Deborra-Lee Furness
Encyclopedia
Biography
Furness attended Methodist Ladies' College, MelbourneMethodist Ladies' College, Melbourne
Methodist Ladies' College is an independent, non-selective, day and boarding school for girls, located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...
where she graduated in 1973. She subsequently graduated at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts
American Academy of Dramatic Arts
The American Academy of Dramatic Arts is a fully accredited two-year conservatory with facilities located in Manhattan, New York City – at 120 Madison Avenue, in a landmark building designed by noted architect Stanford White as the original Colony Club – and in Hollywood, California...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in 1981.
In 2005 she co-founded The Rafiki Society in Vancouver, which is operational in assisting orphanages in Africa.
Furness is the Founder and Patron of National Adoption Awareness Week in Australia.
Furness is Patron of the Lighthouse Foundation for displaced children in Melbourne Australia, Patron of the Bone Marrow Donor Institute for children with leukemia, and Patron of International Adoption Families for Queensland. She is also on the Advisory Committee for Film Aid International, working with refugees throughout the world.
As a World Vision ambassador Furness recently travelled to Cambodia and Ethiopia to assist with raising awareness and funds.
Furness is Executive Director for the Worldwide Orphans Foundation Australia and was recently honoured at the Worldwide Orphans Gala in New York City for all her work in advocacy for vulnerable children. She is an adoptive mother of two.
Furness appeared on Australian television on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation afternoon program "National Press Club Address" on Wednesday, 9 November, 2011. Her address to the press club was about adopting children. She also appeared Australian television on the Channel Ten evening program "The Project" on Thursday, 10 November, 2011, also with regard to adoption laws in Australia.
Personal life
She is married to fellow actor Hugh JackmanHugh Jackman
Hugh Michael Jackman is an Australian actor and producer who is involved in film, musical theatre, and television.Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as action/superhero, period and romance characters...
; the ceremony took place on 11 April 1996. They met on the set of Australian TV show Correlli. After suffering two miscarriages, she and Jackman adopted two children; son, Oscar Maximillian (born 15 May 2000) and daughter, Ava Eliot (born 10 July 2005).
Filmography
- 1979: PrisonerPrisoner (TV series)Prisoner is an Australian television soap opera which was set in the Wentworth Detention Centre, a fictional women's prison. The series was produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation and ran on Network Ten for 692 episodes from 27 February 1979 to 11 December 1986.The series was inspired by the 1970s...
as Connie - 1985: NeighboursNeighboursNeighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
as Linda - 1985: The Flying DoctorsThe Flying DoctorsThe Flying Doctors is an Australian drama series produced by Crawford Productions that revolved around the everyday lifesaving efforts of the real Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia....
as Fran - 1988: ShameShame (1988 film)Shame is a 1988 Australian Film directed by Steve Jodrell and starring Deborra-Lee Furness as 'Asta', for which she won both the 1988 FCCA 'Best Actor' and Golden Space Needle 'Best Actress' awards; as well as the FCCA awarding 'Best Screenplay' to both Beverley Blankenship and Michael Brindley.-...
as Asta Cadell - 1991: The VoyagerThe VoyagerVoyager is a 1991 English language drama film directed by Volker Schlöndorff, and starring Sam Shepard, Julie Delpy, and Barbara Sukowa. Adapted from the 1957 novel Homo Faber by Max Frisch, the film is about an engineer who survives a plane crash, meets an enchanting young woman with whom he has...
as Ivy - 1991: Waiting as Diane
- 1992: NewsiesNewsiesNewsies is a 1992 Disney musical film starring Christian Bale, David Moscow, and Bill Pullman. Robert Duvall and Ann-Margret also appeared in supporting roles. The movie is widely claimed to have gained a cult following after its initial failure at the box office...
as Esther Jacobs - 1993: Singapore Sling as Annie
- 1993: StarkStark (TV miniseries)Stark is a 1993 British-Australian television miniseries, based on the bestselling novel Stark by comedian Ben Elton. The three-episode series, directed by Nadia Tass, was an international coproduction between the British Broadcasting Corporation and the Australian Broadcasting...
as Chrissie - 1994: Halifax f.p: The Feeding as Brigit Grant
- 1995: Fire as Dolores Kennedy
- 1995: Angel BabyAngel Baby (1995 film)Angel Baby is a 1995 Australian film written and directed by Michael Rymer, and starring John Lynch, Jacqueline McKenzie and Colin Friels. This film was taped in 1993-94....
as Loisee Golman - 1995: CorrelliCorrelliCorrelli was an Australian television series first broadcast by ABC TV in 1995. It starred Deborra-Lee Furness as prison psychologist Louisa Correlli. The series also featured her future husband Hugh Jackman in one of his earliest roles. The first episode entitled "The Rat Tamer" has been released...
as Louisa Correlli - 1998: The Real Macaw as Beth Girdis
- 2000: SeaChange (Episode Hung Jury) as Vicki Drury
- 2006: JindabyneJindabyne (film)Jindabyne is a 2006 Australian drama film by director Ray Lawrence and starring an ensemble cast including Gabriel Byrne, Laura Linney, Deborra-Lee Furness and John Howard. Jindabyne was filmed entirely on location in and around the town of the same name: Jindabyne, New South Wales, situated next...
as Jude - 2008: Sleepwalking as Danni
- 2009: BeautifulBeautiful (2009 film)Beautiful is a 2009 Australian independent film, written and directed by Dean O'Flaherty, which was released by Adelaide-based Kojo Pictures on 5 March 2009. The film marked the feature filmmaking debut of both O'Flaherty and Kojo Pictures...
as Mrs Thomson - 2009: BlessedBlessed (2009 film)Blessed is a 2009 drama film. It was released in Australia on 10 September 2009. It stars Miranda Otto and Frances O'Connor. It is a film adaptation of the play Who's Afraid of the Working Class?....
- 2010: Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (voice only) as Barran
- 2010: This is your Life as herself
External links
- National Adoption Awareness Week
- World Wide Orphans Foundation
- Deborra-Lee Furness at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- Deborra-Lee Furness appreciation at Australian blog Stale Popcorn