train derailment, derailed, running into the supports of a ...

. She has also appeared in episodes of ''

Five Mile Creek ''Five Mile Creek'' is a western television drama series adapted from Louis L'Amour's novel ''The Cherokee Trail'' and produced in Australia. It starred Liz Burch, Louise Caire Clark, Rod Mullinar, Jay Kerr, Michael Caton, Peter Carroll, ...

'' (1984), ''

Rake Rake may refer to: Common meanings * Rake (tool), a horticultural implement, a long-handled tool with tines * Rake (stock character), a man habituated to immoral conduct * Rake (poker), the commission taken by the house when hosting a poker game ...

'' (2010), ''

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries ''Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries'' is an Australian detective television series. It was first broadcast on ABC on 24 February 2012. It is based on author Kerry Greenwood's historical mystery novels, and it was created by Deb Cox and Fiona Ea ...

'' (2013), and ''

Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries ''Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries'' (also stylised as ''Ms Fisher's MODern Murder Mysteries'') is an Australian television drama series which began screening on the Seven Network on 21 February 2019. The series is a spin-off of the drama se ...

'' (2019). In 2021, she played Birdie in '' The Unusual Suspects''. In 2024, Mitchell was named as one of the cast for the miniseries ''

,'' and she played Margaux in the

series ''

''. Mitchell was also named in the ABC series ''The Role of a Lifetime''.

Stage

Mitchell is a foundation director and board member of the

(STC). She first appeared at the STC in 1981, performing scenes of Shakespeare's ''

Henry IV, Part 1 ''Henry IV, Part 1'' (often written as ''1 Henry IV'') is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. The play dramatises part of the reign of King Henry IV of England, beginning with the Battle of H ...

'' with

Andrew Tighe Andrew Phillip Tighe (born 23 November 1955) is an Australian actor and theatre director. Early life Tighe was born in Sydney and educated at Newington College. Commencing in Year 3 at Lindfield Preparatory School in 1964, he completed the HS ...

for a workshop. She has since appeared in dozens of productions for several Australian theatre companies, and has contributed to

Terence Crawford Terence Allan Crawford (born September 28, 1987) is an American professional boxer. He has held multiple quadruple champion#Boxing, world championships in four weight classes, from lightweight to light middleweight, including the undisputed cha ...

's 2005 book ''Trade Secrets: Australian Actors and Their Craft''. ''Never Did Me Any Harm'' (

Sydney Festival Sydney Festival is a major arts festival in Australia's largest city, Sydney, that runs for three weeks every January since it was established in 1977. The festival program features over 100 events from local and international artists and inclu ...

, January 2012), exploring

parenting Parenting or child rearing promotes and supports the physical, cognitive, social, emotional, and educational development from infancy to adulthood. Parenting refers to the intricacies of raising a child and not exclusively for a biologica ...

, was a joint production between STC and dance company

. It starred Mitchell,

Marta Dusseldorp Marta Dusseldorp is an Australian stage, film and theatre actress. Her television credits include ''BlackJack'', ''Crownies'' (and its spin-off '' Janet King''), ''Jack Irish'' and '' A Place to Call Home''. She is also a producer, as co-found ...

, and Vincent Crowley, with a solo dance performed by dancer Sarah-Jayne Howard. Mitchell co-wrote the script of Force Majeure's ''You Animal, You'' with artistic director Danielle Micich, which explored the

sense of smell The sense of smell, or olfaction, is the special sense through which smells (or odors) are perceived. The sense of smell has many functions, including detecting desirable foods, hazards, and pheromones, and plays a role in taste. In humans, it ...

. She also starred in the performance, which premiered at the Sydney Festival in January 2018. In 2022, it was announced that Mitchell would play the late justice

in the theatre production ''RBG: Of Many, One.'' In 2024, Mitchell again played Ginsburg for the 2024

Black Swan State Theatre Company Black Swan State Theatre Company, formerly known as the Black Swan Theatre Company, is Western Australia's state theatre company. It runs an annual subscription season in Perth at the State Theatre Centre of Western Australia, tours its produc ...

season. Critics called Mitchell's performance as Ginsburg as a "tour de force". Mitchell would again reprise Ginsburg for the 2025 Sydney Theatre Company season.

Filmography

Film

Television

Other appearances

Stage

Mitchell's stage performances include:

Awards and nominations

Publications

*Heather Mitchell (2023) ''Everything and Nothing''

Personal life

Mitchell met cinematographer Martin McGrath on a film set in

Broken Hill Broken Hill is a city in the Far West (New South Wales), far west region of outback New South Wales, Australia. An inland mining city, it is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Hi ...

in 1989. They were engaged in the following year and married in February 1992. The couple have two adult children and reside in Sydney. Mitchell was made a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in the 2020

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet and raising of the Flag of Great Britain, Union Flag of Great Britain by Arthur Phillip at Sydney Cove, a ...

Honours for "significant service to the performing arts, and to the community."

References

External links

* * *
"Heather Mitchell"
by

Melanie Tait Melanie Tait (born ) is an Australian playwright and author. a freelance journalist, she often writes for ABC Online, ''Guardian Australia'', and news.com.au. She is the author of several plays, including ''The Appleton Ladies' Potato Race'', wh ...

, '' One Plus One'', 3 October 2019,

ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Heather Australian stage actresses Australian film actresses Australian television actresses Living people Year of birth missing (living people) National Institute of Dramatic Art alumni Helpmann Award winners Members of the Order of Australia Maya the Bee