Elizabeth Alexander (sometimes credited as Liz Alexander; born 21 August 1952) is an Australian actress, director and teacher.
Elizabeth Alexander | |
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Born | (1952-08-21) 21 August 1952 (age 70)[1] Adelaide, South Australia, Australia |
Other names | Liz Alexander |
Occupation |
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Years active | 1967–current |
Alexander was born in Adelaide, South Australia, but now lives in Sydney. She attended All Hallows' School in Brisbane. She was married to actor George Spartels from 1984 to 2006 and has two daughters. She currently works at Queenwood School for Girls as a dramatic arts teacher.[2]
Alexanders' acting career began early with a part in the series Bellbird in 1967. However, it was straight from graduating at National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) that she got her big break with the part of Esther Wolcott in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) series Seven Little Australians. Allegedly the producers had all but given up on the show, because they did not feel that they had found a suitable actress for the part, until they discovered Alexander. She was actually younger than actress Barbara Llewellyn, who played her stepdaughter Meg in the series, but producers and audiences felt that they were both convincing in their roles.
The ten-part series delivered huge ratings when it was broadcast in 1973, and was also the first ABC series to enjoy international acclaim. It went on to win three Australian Film Institute Awards and four Penguins, including best drama series and the 1974 George Wallace Memorial Logie for Best New Talent for Alexander as the sweet-tempered Esther. The series is now available on DVD.
Alexander had a recurring guest role in the high rating Australian medical drama All Saints as the viper-like Dr. Alison Newell, ex-wife of Dr. Frank Campion, played by John Howard. She was not initially written as his ex-wife, as her character appeared before Howard joined the cast. Apparently, it was the sharp onscreen dynamic between Alexander and Howard in their early scenes together that made the writers decide to write this history into Alexander's character.
Other television credits include: Home and Away (she played Christine Jones, the overprotective conservative mother of Melody Jones), Silent Number, Special Squad, Chopper Squad, Farscape, Murder Call, Seven Deadly Sins (Pride), Salem's Lot and Time Trax, a science fiction series in which she starred as a computer hologram alongside Dale Midkiff.
Her film work includes: the lead role in The Killing of Angel Street (which won an award at the Berlin Film Festival) opposite John Hargreaves, The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Summerfield with Nick Tate and John Waters, Sebastian and the Sparrow and The Journalist with Sam Neill. 2010 saw her appear in a thriller called The Clinic and in 2011 she made an appearance in Fred Schepisi's The Eye of the Storm.
Her theatre credits are also numerous and include: Hermione in The Winter's Tale, Portia in The Merchant of Venice for which she received glowing reviews, Martha in the Sydney Theatre Company's production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? for which she again received extremely positive reviews, Kate in another STC production of Harold Pinter's Old Times and many more. She also played anthropologist Margaret Mead in David Williamson's play Heretic. The play, based on Mead's life and work, was the subject of much debate and controversy due to the very public row between the writer, Williamson, and the director Wayne Harrison over the play's production.[2][3][4]
Alexander has also directed a number of plays and written several screenplays, including a short film titled Memento (which was sold to Village Roadshow) which she also directed, about the emotional problems caused by the return of a father to his family, a young boy and his mother. She also directed a feature film, A Spy in the Family. Alongside this she also does voiceover work.
FILM
Year | Title | Role | Type |
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1975 | Ride a Wild Pony | Miss Hildebrand (teacher) | Feature film |
1977 | Summerfield | Jenny Abbott | Feature film |
1978 | The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith | Petra Graf | Feature film |
1979 | The Journalist | Liz Corbett | Feature film |
1981 | The Killing of Angel Steet | Jessica (as Liz Alexander) | Feature film |
1981 | The Coming | Role unknown | Film short |
1982 | Memento | Director | Film short |
1983 | One Last Chance | Role unknown | Film short |
1983 | A Spy In The Family | Director | Film short |
1988 | Sebastian and the Sparrow | Jenny Thornbury | Feature film |
1988 | Two Brothers Running | Barbara Borstein | Feature film |
2010 | The Clinic | Ms Shepard (as Liz Alexander) | Feature film |
2011 | The Eye of the Storm | Cherry Cheeseman (as Liz Alexander) | Feature film |
2011 | Paranormal Activity | John's Mother | Feature film, US |
TELEVISION
Year | Title | Role | Type |
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1967 | Bellbird | Guest role | ABC TV series, 1 episode |
1973 | Seven Little Australians | Lead role: Esther Wolcott | ABC TV miniseries, 10 episodes |
1974 | Behind The Legend | Lead role: Elizabeth Kenny | ABC TV series, 1 episode "Elizabeth Kenny" |
1974 | The 16th Annual TV Week Logie Awards | Herself | TV special |
1974 | This Love Affair | Guest role | ABC TV series, 1 episode 6: "Seven-tenths Of A Second" |
1974-1975 | Silent Number | Regular role: Jean Hamilton | TV series, 38 episodes |
1975 | Ben Hall | Regular lead role: Angela Mitchell | ABC TV series, 8 episodes |
1976 | King's Men | Guest role | TV series, 1 episode |
1977 | The Making Of Summerfield | Herself | TV special |
1978 | Chopper Squad | Guest role: Francis Carter | TV series, 1 episode 5: "Psychotic Lady" |
1978 | Case For The Defence | Guest role: Jean | TV series, 1 episode 9: "A Plea Of Insanity" |
1978 | The Scalp Merchant | Lead role | TV film |
1979 | The Golden Soak | Lead role: Janet Garrety | ABC TV miniseries UK/AUSTRALIA/WEST GERMANY, 6 episodes |
1980;1981 | Cop Shop | Guest roles: Virginia Kingston / Sue McGregor | TV series, 4 episodes |
1981 | A Sporting Chance | Guest role | ABC TV series, 1 episode 4: "The Name Of The Game" |
1981 | The Australian Film & Television Awards (Sammys) | Herself | TV special |
1984 | Singles | Lead role: Alison Kirk | ABC TV series, 5 episodes |
1984 | Special Squad | Guest role: Edith | TV series, 1 episode 8: "The Wurzburg Link" |
1985 | Emmett Stone | Herself - Director | TV film |
1985 | Ivanhoe | Herself - Voice (as Liz Alexander) | TV Animated film |
1987 | Rafferty's Rules | Guest role | TV series, 1 episode |
1987 | Willing and Abel | Guest role | TV series, 1 episode |
1991 | About Face | Guest role: Nightingale Ward Sister | TV series UK, 1 episode |
1991 | G.P. | Guest role: Carmen Gailey | ABC TV series, 1 episode |
1993 | Seven Deadly Sins | Lead role: Jill Pascoe | ABC TV film series, 1 episode 2: "Pride" |
1993 | Bonjour la Classe | Guest role | TV series UK, 1 episode |
1993-1994 | Time Trax | Regular lead role: Selma / Kit | TV series US/AUSTRALIA, 43 episodes |
1998 | Murder Call | Guest role: Hilary Windsor | TV series, 1 episode |
1999 | Alien Cargo | Recurring roles: Rojean Page / Explorer Dolphin | TV film, US |
1999 | The Lost World | Guest role: Mrs. Krux | TV series CANADA/NZ/AUSTRALIA, 1 episode |
2000 | The Thing About Vince | Guest role: Mrs. Rogers | TV miniseries UK, 1 episode |
2002 | Farcape | Guest role: Vella | TV series US/AUSTRALIA, 1 episode |
2003-2006 | All Saints | Recurring role: Dr. Alison Newell / Alison Newell / Dr. Allison Newell (as Liz Alexander) | TV series, 23 episodes |
2003 | Page To Stage | Herself - Performance Director | Film documentary |
2004 | Salem's Lot | Recurring Guest role: Ann Norton (as Liz Alexander) | TV miniseries US, 2 episodes |
2005 | Secrets Of Summerfield: The Making Of 'Summerfield' | Herself - Actress | Video |
2008;2019 | Home and Away | Recurring Guest roles: Christine Jones / Judge (as Liz Alexander) | TV series, 22 episodes |
2010 | Lost Girl | Guest role: Kala (as Lizz Alexander) | TV series CANADA, 1 episode |
2011 | Snobs | Lead role: Helena | TV film |
2012 | Fatal Honeymoon | Lead role: Cindy Thomas (as Liz Alexander) | TV film |
2013 | In Your Dreams | Guest role: Magistrate (as Liz Alexander) | TV series GERMANY/AUSTRALIA, 1 episode |
2020 | The Secrets She Keeps | Recurring role: Renee Cole (as Liz Alexander) | TV series, 6 episodes |
2021 | Clickbait | Recurring role: Andrea Brewer (as Liz Alexander) | TV miniseries US/AUSTRALIA, 7 episodes |
If fame just means 540 people a night then that's what it is, for the time being. Next week it could be millions of people and the week after that it could be none. That's what life is, you have to accept what you choose to do.[2]
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