Elizabeth Alexander
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Alexander is an Australian actress with a number of high profile credits in film, television and theatre.
, South Australia, but now lives in Sydney. She attended All Hallows' School
in Brisbane
. She was married to actor George Spartels
from 1984 to 2006 and has two daughters. She currently works at Queenwood School for Girls as a dramatic arts teacher.
series Seven Little Australians
. Allegedly the producers had all but given up on the show, because they did not feel that they had found a suitable actress for the part, until they discovered Elizabeth Alexander. She was actually younger than actress Barbara Llewellyn, who played her stepdaughter Meg in the series, but producers felt that they were both convincing in their roles.
The ten-part series delivered huge ratings when it was broadcast in 1973, and was also the first ABC series to enjoy international acclaim. It went on to win three AFI Awards
and four Penguins, including best drama series and a Logie Award
for Best New Talent for Elizabeth Alexander as the sweet-tempered Esther. The series is now available on DVD.
She had a recurring guest role in the high rating Australian medical drama All Saints
as the viper-like Dr. Alison Newell, ex-wife of Dr. Frank Campion, played by John Howard
. She was not initially written as his ex-wife, as her character appeared before Howard joined the cast. Apparently, it was the sharp onscreen dynamic between Alexander and Howard in their early scenes together that made the writers decide to write this history into Alexander’s character.
Other television credits include: Home and Away
, Silent Number, Special Squad
, Chopper Squad
, Farscape
, Murder Call
, Seven Deadly Sins (Pride), Salem's Lot and Time Trax
, a science fiction series in which she starred as a computer hologram alongside Dale Midkiff
.
Her film work includes: the lead role in The Killing of Angel Street
(which won an award at the Berlin Film Festival) opposite John Hargreaves, The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
, Summerfield
with Nick Tate
and John Waters
, Sebastian and the Sparrow and The Journalist with Sam Neill
. 2010 saw her appear in a thriller called The Clinic and in 2011 she will make an appearance in Fred Schepisi's "In the Eye of the Storm".
Her theatre credits are also numerous and include: Hermione in The Winter's Tale
, Portia in The Merchant of Venice
for which she received glowing reviews, Martha in the Sydney Theatre Company
’s production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
for which she again received extremely positive reviews, Kate in another STC production of Harold Pinter
’s Old Times
and many more. She also played Margaret Mead
in David Williamson
’s play Heretic
. The play, based on the life and work of anthropologist Margaret Mead, was the subject of much debate and controversy due to the very public row between the writer, Williamson, and the director Wayne Harrison
over the play’s production.
She has also directed a number of plays and written several screenplays, including a short film titled Memento (which was sold to Village Roadshow) which she also directed, about the emotional problems caused by the return of a father to his family, a young boy and his mother. She also directed a feature film, A Spy in the Family. Alongside this she also does voiceover work.
Personal life
She was born in AdelaideAdelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, South Australia, but now lives in Sydney. She attended All Hallows' School
All Hallows' School
All Hallows' School is a Catholic day school for girls, located close to the central business district of Brisbane, Queensland.Founded in 1861, the school follows in the tradition of the Irish Sisters of Mercy, and caters for over 1,300 girls from years five to 12...
in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
. She was married to actor George Spartels
George Spartels
George Spartels is an Australian actor of Greek descent, who is best known for his role on the television soap opera Neighbours, playing Benito Alessi. He was married to actress Elizabeth Alexander....
from 1984 to 2006 and has two daughters. She currently works at Queenwood School for Girls as a dramatic arts teacher.
Career
Her acting career began early with a part in the series Bellbird in 1967. However, it was straight from graduating at National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) that she got her big break with the part of Esther Wolcott in the ABCAustralian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
series Seven Little Australians
Seven Little Australians
Seven Little Australians is a classic Australian children's novel by Ethel Turner. Set mainly in Sydney in the 1880s, it relates the adventures of the seven mischievous Woolcot children, their stern army father Captain Woolcot and flighty stepmother Esther.In 1994 the novel was the only book by an...
