Mandy McElhinney (born 9 September 1970) is an Australian actress best known for playing Rhonda in AAMI insurance advertisements. She appeared on the

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

, '' Comedy Inc.'', from 2003 to 2006. She appeared as Gina Rinehart in the telemovie '' The House of Hancock'', alongside

Sam Neill Sir Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill (born 14 September 1947) is a New Zealand actor. His career has included leading roles in both dramas and blockbusters. Considered an "international leading man", he is regarded as one of the most versatile acto ...

in 2015. McElhinney played Jackie Walters, federal agent and team leader of the Australian Federal Police Counter-Terrorism Unit in the television drama thriller series ''Hyde & Seek'' that premiered 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 ...

in October 2016.

Early life

McElhinney was born in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Western Australia, to Rosemary and Andrew, and raised in Leeman. She has a younger sister, Hayley, who is also an actress. They both took drama and dance lessons as teenagers. McElhinney was bullied for her red hair as a child and so she became somewhat of a class clown making people laugh. Her "stupid" impersonations as a child have in some way given her the desire to entertain. McElhinney studied at Stella Maris Presentation College in Geraldton, which is now Nagle Catholic College.

Personal life

McElhinney married Carlo, an Italian, in Sicily on 28 December 2017.

Roles

McElhinney is known for appearing in many Australian television series and films, including a recurring role in 2002 and 2003 on '' MDA'', small roles in various crime and medical dramas, and a guest role as a shop assistant in '' Kath & Kim''. She also appeared in the film '' The Bank''. She is also a regular in stage productions, including with the

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 the Sydney Theatre Companies. She starred as Rhonda in the AAMI Safe Driver rewards series of commercials. The ad and her character's love story within it, consequently became a major part of Australian popular culture. She stars as strict Matron Frances Bolton in the Australian drama series '' Love Child''. She played the role of mining magnate Gina Rinehart in Nine's 2015 telemovie '' The House of Hancock''. In 2023, McElhininey appeared in ''Home and Away'' as Margot Dafoe. In 2024 she played advice columnist Sugar in the Sydney, Australia, Belvoir St Theatre’s adaption of '' Tiny Beautiful Things''. In May 2024, McElhinney was named in the cast for Stan Australia feature film '' Nugget Is Dead?: A Christmas Story.''

Filmography

Film appearances

Awards

McElhinney starred as

Kerry Packer Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer (17 December 1937 – 26 December 2005) was an Australian media tycoon, and was considered one of Australia's most powerful media proprietors of the twentieth century. The Packer family company owned a controlling ...

's down-trodden personal assistant, Rose in Channel Nine's TV mini-series '' Howzat! Kerry Packer's War'' for which she won the AACTA Award for Best Guest or Supporting Actress in a Television Drama and was nominated for the Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actress in a Series and as the new Editor-in-Chief of Packer's newly acquired ''

Woman's Day ''Woman's Day'' is an American women's magazine that covers such topics as homemaking, food, nutrition, physical fitness, physical attractiveness, and fashion. The print edition is one of the Seven Sisters (magazines), Seven Sisters magazines. ...

'' magazine, Nene King, in series 2 of ABC1's ''Paper Giants'' mini-series '' Magazine Wars''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McElhinney, Mandy Living people 21st-century Australian actresses 1970s births AACTA Award winners Actresses from Perth, Western Australia Year of birth missing (living people)