Sigrid Madeline Thornton (born 12 February 1959) is an Australian film and television actress. Her television work includes ''

Prisoner A prisoner, also known as an inmate or detainee, is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement or captivity in a prison or physical restraint. The term usually applies to one serving a Sentence (law), se ...

'' (1979–80), '' All the Rivers Run'' (1983), '' SeaChange'' (1998–2019) and '' Wentworth'' (2016–2018). She also starred in the American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

series ''

Paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...

'' (1988–1991). Her film appearances include '' Snapshot'' (1979), '' The Man from Snowy River'' (1982), '' Street Hero'' (1984) and '' Face to Face'' (2011). She won the AACTA Award for Best Guest or Supporting Actress in a Television Drama for the 2015 miniseries '' Peter Allen: Not the Boy Next Door''.

Biography

Early years

Thornton was born in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

, the daughter of

Merle Merle may refer to: People and fictional characters *Merle (given name), a list of men, women and fictional characters *Merle (surname), a list of people Others *Merle (dog coat), a pattern in dogs’ coats *Merle (grape), another name for the w ...

, an academic and writer, and Neil Thornton, an academic. She was raised in Brisbane, attending St. Peter's Lutheran College. For two years, she lived in London, where she was a member of the Unicorn Theatre. Back in Brisbane she attended Twelfth Night Theatre Junior Workshop and in 1970, during the Captain Cook Bicentenary Celebrations, Thornton appeared before

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

as ''Rosa Campbell-Praed'' in ''Looking Glass on Yesterday''. Thornton was a student of noted theatre director, Joan Whalley.

Career

She acted in TV series ''

Homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...

'' in 1973 and ''

Division 4 ''Division 4'' is an Australian television police drama series broadcast by the Nine Network and created by Crawford Productions airing between 1969 and 1975 for 301 episodes. Synopsis The series was one of the first to follow up on the enor ...

'' in 1975. She also appeared on The Sullivans, as Elizabeth "Buffy" Turnbull. In 1977, Thornton made her film debut as Wendy in '' The FJ Holden'' directed by Michael Thornhill, and in the same year as Maria in the film adaptation of Henry Handel Richardson's colonial Australian novel, '' The Getting of Wisdom'' (1977) directed by

Bruce Beresford Bruce Beresford (; born 16 August 1940) is an Australian film director, opera director, screenwriter, and producer. He began his career during the Australian New Wave, and has made more than 30 feature films over a 50-year career, both locally ...

. In 1978, Thornton appeared in the Australian television sequel of the British comedy series '' Father, Dear Father in Australia'' and '' Cop Shop'',. The same year she played Angela in the film '' Snapshot'' (aka ''The Day After Halloween'') directed by

Simon Wincer Simon Wincer (born 1943) is an Australian film and television director best known for the miniseries ''Lonesome Dove (miniseries), Lonesome Dove'' and the film ''Free Willy''. He attended Cranbrook School, Sydney, Cranbrook School, Sydney, from ...

, for which role she was nominated for Australian Film Awards Best Actress in a Feature Film in 1979. In 1980, she appeared as Roslyn Coulson in the Australian television drama ''

'' (known overseas as ''Prisoner: Cell Block H''). Thornton starred in 1981 in '' Duet for Four''. In 1982, she took on the roles of ''Jessica Harrison'' in the films '' The Man from Snowy River'' and its sequel in 1988 '' The Man from Snowy River II''. In 1983, she marked an appearance in '' Street Hero''. She starred in 1983's miniseries '' All the Rivers Run''. 1986 saw her in '' The Lighthorsemen'', the TV adaptation of Nevil Shute's novel '' The Far Country'', '' Great Expectations: The Untold Story'' and ''Slate, Wyn & Me''. From 1988 to 1991, she appeared as Amelia Lawson in the American television drama series ''

''. Syndication of ''All the Rivers Run'' and ''The Man from Snowy River'' and ''The Man from Snowy River II'' brought her to a wider international audience. In 1991, she starred in '' Over the Hill'' directed by George T. Miller and in 1996, ''Love in Ambush'' directed by Carl Shultz. She starred as ''Laura Joy Gibson'' in the Australian television series '' SeaChange'' from 1998 to 2000, winning the Most Outstanding Actress award in 1999 and 2000.

Stage highlights

Thornton's stage performances include a 2002/03 touring production of '' The Blue Room'' directed by Simon Phillips for the

Melbourne Theatre Company The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre com ...

opposite Marcus Graham. In 2009 she made her debut with

Opera Australia Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, New South Wales, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with t ...

in its production at Melbourne's Arts Centre as Desiree Armfeldt in Sondheim and Wheeler's '' A Little Night Music'', directed by Stuart Maunder. In 2014, she won critical acclaim for her portrayal of

Blanche DuBois Blanche DuBois (married name Grey) is a fictional character in Tennessee Williams' 1947 Pulitzer Prize-winning play ''A Streetcar Named Desire''. The character was written for Tallulah Bankhead and made popular to later audiences with Elia Kaza ...

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three ...

' play ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pe ...

'' for the Black Swan State Theatre Company in Perth. In 2015, she appeared in the premiere of Stephen Beckett's play ''Diary of a Nobody'', inspired by the 1892 novel '' The Diary of a Nobody'', at the Princess Theatre, Launceston, Tasmania. The same year, Thornton played the part of Golde in ''

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and musical theatre#Book musicals, book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Russian Empire, Imperial Russia in or around 19 ...