. Allegedly the producers had all but given up on the show, because they did not feel that they had found a suitable actress for the part, until they discovered Elizabeth Alexander. She was actually younger than actress Barbara Llewellyn, who played her stepdaughter Meg in the series, but producers felt that they were both convincing in their roles.
The ten-part series delivered huge ratings when it was broadcast in 1973, and was also the first ABC series to enjoy international acclaim. It went on to win three AFI Awards
Australian Film Institute Awards
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award, known as the AACTA Award , is an accolade presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts . The awards recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry and television industry, including directors,...
and four Penguins, including best drama series and a Logie Award
Logie Award
The TV Week Logie Awards are the Australian television industry awards, which have been presented annually since 1959. Renamed by Graham Kennedy in 1960 after he won the first 'Star Of The Year' award, the name 'Logie' awards honours John Logie Baird, a Scotsman who invented the television as a...
for Best New Talent for Elizabeth Alexander as the sweet-tempered Esther. The series is now available on DVD.
She had a recurring guest role in the high rating Australian medical drama All Saints
All Saints (TV series)
All Saints is an Australian medical drama which first screened on the Seven Network. The series debuted on 24 February 1998 and concluded its run on 27 October 2009...
as the viper-like Dr. Alison Newell, ex-wife of Dr. Frank Campion, played by John Howard
John Howard (Australian actor)
John Howard is an Australian stage and screen actor. Howard is best known for his appearances in the film The Club, and the television series SeaChange, Always Greener, All Saints and Packed To The Rafters.-Film:Howard's first role was in 1978's My Boys Are Good Boys, in a minor role...
. She was not initially written as his ex-wife, as her character appeared before Howard joined the cast. Apparently, it was the sharp onscreen dynamic between Alexander and Howard in their early scenes together that made the writers decide to write this history into Alexander’s character.
Other television credits include: Home and Away
Home and Away
Home and Away is an Australian soap opera that has been produced in Sydney since July 1987 and is airing on the Seven Network since 17 January 1988. It is the second-longest-running drama and most popular soap opera on Australian television...
, Silent Number, Special Squad
Special Squad
Special Squad was an Australian television series made by Crawford Productions for the Ten Network in 1984.The series focused on an elite division of the Victoria Police, which handled crimes either too sensitive or specialist for regular squads. The Special Squad was headed by Det. Insp. Don...
, Chopper Squad
Chopper Squad
Chopper Squad is an Australian television series produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation for the 0-10 Network .The series was based around the work of a helicopter rescue team operating on Dee Why beach in Sydney...
, Farscape
Farscape
Farscape is an Australian-American science fiction television series filmed in Australia and produced originally for the Nine Network. The series was conceived by Rockne S. O'Bannon and produced by Jim Henson Productions and Hallmark Entertainment...
, Murder Call
Murder Call
Murder Call was an Australian television series, created by Hal McElroy for the Southern Star Entertainment and seen on the Nine Network between 1997 and 2000. The idea to the series was born by the books of Tessa Vance by Jennifer Rowe: Suspect/Deadline and Something Wicked...
, Seven Deadly Sins (Pride), Salem's Lot and Time Trax
Time Trax
Time Trax was an American/Australian co-produced science fiction television series that first aired in 1993. A police officer, sent through time into the past, has to track down and return convicted criminals who have escaped prison in the future...
, a science fiction series in which she starred as a computer hologram alongside Dale Midkiff
Dale Midkiff
Dale Alan Midkiff is an American actor.-Early life:Midkiff was born in Chance, Maryland, the son of Joyce and Thomas Midkiff. He attended Edgewood High School near Baltimore. His first acting experience came playing Jack in a production of Jack and the Beanstalk for a local children's theater. His...
.
Her film work includes: the lead role in The Killing of Angel Street
The Killing of Angel Street
The Killing of Angel Street is a 1981 Australian thriller film based on the real life disappearance of Juanita Nielson, an activist against mass development in Sydney in the late 1970s....
