Heather Mitchell
Heather Mitchell AM | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1958 (age 62–63) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Known for | Spellbinder |
Heather Lee Mitchell AM (born 1958) is an Australian actress, appearing in Australian productions of stage, television and film. She is a graduate of NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art). She is best known for her leading role in the 1990s television show Spellbinder.
Career[]
Television[]
Mitchell is well known for her performance as "Ashka" in the Australian/Polish co-productions of Spellbinder (1995), and Spellbinder: Land of the Dragon Lord (1997). The series was a popular children's fantasy program first broadcast in 1995.
Other television series include: the miniseries Bodyline (1984), Land of Hope (1986), Embassy (1992) and A Country Practice. In 1998, she starred in the miniseries drama The Day of the Roses, in which she played a victim of the 1977 Granville railway disaster. She has also appeared in episodes of Five Mile Creek (1984), Rake (2010), Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (2013), and Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries (2019). In 2021, she played Birdie in The Unusual Suspects.
Stage appearances[]
Theatre productions include The White Devil (August 2000), Bye Bye Birdie (March 2001).
Mitchell played Hamlet's mother Gertrude in Bell Shakespeare's Hamlet at the Playhouse, Arts Centre, Melbourne, in July 2008.[1]
In July to August 2011 she appeared in the Belvoir St Theatre's, Neighbourhood Watch.[2] In 2017 she played Edward and Betty in the Sydney Theatre Company production of Caryl Churchill's Cloud Nine directed by Kip Williams.[3]
Personal life[]
Mitchell attended Camden High School in Camden, New South Wales between 1971–1976 and was school captain in her final year.
She took the leading role of Elvira in the 1976 school drama production of Noël Coward's Hay Fever.
Mitchell was made a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2020 Australia Day Honours for "significant service to the performing arts, and to the community."[4]
Filmography[]
Film[]
| Title | Year | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hoodwink | 1981 | Nurse 2 | |
| Malcolm | 1986 | Barmaid | |
| The Place at the Coast | 1987 | Margot Ryan | |
| The Everlasting Secret Family | 1988 | Wife | |
| Proof | 1991 | Mother | |
| Muriel's Wedding | 1994 | Bridal manageress #1 | |
| Bathing Boxes | 1995 | 1st woman | Short film |
| Children of the Revolution | 1996 | Mrs. Savage | |
| Thank God He Met Lizzie | 1997 | Melanie | |
| Black and White | 2002 | Roma Chamberlain | |
| Travelling Light | 2003 | Betty Ferris | |
| Irresistible | 2006 | Rina | |
| Mohammad Hossain's Intensive Care | 2006 | Herself – Narrator | Documentary film |
| Romulus, My Father | 2007 | Television presenter | |
| Rogue | 2007 | Elizabeth | |
| Three Blind Mice | 2008 | Kathy | |
| Seize the Day | 2008 | Valentine | Short film |
| A Love Story | 2010 | Julia | Short film |
| The Wedding Party | 2010 | Rose | |
| Griff the Invisible | 2010 | Bronwyn | |
| The Moment | 2011 | Narrator (voice) | Short film |
| Afterglow | 2011 | Kate Whitcomb | Short film |
| The Eye of the Storm | 2011 | June | |
| The Fort | 2012 | Joanna | Short film |
| Census | 2012 | Sue | Short film |
| The Red Valentine | 2012 | The Mother | Short film |
| Sanctuary | 2012 | Aunty / Nurse | Short film |
| Ravage | 2013 | Clare | Short film |
| The Great Gatsby | 2013 | Daisy's Mother | |
| The Fragments | 2013 | Heather | Short film |
| Maya the Bee | 2014 | Thekla the Spider / The Nurse (voice) | |
| Love Is Now | 2014 | Evelyn | |
| Drown | 2015 | Helen | |
| Unified | 2016 | Janet Boyce | Short film |
| Lets Get Marriage Equality in Australia | 2017 | Herself | Short film |
| Riot | 2018 | Joan / Checkerboard Interviewer | |
| Dots | 2018 | The Lady | Short film |
| Loud Thoughts | 2018 | Valerie | Short film |
| Pimped | 2018 | Sophia Hanson | |
| Palm Beach | 2019 | Eva |
Television[]
| Title | Year | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cop Shop | 1981 | Michelle Beasley | 1 episode |
| Ratbags | 1981 | Various | 1 episode |
| Five Mile Creek | 1984 | Jocelyn | 1 episode |
| Bodyline | 1984 | Edith Clarke | Miniseries |
| I Can't Get Started | 1985 | Jill | Television film |
| Land of Hope | 1986 | Helen Davies | Miniseries |
| The Fast Lane | 1986 | Eileen | 1 episode |
| G.P. | 1989-95 | Julia / Bianca Resteghini | 3 episodes |
