Natalie Jackson Mendoza is an Australian actress, singer, and dancer. She is best known for her roles as one of the main characters, Jackie Clunes in the British drama series Hotel Babylon and as Juno in the acclaimed horror filmThe Descent, as well as its sequel, The Descent Part 2. She was playing Arachne in the Broadway musical but was forced to leave the show due to an injury.
Life and career
Mendoza was born in Hong Kong in 1978, to mother Robin Jackson, an Australian television personality of English and German descent, and father Noel Mendoza, a jazz pianist and arranger of Filipino and Spanish descent. She is one of six artist siblings. She was raised in Sydney, Melbourne, and Hong Kong. She also went to school and trained in London and New York. She performed in many musicals such as Cats the Musical, Miss Saigon, The Music of Lloyd Webber Concert Tour, Oh What A Night, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, as the lead Frugue girl in Sweet Charity, and took the role of Eponine in the 10th Anniversary Australasian Tour of Les Miserables. In 1998 Mendoza formed the band Jackson Mendoza with her sister Rebecca. They had No 1 chart success and signed internationally to Virgin Records, releasing two singles that reached the Top 10 music charts in Australia. They disbanded in 2000. Mendoza appeared in Moulin Rouge!, as the lead dancer China Doll. After Moulin Rouge! she began working on a solo album in Melbourne and signed a three-picture deal with Miramax. She filmed several US series including Farscape and played Liat in ABC's South Pacific opposite Harry Connick Junior and Glenn Close. When filming The Great Raid she became involved with her co−star Joseph Fiennes, and moved to London. In 2003 Mendoza went back to England to focus her attention on acting. She trained as an actor at the prestigious Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, training in Classical Theatre. Mendoza appeared on stage in many classical theatre and modern theatre productions, including Coup d'État at MTC, Five Kinds of Silence, Vagina Monologues, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and The Importance of Being Earnest. In 2005 Mendoza was cast as the lead role in the film The Descent, Juno. In 2006 she appeared in the role of Australian immigrant and head of housekeeping Jackie Clunes in the BBC1 British drama series Hotel Babylon and went on to shoot the 2nd and 3rd series. In 2007 Mendoza guest-starred in the Doctor Who audio dramas Absolution and The Girl Who Never Was. She filmed The Descent 2 sequel and horror film Surviving Evil, which she wrote the title track for, "Alone Again". She workshopped the lead role of Molly in Matthew Warchus' production of Ghost which was based on the original screenplay by Bruce Rubin. In 2008 she joined Dave Stewart's Weapons of Mass Entertainment and began being managed by him, developing many projects including her own multimedia project. She was the face and designer for the Voodoo Dolls surf/ski apparel clothing line in London and Australia in 2003. She is currently based out of London/LA/NYC recording her solo album, producing films, and creating her own multimedia projects. Mendoza was scheduled to co-star in the Broadway musical , playing the lead role of Arachne after being selected out of over 3000 people worldwide by Bono, The Edge, and Julie Taymor. After playing a handful of preview performances, she was forced to leave after an injury occurred backstage. Mendoza since moved to LA to pursue a new career in directing, writing, and producing films. She appeared in the 2012 Midsomer Murders episode "The Dark Rider" as Sasha Fleetwood. Mendoza won her first film festival entry as best director, best writer, and best film at the 72-hour film festival in Los Angeles 2011. She also began recording an album with producer Glen Ballard for an upcoming film project. She is an active member of Los Angeles' Playhouse West. Mendoza has been cast as the lead in Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater's new play with music, "Arms of Fire," which will be premiering at the Chester Theatre Company in the Berkshires and eventually going to Broadway. She is the only female and sings all 10 songs playing the lead role of Josephina, a Honduran Jazz Chanteusse. In 2015 it was announced that Mendoza would play the role of Gigi in Miss Saigon.
Personal life
Natalie Mendoza married Eliot Kennedy in April 2006, but the couple divorced in 2010.