(which won an award at the Berlin Film Festival) opposite John Hargreaves, The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith is a 1972 Booker Prize-nominated novel by Thomas Keneally, and a 1978 Australian film of the same name directed by Fred Schepisi. The novel is based on the life of bushranger Jimmy Governor....
, Summerfield
Summerfield (film)
Summerfield is a 1977 Australian film, directed by Ken Hannam, written by Cliff Green and produced by Patricia Lovell . It stars Nick Tate, Elizabeth Alexander, John Waters, Charles 'Bud' Tingwell, Max Fairchild and Geraldine Turner...
with Nick Tate
Nick Tate
Nicholas John "Nick" Tate is an Australian actor best known for his role as Eagle pilot Alan Carter in both seasons of the 1970s science fiction television series Space: 1999, as well as for playing the role of Gordon Hamilton's errant brother James in the 1980's soap opera "Sons and...
and John Waters
John Waters (actor)
John Russell Waters is a film, theatre and television actor and musician best known in Australia, to where he moved in 1968...
, Sebastian and the Sparrow and The Journalist with Sam Neill
Sam Neill
Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill, DCNZM, OBE is a New Zealand actor. He is well known for his starring role as paleontologist Dr Alan Grant in Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III....
. 2010 saw her appear in a thriller called The Clinic and in 2011 she will make an appearance in Fred Schepisi's "In the Eye of the Storm".
Her theatre credits are also numerous and include: Hermione in The Winter's Tale
The Winter's Tale
The Winter's Tale is a play by William Shakespeare, originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, some modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some critics, among them W. W...
, Portia in The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...
for which she received glowing reviews, Martha in the Sydney Theatre Company
Sydney Theatre Company
The Sydney Theatre Company is one of Australia's best-known theatre companies operating from The Wharf Theatre near The Rocks area of Sydney, as well as the Sydney Theatre and the Sydney Opera House Drama Theatre....
’s production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a play by Edward Albee that opened on Broadway at the Billy Rose Theater on October 13, 1962. The original cast featured Uta Hagen as Martha, Arthur Hill as George, Melinda Dillon as Honey and George Grizzard as Nick. It was directed by Alan Schneider...
for which she again received extremely positive reviews, Kate in another STC production of Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
’s Old Times
Old Times
Old Times is a play by the Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter. It was first performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Aldwych Theatre in London on June 1, 1971. It starred Colin Blakely, Dorothy Tutin, and Vivien Merchant, and was directed by Peter Hall...
and many more. She also played Margaret Mead
Margaret Mead
Margaret Mead was an American cultural anthropologist, who was frequently a featured writer and speaker in the mass media throughout the 1960s and 1970s....
in David Williamson
David Williamson
David Keith Williamson AO is one of Australia's best-known playwrights. He has also written screenplays and teleplays.-Biography:...
’s play Heretic
Heretic (play)
Heretic is a 1996 play by Australian playwright David Williamson.The play explores Derek Freeman's reaction to Margaret Mead's Coming of Age in Samoa...
. The play, based on the life and work of anthropologist Margaret Mead, was the subject of much debate and controversy due to the very public row between the writer, Williamson, and the director Wayne Harrison
Wayne Harrison
Wayne Harrison was a child and teenage star performing on stage and television, including performing in J.C. Williamsons' musicals...
over the play’s production.
She has also directed a number of plays and written several screenplays, including a short film titled Memento (which was sold to Village Roadshow) which she also directed, about the emotional problems caused by the return of a father to his family, a young boy and his mother. She also directed a feature film, A Spy in the Family. Alongside this she also does voiceover work.
Quote
"If fame just means 540 people a night then that's what it is, for the time being. Next week it could be millions of people and the week after that it could be none. That's what life is, you have to accept what you choose to do"Television
- Home and AwayHome and AwayHome and Away is an Australian soap opera that has been produced in Sydney since July 1987 and is airing on the Seven Network since 17 January 1988. It is the second-longest-running drama and most popular soap opera on Australian television...
(2008–2009) (as Liz Alexander) – Christine Jones - All SaintsAll Saints (TV series)All Saints is an Australian medical drama which first screened on the Seven Network. The series debuted on 24 February 1998 and concluded its run on 27 October 2009...