| The Water Trolley | 1989 | Television film | |
| Boys from the Bush | 1991 | Joyce | 1 episode |
| Embassy | 1992 | Gillian | 1 episode |
| Seven Deadly Sins | 1993 | Anthology series 1 episode | |
| Clowning Around | 1993 | Sarah Gunner | series 2 |
| The Ferals | 1994 | Crystal | 1 episode |
| Cody: A Family Affair | 1994 | Inspector Genevieve Simmonds | Television film |
| Cody: The Tipof | 1994 | Inspector Genevieve Simmonds | Television film |
| Cody: Bad Love | 1994 | Inspector Genevieve Simmonds | Television film |
| Spellbinder | 1995 | Ashka | Main role 24 episodes |
| Mercury | 1996 | Erica Boyer | Miniseries unknown episode |
| Spellbinder: Land of the Dragon Lord | 1997 | Ashka | Main role |
| The Day of the Roses | 1998 | Margaret Shuttler | Miniseries |
| A Little Bit of Soul | 1998 | Grace Michael | Television film |
| On the Beach | 2000 | British anchorwoman | Television film |
| The Love of Lionel's Life | 2000 | Det Sgt | Television film |
| All Saints | 2002 | Louise Malloy | 1 episode |
| Snobs | 2003 | Mary | 1 episode |
| Jessica | 2004 | Ada Thomas | Miniseries |
| The Brush-Off | 2004 | Fiona Lambert | Television film |
| Hell Has Harbour Views | 2005 | Anne | Television film |
| Da Kath & Kim Code | 2005 | Heather | Television film |
| The Society Murders | 2006 | Sally Honan | Television film |
| Rain Shadow | 2007 | Sarah Balfour | Main role |
| Emerald Falls | 2008 | Catherine Reid | Television film |
| Blue Water High | 2008 | Heather | 1 episode |
| Rogue Nation | 2009 | Elizabeth Macarthur | 1 episode |
| Chandon Pictures | 2009 | Agent | 1 episode |
| All Saints | 2009 | Gemma McKenzie | 1 episode |
| A Model Daughter: The Killing of Caroline Byrne | 2009 | June Dally-Watkins | Television film |
| Satisfaction | 2010 | Georgia | 1 episode |
| The Pacific | 2010 | Mrs. Keller | Miniseries 1 episode |
| Rake | 2010 | Jan Chandler | 1 episode |
| Snobs | 2011 | Mother | Television film |
| Underbelly Files: The Man Who Got Away | 2011 | Rose McMillan | Television film |
| Killing Time | 2011 | Judge Hale | 2 episodes |
| Crownies | 2011 | Judge Walker | 8 episodes |
| Spirited | 2011 | Helen Payne | 8 episodes |
| Dance Academy | 2012 | Robyn | 1 episode |
| Agony Aunts | 2012 | Herself | 3 episodes |
| Jack Irish: Bad Debts | 2012 | Mrs. Vane | Television film |
| A Place to Call Home | 2013–18 | Prudence Swanson | Recurring role 22 episodes |
| Power Games: The Packer-Murdoch War | 2013 | Gretel Packer | Miniseries |
| Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries | 2013 | Madame Fleuri | 1 episode |
| Janet King | 2014–17 | Justice Victoria Walker | 4 episodes |
| Starting From... Now! | 2014–17 | Elizabeth Peters | 2 episodes |
| Pypo | 2015 | Web series 1 episode | |
| Shit Creek | 2015 | Helen | Web series 2 episodes |
| Molly | 2016 | Pat Hatcher | Miniseries 1 episode |
| Newton's Law | 2017 | Caroline Gale | 1 episode |
| Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries | 2019 | Edwina Maddox | 1 episode |
| Harrow | 2019 | Louise Whitehall | 3 episodes |
| Reef Break | 2019 | Maeve Devlin | 4 episodes |
| The Strange Chores | 2019 | Inspector (voice) | 1 episodes |
| Upright | 2019 | Jen Flynn | Main role |
| Grey Nomads | 2020 | Ingrid | Main role Web series |
| The Secrets She Keeps | 2020 | Jenny | 3 episodes |
| Operation Buffalo | 2020 | Caroline Syddell | 2 episodes |
| Wakefield | 2021 | Belle Knight | 2 episodes |
| Homespun | 2021 | Pamela Monterra | Miniseries |
| Daddy's Perfect Little Girl | 2021 | Fay Broward | Television film |
| The Unusual Suspects | 2021 | Birdie | Miniseries |
References[]
- ^ "Reviews". Youthcentral.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- ^ "Neighbourhood Watch, Productions | Belvoir St Theatre". Belvoir.com.au. 28 August 2011. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- ^ "Superb Production of Cloud Nine". TheAustralian.com.au. 10 July 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
- ^ Stehle, Mark (25 January 2020). "Australia Day Honours 2020: Full list of recipients". The Sydney Morning Herald. Nine Entertainment Co. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
External links[]
| External video | |
|---|---|
 One Plus One: Heather Mitchell, One Plus One, ABC News |
| show Authority control  |
|---|
- Australian stage actresses
- Australian film actresses
- Australian television actresses
- Living people
- 1958 births
- National Institute of Dramatic Art alumni
- Helpmann Award winners
- Members of the Order of Australia