Tara Morice (born 23 June 1964) is an Australian actress, singer and dancer.

Background

Born in

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, Morice also lived 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 ...

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

and

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

as a child, attending seven different schools. She is a fifth-generation Australian and is of English, Irish, Scottish, Latvian and French ancestry. She appeared in a short film for the

Tasmanian Film Corporation The Tasmanian Film Corporation was a Tasmanian statutory corporation founded in 1977 to replace the Tasmanian Government Department of Film Production. However, following a brief period of success it was privatised by Premier Robin Gray in 1983 an ...

in 1980, ''The ABC of Unions''. She made her stage debut at Australia's oldest theatre, the Theatre Royal in Hobart in '' The Diary of Anne Frank'', aged 16. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Australian History and English from the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

and graduated from the

National Institute of Dramatic Art The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, it offers bachelor's, master's and vocational degrees in subjects including acting ...

in 1987.

Career

She has worked extensively on stage in Australia, including productions 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 ...

, Bell Shakespeare Company,

Griffin Theatre Company Griffin Theatre Company is an Australian theatre specialising in new works, based in Sydney. Founded in 1979, it is the resident theatre company at the Stables Theatre in Kings Cross. the artistic director is Declan Greene. Artistic directors ...

, Belvoir Theatre Company,

State Theatre Company of South Australia The State Theatre Company of South Australia (STCSA), branded State Theatre Company South Australia, formerly the South Australian Theatre Company (SATC), is South Australia's leading professional theatre company, and a statutory corporation. It ...

Queensland Theatre Company Queensland Theatre, formerly the Queensland Theatre Company and Royal Queensland Theatre Company, is a professional theatre company based in Brisbane, Australia. It regularly performs in its own Bille Brown Theatre and the Queensland Performin ...

Malthouse A malt house, malt barn, or maltings, is a building where cereal grain is converted into malt by soaking it in water, allowing it to sprout and then drying it to stop further growth. The malt is used in brewing beer, whisky and in certain foo ...

and the Ensemble. Tara played Fran in ''

Strictly Ballroom ''Strictly Ballroom'' is a 1992 Australian romantic comedy film directed and co-written by Baz Luhrmann in his feature directorial debut. The film is the first in his '' Red Curtain Trilogy'' of theatre-motif-related films; it was followed by 1 ...

'' when it premiered as a stage play in 1988, and she was a member of

Baz Luhrmann Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann (born 17 September 1962) is an Australian film director, producer, writer, and actor whose various projects extend from film and television into opera, theatre, music, and the recording industries. He is regarded by ...

's 'Six Years Old' Company. For her work in musical theatre, she has been nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for ''Fat Swan'' at the 2012

Helpmann Awards The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001. The annual awards recognise achievements in the disciplines of musical theatre ...

and a Victorian Green Room Award for ''

The Venetian Twins ''The Venetian Twins'' (, or "The two Venetian twins") is a 1747 play by Carlo Goldoni, based on Plautus's ''Menaechmi''. It was performed by Il Teatro Stabile of Genoa at the 1965 Edinburgh International Festival, directed by Luigi Squarzina ...

''. Her first film appearance was as Fran in the 1992 film ''

'' (directed by

), for which she was nominated for a

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

award for Best Actress in a Leading Role and an

Australian Film Institute The Australian Film Institute (AFI) was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Cinema of Australia, Australian film indu ...

award. Morice also appeared on the film's soundtrack, singing a duet of '' Time After Time'' with Mark Williams. Morice has also appeared in the feature films '' Metal Skin'', '' Hotel Sorrento'', ''Hildegarde'', ''

Moulin Rouge! ''Moulin Rouge!'' (, ) is a 2001 jukebox musical romantic drama film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. It follows an English poet, Christian, who falls in love with the star of the Moulin Rouge, cabaret actress and courtesan ...

'', ''

Candy Candy, alternatively called sweets or lollies, is a Confectionery, confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, also called ''sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, including chocolate, chewing gum ...

'', '' Razzle Dazzle: A Journey Into Dance'', ''

Oranges and Sunshine ''Oranges and Sunshine'' is a 2010 biographical drama film directed by Jim Loach, in his directorial debut, with a screenplay by Rona Munro, based on the 1994 book ''Empty Cradles'' by Margaret Humphreys. The film stars Emily Watson, Hugo Weav ...

'', '' Dance Academy: The Movie'', '' Peter Rabbit 2'' and ''The Moogai''. Her many short films include the Oscar nominated ''Miracle Fish''. Her television work includes roles in '' Answered by Fire'', '' After the Deluge'', '' Salem's Lot'' and ''

McLeod's Daughters ''McLeod's Daughters'' is an Australian drama television series created by Posie Graeme-Evans and Caroline Stanton for the Nine Network, which aired from 8 August 2001, to 31 January 2009, lasting eight seasons. It stars Lisa Chappell and ...

''. Morice had a starring role in the series of three '' Dogwoman'' telemovies with

Magda Szubanski Magdalene Mary Therese Szubanski ( ; born 12 April 1961) is an Australian comedy actress, author, singer and LGBT rights advocate. She performed in '' Fast Forward'', '' Kath & Kim'' as Sharon Strzelecki and in the films '' Babe'' (1995) and ...

in 2000. She also plays ''Miss Raine'' in Series 1, 2 and 3 of ''

Dance Academy ''Dance Academy'' is an Australian teen drama television series produced by Werner Film Productions in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and ZDF. Series one premiered on 31 May 2010, and series two began airing on 12 Ma ...

'' for

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

ZDF ZDF (), short for (; ), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany ( ...

. She wrote and directed the documentary ''My Biggest Fan'', about her correspondence and friendship with an American great-grandmother, Mildred Levine, who wrote to her after seeing ''

''. The film premiered at the

Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it t ...

, and was broadcast on the SBS network in Australia in 2008. She re-recorded '' Time After Time'' for Baz Luhrmann's album ''

Something for Everybody ''Something for Everybody'' is the sixth studio album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released on RCA Victor in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 2370, in May 1961. Recording sessions took place on November 8, 1960, at Radio Recorders i ...

'' and sang on the ''

'', '' Razzle Dazzle: A Journey Into Dance'' and ''My Biggest Fan'' soundtracks. Tara played Shell in the premiere of the Australian musical '' The Deb'' at the Rebel Theatre in Sydney 2022. She then appeared in the feature film version directed by

Rebel Wilson Rebel Melanie Elizabeth Wilson (born Melanie Elizabeth Bownds; 2 March 1980) is an Australian actress, comedian and producer. After graduating from the Australian Theatre for Young People in 2003, Wilson began appearing in the SBS comedy ser ...

, the World Premiere of which was held at the 2024

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

. In 2024 Morice was named in the cast for Stan Australia feature film '' Nugget is Dead.'' Morice was also named in the extended cast for ABC series ''Return to Paradise''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morice, Tara 1964 births Living people Actresses from Hobart Australian film actresses Australian television actresses Australian National University alumni National Institute of Dramatic Art alumni Australian children's television presenters Australian women television presenters