(2003–2006) TV Series – Dr. Alison Newell - Salem's Lot (2004) (as Liz Alexander) – Ann Norton
- FarscapeFarscapeFarscape is an Australian-American science fiction television series filmed in Australia and produced originally for the Nine Network. The series was conceived by Rockne S. O'Bannon and produced by Jim Henson Productions and Hallmark Entertainment...
(2002) TV Episode – Vella - The Thing About Vince (2000) TV Mini-Series – Mrs. Rogers
- Hypersleep (1999) – Rojean Page
- The Lost World (1999) TV Episode – Mrs. Krux
- Murder CallMurder CallMurder Call was an Australian television series, created by Hal McElroy for the Southern Star Entertainment and seen on the Nine Network between 1997 and 2000. The idea to the series was born by the books of Tessa Vance by Jennifer Rowe: Suspect/Deadline and Something Wicked...
(1998) TV Episode – Hilary Windsor - Time TraxTime TraxTime Trax was an American/Australian co-produced science fiction television series that first aired in 1993. A police officer, sent through time into the past, has to track down and return convicted criminals who have escaped prison in the future...
(1993–1994) TV Series – Selma - Bonjour la Classe (1993) TV Episode – Nurse
- Seven Deadly Sins (1993) TV Mini-Series – Jill Pascoe
- Singles (1984) TV Mini-Series – Alison (Lead)
- Special SquadSpecial SquadSpecial Squad was an Australian television series made by Crawford Productions for the Ten Network in 1984.The series focused on an elite division of the Victoria Police, which handled crimes either too sensitive or specialist for regular squads. The Special Squad was headed by Det. Insp. Don...
(1984) TV Episode – Edith - GP TV Series – Carmen Gailey
- King's Men (1979) TV Episode
- Golden Soak (1979) TV Mini-Series – Janet Garrety (Co-Lead)
- Case for the Defence (1978) TV Episode – Jean
- Chopper SquadChopper SquadChopper Squad is an Australian television series produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation for the 0-10 Network .The series was based around the work of a helicopter rescue team operating on Dee Why beach in Sydney...
(1978) TV Episode – Francis Carter - Sporting Change TV Series – (Co-Lead)
- Ben Hall (1975) TV Series
- Behind the Legend TV Mini-Series – Elizabeth Kenny
- Silent NumberSilent numberIn telephony, a silent number, unlisted number , ex-directory number or private number is a telephone number that is intentionally not listed in telephone books....
(1974) TV Series – Jean Hamilton - Seven Little AustraliansSeven Little AustraliansSeven Little Australians is a classic Australian children's novel by Ethel Turner. Set mainly in Sydney in the 1880s, it relates the adventures of the seven mischievous Woolcot children, their stern army father Captain Woolcot and flighty stepmother Esther.In 1994 the novel was the only book by an...
(1973) TV Mini-Series – Esther Wolcott - Bellbird (1967) TV Series
Film
- The Eye of the StormThe Eye of the Storm (2011 film)The Eye of the Storm is an Australian drama film directed by Fred Schepisi. It is an adaptation of Patrick White's novel of the same name. It stars Geoffrey Rush, Charlotte Rampling and Judy Davis...
(2011) – Cherry Cheeseman - The ClinicThe Clinic (2010 film)The Clinic is a 2010 thriller film written and directed by James Rabbitts and was shot in Deniliquin, NSW, Australia. It is loosely inspired by true stories of infant abduction...
– Ms Shepard - Sebastian and the Sparrow (1988) – Jenny Thornbury
- Two Brothers Running (1988) – Barbara Borstein
- The Killing of Angel StreetThe Killing of Angel StreetThe Killing of Angel Street is a 1981 Australian thriller film based on the real life disappearance of Juanita Nielson, an activist against mass development in Sydney in the late 1970s....
