Ningali Josie Lawford (1967 – 11 August 2019), also known as Ningali Lawford-Wolf and Josie Ningali Lawford, was an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...

actress known for her roles in the films '' Rabbit-Proof Fence'' (2002), ''

Bran Nue Dae __NOTOC__ ''Bran Nue Dae'' is a 1990 musical set in Broome, Western Australia, that tells stories and of issues relating to Indigenous Australians. It was written by Jimmy Chi and his band Kuckles and friends, and was the first Aboriginal Aust ...

'' (2009), and '' Last Cab to Darwin'' (2015), for which she was nominated for the

AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role The AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role is an award presented by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The AACTA is a non-profit organisation, whose aim is to "identify, award, promote, and celebrate Australi ...

Early life and education

Ningali Josie Lawford was born in 1967 on Christmas Creek Station, a

cattle station In Australia and New Zealand, a cattle station is a large farm ( station is equivalent to the American ranch), the main activity of which is the rearing of cattle. The owner of a cattle station is called a '' grazier''. The largest cattle stati ...

in Wangkatjungka, near Fitzroy Crossing in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, where her father, a stockman, and mother, a

domestic Domestic may refer to: In the home * Anything relating to the human home or family ** A domestic animal, one that has undergone domestication ** A domestic appliance, or home appliance ** A domestic partnership ** Domestic science, sometimes cal ...

, worked. She was a member of the Walmadjari (Tjiwaling) people, and of the Wangkatjunga language group. After attending Kewdale Senior High School 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 ...

, she spent a year in

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the List of cities in Alaska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of ...

, on an American Field Scholarship. Lawford trained in dance at 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 ...

(AIDT) in

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 ...

Career

After leaving AIDT, Lawford started to dance at

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 ...

. She later became a cultural consultant and voice artist for various productions at the company, and was a guest performer on two productions in 2002. Lawford made her acting debut in the musical ''

'', which premiered in Perth in 1990. She later appeared in the 2009 film version. In 1994, Lawford premiered her one-woman show, ''Ningali'', in Perth. It was co-written by stage directors

Robyn Archer Robyn Archer, AO, CdOAL (born 1948) is an Australian singer, writer, stage director, artistic director, and public advocate of the arts, in Australia and internationally. Biography Archer was born Robyn Smith in Prospect, South Australi ...

and Angela Chaplin, whom she had met the previous year. The show toured internationally and won the Fringe First Award for Best New Production at the 1995

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

and the 1996 Green Room Award for Best Actress in a One Woman Show. Other theatre roles included ''Aliwa'' for Company B Belvoir (2001), ''

Uncle Vanya ''Uncle Vanya'' ( rus, Дя́дя Ва́ня, r=Dyádya Ványa, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈvanʲə) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897, and first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre, directed by Konstan ...

'' (2005) and '' Jandamarra'' (2008) both for

Black Swan 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, Western Australia, Perth at the State Theatre Centre of Western A ...

. In 2000, the satirical comedy ''Black and Tran'' premiered at the Melbourne Comedy Festival. It was a collaboration between Lawford and Vietnamese comedian Hung Le. It addressed "the issue of racial discrimination by ridiculing the stereotypes of Aboriginal and Vietnamese cultures". Lawford played Maude, the mother of protagonist Molly, in the 2002 film '' Rabbit-Proof Fence''. In 2015, Lawford played the role of Polly in the film '' Last Cab to Darwin'', for which she received an AACTA Award nomination for

Best Actress in a Leading Role Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporatio ...

. In 2017, Lawford voiced the character of Nanna on the

National Indigenous Television National Indigenous Television (NITV) is an Australian free-to-air television channel that broadcasts programming produced and presented largely by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It includes the six-day-a-week ''NITV News Updat ...

(NITV) animated series '' Little J & Big Cuz'', which features Indigenous Australian characters. Lawford was involved in the development of ''

The Secret River ''The Secret River'' is a 2005 historical novel by Kate Grenville about an early 19th-century Englishman transported to Australia for theft. The story explores what might have happened when Europeans colonised land already inhabited by Aborigi ...

'' at the

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 ...

, narrating its return Sydney season and national tour in 2016,

Adelaide Festival The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...

performances in 2018 and

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...

performances in 2019.

Personal life

Lawford had five children and two grandchildren. She moved to Kalbarri later in her career to pursue a break away from being an actress and to also spend more time raising her children before returning to film. Actor and musician Mark Coles Smith reported on ''Take 5'' (a show hosted by Zan Rowe on ABC Television) that Lawford was his grandmother. He reported that, sometime when dancing with Bangarra in Sydney, she had a three-month relationship with

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

, who wanted her to return to Berlin with him, but she refused.

Death

Lawford died of complications following a severe

asthma attack Asthma is a common chronic (medicine), long-term inflammation, inflammatory disease of the bronchiole, airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible Airway obstruction, airflow obstruction, and easi ...

while in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Scotland, during the 2019

tour of ''

'', aged 52.

Acting credits

Film

Stage

Television

Awards and nominations

Lawford won awards for her one-woman theatre show ''Ningali'', and for ''Aliwa'', ''

'' and ''Jandamarra''.

Footnotes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawford, Ningali 1967 births 2019 deaths 20th-century Australian actresses 21st-century Australian actresses Actresses from Western Australia Australian film actresses Australian stage actresses Australian television actresses Deaths from asthma Indigenous Australian actresses Indigenous Australians from Western Australia Indigenous Australian dancers