'' at the Princess Theatre, Melbourne. As of September 2022 Sigrid made her stage debut for 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 ...

in the premiere stage play '' The Lifespan of a Fact'' to rave reviews and in 2023 returns to the stage for Anton Chekhov's ''

The Seagull ''The Seagull'' () is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 in literature, 1895 and first produced in 1896 in literature#Drama, 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramati ...

'' for the

. On 11 September 2024, Thornton was named for the 2025 season for the Melbourne Theatre Co play ''Mother Play.''

Recent film and television work

In 2002, Thornton starred in Australian thriller ''The Pact'', directed by Strathford Hamilton, written by Hugh O'Brien. In 2003, Thornton appeared in ''Mittens'' directed by Emma Freeman. In 2004, she played a

geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic process ...

in a four-episode arc on '' MDA''. She shaved her head for her role in the 2005 telemovie '' Little Oberon''. Thornton hosted 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 ...

's ''

What's Good For You ''What's Good For You'' is a Logie Award-winning Australian health and lifestyle television program that airs on the Nine Network. It investigates myths and fables concerning health and well-being. Examples of myths investigated include "Does ch ...

''. In 2010, she appeared in '' Underbelly: The Golden Mile'' as recurring character Geraldine "Gerry" Lloyd, an

Australian Federal Police The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the principal Federal police, federal law enforcement agency of the Australian Government responsible for investigating Crime in Australia, crime and protecting the national security of the Commonwealth ...

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

and investigator for the Wood Royal Commission. In 2011, Thornton starred in '' Face to Face'', an independent Australian film directed by

Michael Rymer Michael Rymer (born March 1963 in Melbourne) is an Australian television and film director, best known for his work on the re-imagined ''Battlestar Galactica (reimagining), Battlestar Galactica'' TV series, for which he directed Battlestar Galact ...

. In 2012, she participated in ''

Who Do You Think You Are Who Do You Think You Are may refer to: Television series * ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' (British TV series), a genealogy documentary with many adaptations: ** ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' (American TV series) ** ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' ...

.'' In 2016, Thornton appeared in the fourth season of

SoHo SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

drama series '' Wentworth'' for seven episodes as a special guest star. She portrayed the character of Sonia Stevens (initially played by Tina Bursill in ''Prisoner''), a woman on remand for the suspected murder of her best friend. Thornton returned for season 5 of ''Wentworth'' as a main cast member and served as the main antagonist in season 6, until her characters death in episode 7, "The Edge". In 2018, she appeared in '' Anh's Brush with Fame''. In 2021 Thornton would film the feature film Slant and critics praised Thornton's role as 'career best'. On 26 January 2025, it was announced that Thornton would be a contestant in the 2025 season of ''I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!''.

The "Sigrid Factor"

In his book ''The Big Shift'', about changing Australian demographics and culture, Bernard Salt coined the term the "Sigrid factor" pointing out that Australian towns in which movies had been made featuring Thornton had prospered since that time. More broadly he referred to changing Australian cultural values which were well reflected in the types of places in which Sigrid Thornton had acted: the Riverland during the 1980s '' All the Rivers Run'' and the coast in the 2000s '' SeaChange''.

Personal life and advocacy

Thornton is married to actor Tom Burstall and has two children. She is known for her work with World Vision, the

Royal Children's Hospital The Royal Children's Hospital (RCH), colloquially referred to as the Royal Children's, is a major children's hospital in Parkville, Victoria, Parkville, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Regarded as one of the great C ...

Vision Australia Vision Australia is a not-for-profit organization that acts as Australia's largest provider of services for blind or low vision people. Background Vision Australia was created in 2004 through the merger of the Royal Blind Society (RBS), the ...

, Reach Foundation and other charitable causes. She has lobbied successive governments to keep libraries open and to resource the Australian film and television industry. She has been appointed to several federal and state film bodies, including

Film Victoria VicScreen, formerly known as Film Victoria, is the Victoria State Government's creative and economic screen development agency. It supports screen industry professionals, infrastructure, projects and events, promoting the state of Victoria as ...

and is involved in helping to sustain and develop the industry. In 2023 Thornton received a star on the Randwick Walk of Fame. In August 2024, Thornton's mother Merle Thornton died aged 93. Merle was a well known activist whom Sigrid looked up to. Sigrid said of her mother's passing that she was proud of her mother and everything she achieved. In 2025, while appearing on ''I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'', Thornton revealed that she had been diagnosed with ADHD, Thornton saying that it provided clarity. On 11 February 2025, Thornton had been eliminated from the jungle alongside Tina Provis. Thornton held the record of 33 minutes in the Viper Room surrounded by 170 snakes.

Filmography

Film

Television

Other appearances

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

Notes Sources * *

External links

* * * *Sigrid Thornton o
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton, Sigrid 1959 births 20th-century Australian actresses 21st-century Australian actresses Actresses from Brisbane Actresses from Canberra Australian film actresses Australian soap opera actresses Australian stage actresses Officers of the Order of Australia Living people Logie Award winners People educated at St Peters Lutheran College People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder