Jane Clifton


Jane Clifton is an Australian actress, singer, writer and voice artist. Clifton was born in Gibraltar to British Army parents. In 1961 she emigrated to Perth, Australia, before later settling in Melbourne. She became a naturalised citizen of Australia in 1992.

Radio and voice-over career

Clifton started out her career on Melbourne community radio stations 3CR and 3RMT-FM in the 1970s. She then worked for commercial stations 3AK, Radio National and 774 ABC. Clifton has also done voice-over work for commercials and audio books.

Film, television and stage

Clifton has acted extensively in film and the stage and in various television programs. Beginning in cult favorites Stork and Pure S, her films include The Clinic and A Slice of Life. Her stage roles include The Pack of Women and Mum's the Word. She has also made a number of television appearances, starting in the mid 70s with the Crawford's series Division 4, Homicide and Bluey, Against the Wind, Skyways, Holiday Island, Sweet and Sour, Carson's Law and Shock Jock, but her best-known acting role is probably that of tough prison bookie Margo Gaffney in Prisoner. Clifton played the role for 107 episodes from 1980 until 1984 on an intermittent basis as the script allowed, having previously appeared in the minor role of Yvonne, from episode 9, and even appeared in the Prisoner in Concert special.
Clifton also performed with Betty Bobbitt and Colette Mann as part of a three-woman troupe, The Mini Busettes, in the 1980s in RSLs across Australia.
In September 2010, it was announced that Clifton would be joining the cast of Neighbours as Judge Willow. Her scenes aired in November of that year.
In 2015 she appeared in the television series Doctor Blake Mysteries as Sister Josephine.

Music

Clifton is also an accomplished singer. In the late 1970s she was a member of new wave band Stiletto which had a number of releases on the Oz label. In the early 1980s, she had several Australian hit singles, including "Taxi Mary" recorded with Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons which peaked at number 11 on the Kent Music Report, and the song "The Girl on the Wall" taken from the show The Pack of Women. She has more recently released a CD titled The Marriage Of Style.

Author

Clifton is the author of the novels Half Past Dead and A Hand in the Bush.

Filmography