Essie Davis

Essie Davis
Born	1970 Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Occupation	Actor
Spouse(s)	Justin Kurzel (m. 2002)
Children	Twins

Essie Davis (born 1970) is an Australian actress. Born and raised in Hobart, Tasmania, she is the daughter of locally famed artist George Davis.

Life and career

Essie Davis emerged from the Old Nick Company at the University of Tasmania in the late 1980s. She is also a graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney. Her acting career began with the Bell Shakespeare company when, straight out of NIDA, she was cast as Juliet in the 1993 production of Romeo and Juliet. Her film career started after her role in the all Australian movie Dad and Dave: On Our Selection (1995), also starring other prestigious actors such as Geoffrey Rush, Leo McKern, and Joan Sutherland. Her most famous movie roles are in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, Richard Flanagan's 1998 Tasmanian film The Sound of One Hand Clapping, and Girl with a Pearl Earring.

In 2003 she won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress for her UK performance in the Tennessee Williams play A Streetcar Named Desire. In 2004 she starred in a Broadway production of Tom Stoppard's Jumpers, for which she earned a Tony nomination. In 2005 she appeared as Mrs. Nellie Lovett in the BBC production of Sweeney Todd with Ray Winstone. In the 2008 film Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger she plays Esther's controlling mother. Also in 2008, she appeared in the movie Australia with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, directed by Baz Luhrmann. In 2008 Davis played Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof for the Melbourne Theatre Company.

She returned to Tasmania to launch the "The Tasmanian Theatre Company" in 2008 and help support local theatre while encouraging youth to continue participating in the arts.

Personal life

Davis married Justin Kurzel in 2002. They have twins born c2006.

Filmography

• Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (2012, TV) as Phryne Fisher
• Burning Man (2011)
• The Slap (2011, TV) as Anouk
• Play School (2011) as herself
• Cloudstreet (2010) as Dolly Pickles
• South Solitary (2010) as Alma Stanley
• Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010) Voice only as Marella
• Australia (2008) as Catherine Carney Fletcher
• Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger (2008) as Grace Blueburger
• Charlotte's Web (2006) as Mrs. Arable
• Sweeney Todd (2006, TV) as Mrs. Nellie Lovett
• The Silence (2005) as Juliet Moore
• Isolation (2005) as Orla
• The Matrix Revolutions (2003) as Maggie
• Code 46 (2003) as Doctor
• Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003) as Catharina Vermeer
• Temptation (2003, TV) as Julie
• After the Deluge (2003, TV miniseries) as Beth
• The Matrix Reloaded (2003) as Maggie
• Enter the Matrix (2003) (video game) as Maggie
• The Pact (2003) as Helene Davis
• Young Lions
  • "Mardi Gras" (2002) as Julie Morgan
  • Episode #1.2 (2002) as Julie Morgan
• Corridors of Power
  • Episode #1.4 (2001) as Sophie
• Halifax f.p: The Spider and the Fly (2000, TV) as Alison Blount
• Murder Call
  • "Deadfall" (1998) as Judy St. John
• Kings in Grass Castles (1998, TV miniseries) as Mary Costello
• The Sound of One Hand Clapping (1998) as Jean
• The Ripper (1997, TV) as Evelyn Bookman
• The Two-Wheeled Time Machine (1997) as Young Alice
• Water Rats
  • "Dead or Alive" (1997) as Senior Detective Nicola Bourke
  • "Blood Trail" (1997) as Senior Detective Nicola Bourke
• Blackrock (1997) as Det.Gilhooley
• River Street (1996) as Wendy
• Dad and Dave: On Our Selection (1995) as Kate
• Lilian's Story (1995) as Zara
• The Custodian (1993) as Jilly

External links

• Essie Davis at the Internet Movie Database
• Article about her Laurence Olivier Award
• Article on Essie Davis
• Essie launches new Tassie Theatre Company