Kestie Morassi

Kestie Morassi (born 9 August 1978) is an Australian film and television actress. She played Natalie in the TV series '' Satisfaction'' (2007–2010) and Maggie Astoni in ''Home and Away'' (2017–2020). Morassi has also appeared in the films '' Dirty Deeds'' (2002), '' Wolf Creek'' (2005), ''The Illustrated Family Doctor'' (2005), and has made television appearances on ''Underbelly'' (2008), '' Wilfred'' (2010) and Black Snow (2022)

Early life

Morassi was born in Adelaide, South Australia. She lived in Adelaide until she was thirteen years old. She studied at the National Theatre, Melbourne Drama School, graduating in 1994, and another five years at Drama with a Difference where she later became a full time teacher for the school.Author unknown (date unknown). "Dirty Deeds". Drama With A Difference. Retrieved on 5 April 2010 from http://www.dramawithadifference.com.au/about/articles.html.

Career

Morassi first appeared on the television series ''Neighbours'' in 1996. She would later appear in '' BeastMaster'', '' Stingers'' and ''The Secret Life of Us'' in the early 2000s before making the transition to films in 2002 alongside an all-star cast including Bryan Brown, Toni Collette, Sam Neill, Sam Worthington, and John Goodman in '' Dirty Deeds'' which saw her nominated for a Best Supporting Actor award by the Film Critics Circle of Australia.

Morassi has also appeared in '' Darkness Falls'', '' Travelling Light'', '' Strange Bedfellows'', '' Thunderstruck'', ''The Illustrated Family Doctor'', and ''Josh Jarman'' before getting her international break in the Australian box-office success '' Wolf Creek'', which screened at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. She played backpacker Kristy Earl, for which she was nominated for an Australian Film Institute award for Best Supporting Actress 2005.Soares, Andre (26 November 2005). "Australian Film Institute Awards – 2005". Alt Film Guide, 26 November 2005. Retrieved on 5 April 2010 from . She also starred in the Patrick Hughes short film ''Signs'' for Schweppes opposite Nick Russell.

In recent work, Morassi played whip-cracking brothel manager Natalie in Foxtel's groundbreaking drama '' Satisfaction'' and portrays sultry and infatuated criminal defence lawyer Zarah Garde-Wilson in the Nine Network TV drama series ''Underbelly''.STV (20 November 2009) "Kestie Morassi – Zarah". ''Underbelly'' cast guide. STV, 20 November 2009. Retrieved on 5 April 2010 fro

In 2010, she had a guest appearance on '' Wilfred'', playing "Kat".

Morassi joined the cast of Seven Network soap opera ''Home and Away'' in 2017 as Maggie Astoni. She departed in July 2020, along with Rohan Nichol who plays her on-screen husband Ben Astoni.

In 2020 Morassi returned to the big screen in paranormal horror ''Surrogate'' alongside Jane Badler. Morassi plays Natalie Paxton, a nurse and single mother, who falls mysteriously ill and struggles to save her family from being destroyed. ''Surrogate'' premiered April 6th 2022 at Sun Theatre, Yarraville, Australia for a limited 4 week theatrical run where it was number 1, 2 weeks running. ''Surrogate'' was released internationally in September 2022 on TubiTV and Amazon Prime.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Morassi, Kestie
Australian people of Italian descent
Australian film actresses
Australian television actresses
Living people
Actresses from Adelaide
21st-century Australian actresses
1978 births