(1981) – Jessica Simmonds (Lead) - One Last Chance
- The Coming (1981)
- Ride A Wild Pony (1979)
- The Journalist (1979) – Liz Corbett (Co-Lead)
- The Chant of Jimmie BlacksmithThe Chant of Jimmie BlacksmithThe Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith is a 1972 Booker Prize-nominated novel by Thomas Keneally, and a 1978 Australian film of the same name directed by Fred Schepisi. The novel is based on the life of bushranger Jimmy Governor....
(1978) – Petra Graf - The Scalp Merchant (1978) TV Film
- SummerfieldSummerfield (film)Summerfield is a 1977 Australian film, directed by Ken Hannam, written by Cliff Green and produced by Patricia Lovell . It stars Nick Tate, Elizabeth Alexander, John Waters, Charles 'Bud' Tingwell, Max Fairchild and Geraldine Turner...
(1977) – Jenny Abbott (Co-Lead)
Theatre
- The Great – Catherine The Great (Sydney Theatre CompanySydney Theatre CompanyThe Sydney Theatre Company is one of Australia's best-known theatre companies operating from The Wharf Theatre near The Rocks area of Sydney, as well as the Sydney Theatre and the Sydney Opera House Drama Theatre....
) 2008 http://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/greathttp://www.australianstage.com.au/reviews/sydney/the-great--sydney-theatre-company-1534.html - Old TimesOld TimesOld Times is a play by the Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter. It was first performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Aldwych Theatre in London on June 1, 1971. It starred Colin Blakely, Dorothy Tutin, and Vivien Merchant, and was directed by Peter Hall...
– Kate (STC) 2005 - HereticHeretic (play)Heretic is a 1996 play by Australian playwright David Williamson.The play explores Derek Freeman's reaction to Margaret Mead's Coming of Age in Samoa...
– Margaret Mead (STC) - Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? – Martha (STC)
- Prin – Dibbs (Marian Street Theatre)
- The Three Sisters – Irina
- Butley (Old Tote Theatre)
- Season At Sarsparilla (Old Tote Theatre CompanyOld Tote Theatre CompanyThe Old Tote Theatre Company began as the standing acting and theatre company of Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art and was the precursor to the Sydney Theatre Company.. It was one of the leading Australian theatre companies of the period.The Old Tote began in a converted tin shed on...
) - Mothers and Fathers – Julia (Twelfth Night Theatre)
- Uncle Vanya – Yelena (Melbourne Theatre CompanyMelbourne Theatre CompanyThe Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne. Founded in 1953, it is the oldest professional theatre company in Australia, and has its own theatre, The MTC Theatre – which houses the 500-seat Sumner Theatre and the 150-seat Lawler Studio – located in Melbourne's Arts...
) - MacbethMacbethThe Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
– Lady Macduff (Melbourne Theatre Company) - The Rivals – Julia (Melbourne Theatre Company)
- Betrayal – Emma (Melbourne Theatre Company)
- Arms and the Man – Raina (Melbourne Theatre Company)
- Godsend – Jenny (Melbourne Theatre Company)
- Maid’s Tragedy – Lead (Melbourne Theatre Company)
- She Stoops to Conquer – Kate (Nimrod Theatre CompanyNimrod Theatre CompanyThe Nimrod Theatre Company, in Nimrod Street, Kings Cross, Sydney, Australia, was founded by in 1970 by John Bell, Richard Wherrett and Ken Horler, and gained a reputation for producing more "good new Australian drama" from 1970 to 1985 than any other Australian theatre company...
) - Wild Honey – Sasha (Nimrod Theatre)
- The Merchant of VeniceThe Merchant of VeniceThe Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...
– Portia (Nimrod Theatre) - All's Well That Ends WellAll's Well That Ends WellAll's Well That Ends Well is a play by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1604 and 1605, and was originally published in the First Folio in 1623....
– Diana (Nimrod Theatre) - Tartuffe – Elmire (Nimrod Theatre)
- A Winter’s Tale – Hermione (Nimrod Theatre)
Director
- The Maids – with Melbourne Theatre Co.
- Shorts – with the Sydney Theatre Company
- Memento – (writer/director) short film
- A Spy in the Family – feature film