Rarriwuy Hick (born ) is 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 ...

award-winning actress, known for her roles in the television series ''

Redfern Now ''Redfern Now'' is an Australian drama television series featuring the lives of Aboriginal Australian families living in Redfern, New South Wales, Redfern, Sydney, that first aired on ABC1 in 2012. A second season followed in 2013, and the ser ...

'', '' Cleverman'', '' Wentworth'' and '' True Colours''.

Early life and education

Hick was born around 1991 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 ...

, Australia. She grew up in both the suburb of Lilyfield, and in Dhalinybuy, an Aboriginal community in

Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territorial capital, Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compa ...

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

. She was raised speaking Yolŋu Matha and other

Aboriginal Australian languages The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...

before learning English, and speaks seven dialects. Her mother, Janet Munyarryun, a

Yolngu The Yolngu or Yolŋu ( or ) are an aggregation of Aboriginal Australian people inhabiting north-eastern Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. ''Yolngu'' means "person" in the Yolŋu languages. The terms Murngin, Wulamba, Yalnuma ...

woman, was a founding member of

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 ...

. Throughout her education, Hick was inspired by her mother to pursue dance and the arts. She attended a Catholic girls high school and showed sufficient interest in dance to establish a troupe. In 2009, she commenced studies at the National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA) Dance College,. She was asked to audition for the Aboriginal-produced play ''Wrong Skin'', and was successful, performing on the tour while studying.

Acting career

Hick starred in two episodes of the television series ''

'' (2012–2013), and as ongoing character of Ruby Mitchell in Wentworth making her first appearance for series 6, Hick would reprise the role of Ruby Mitchell when the show was renewed for its eighth and final season.' In 2022 she played the lead role as detective Toni Alma, returning to her home town in

Central Australia Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as the Red Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre of Australia. In its narrowest sense it describes a region that is limited to the town of Alice Springs and ...

after living most of her life away from it, in the television

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 ...

'' True Colours''. One reviewer called her performance "career-best". In 2023, Hick appeared 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 ...

'' in the role of Elandra Hudson. Hick also appeared in SBS drama '' Erotic Stories. In 2024, Hick was named as part of the cast for upcoming feature film ''Kangaroo.'' On 21 November 2024, Hick was named as part of the cast for the second season of the ABC drama ''Mystery Road: Origin.''

Dance and theatre

She established the dance group Yapa Mala and led its choreography. In 2011, she starred in the theatre play ''Bloodland''. In 2016, Hick starred in a revival of the

Louis Nowra Mark Doyle, better known by his stage name Louis Nowra, (born 12 December 1950) is an Australian writer, playwright, screenwriter and librettist. He is best known as one of Australia's leading playwrights. His works have been performed by all o ...

play '' The Golden Age'' by 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 ...

and her performance and dance received praise.

Other activities

Hick was living in Arnhem Land at the time of the 2007

Northern Territory National Emergency Response The Northern Territory National Emergency Response, also known as "The Intervention" or the Northern Territory Intervention, and sometimes the abbreviation "NTER" (for Northern Territory Emergency Response) was a package of measures enforced by ...

. She later remarked that the intervention was not having an effect on child abuse like intended and instead that her family's lives and finances were being "completely controlled by the government". In May 2013, Hick and other actors from theatre production ''The Shadow King'' in

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 ...

were refused taxi rides by several drivers who reportedly drove off after observing that the group members were of Indigenous appearance. In 2018, Hick started a social media campaign using the

hashtag A hashtag is a metadata tag operator that is prefaced by the hash symbol, ''#''. On social media, hashtags are used on microblogging and photo-sharing services–especially Twitter and Tumblr–as a form of user-generated tagging that enable ...

#ourkidsbelongwithfamilies, which became a "rallying cry" of Indigenous Australians fighting to maintain their families together against removals and resettlement of children by authorities.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Nominations

References

External links

* * * , July 2011 * Rarriwuy Hick o
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hick, Rarriwuy Living people 1990s births 21st-century Australian actresses Australian film actresses Australian people of English descent Australian stage actresses Australian television actresses Indigenous Australian actresses Yolngu people