Leah Purcell


Leah Purcell is an Indigenous Australian actress, director and writer. She is a Helpmann Award and AACTA Award winner.
=Biography=
Leah Purcell was born in Murgon, Queensland, and she was the youngest of seven children of Aboriginal and white Australian descent. Her father was a butcher and a boxing trainer. After a difficult adolescence, looking after her sick mother who died while Leah was in her late teens, problems with alcohol and teenage motherhood, Leah
left Murgon and moved to Brisbane and became involved with community theatre.
In 1996 she moved to Sydney to become presenter on a music video cable television station, RED Music Channel. This was followed by roles in a place called ABC television series Police Rescue and Fallen Angels. She co-wrote and acted in a play called Box the Pony, which played at Sydney's Belvoir Street Theatre, the Sydney Opera House, the 1999 Edinburgh Festival and in 2000 at the Barbican Theatre in London. She then wrote and directed the documentary Black Chicks Talking, which won a 2002 Inside Film award. She appeared in the acclaimed Australian film Lantana and on stage in The Vagina Monologues. She went on to appear in three 2004 films, Somersault, The Proposition and Jindabyne as well as playing the role of Condoleezza Rice in David Hare's play, Stuff Happens in Sydney and Melbourne.
Purcell has joined the cast of Foxtel drama series Wentworth as Rita Connors, a role originally portrayed by Glenda Linscott in Prisoner. It was announced that she was one of three new leading cast members to join the series for its sixth season, alongside Susie Porter and Rarriwuy Hick. She first appeared in the first episode of season six, broadcast on 19 June 2018. Following her appearances in seasons six and seven, it was announced in October 2018, that she would be reprising her role for the eighth season, which is set to premiere in 2020.
Her debut film as director, , is due for release in 2020.
=Personal life=
Purcell's partner is Bain Stewart, who is also her business partner in Oombarra Productions. She has a daughter and two grandchildren
=Filmography=

Actor

Other

=Awards and nominations=
YearCeremonyCategoryTitleWork
1997Australian Film Institute AwardsBest Actress in a Leading Role in a Television DramaFallen Angels
1999NSW Premier’s Literary AwardNick Enright Prize for PlaywritingBox the Pony
2000Queensland Premier's Literary AwardsQueensland Premier's Literary Award for Best PlayBox the Pony
2001Helpmann AwardsBest Female Actor in a PlayBox the Pony
2006Helpmann AwardsBest Female Actor in a PlayStuff Happens
2008Helpmann AwardsBest Female Actor in a PlayThe Story of the Miracle at Cookie's Table
2013AACTA AwardsBest Lead Actress in a Television DramaRedfern Now
2013Logie AwardsMost Outstanding ActressRedfern Now
2016AACTA AwardsBest Performance in a Television ComedyBlack Comedy
2017Helpmann AwardsBest Female Actor in a PlayThe Drover's Wife
2017Helpmann AwardsBest New Australian WorkThe Drover's Wife
2017NSW Premier’s Literary AwardNick Enright Prize for PlaywritingThe Drover's Wife
2017NSW Premier’s Literary AwardBook of the YearThe Drover's Wife
2017NSW Premier’s Literary AwardIndigenous Writers PrizeThe Drover's Wife
2018AACTA AwardsBest Lead Actress in a Television DramaWentworth
2018National Dreamtime Awards 2018Female Actor of the Year
2019Logie AwardsMost Outstanding ActressWentworth
2020Davitt AwardBest debut crime bookThe Drover's Wife

=References=
=External links=