Heather Lee Mitchell AM (born 1958) is an Australian actress, appearing in Australian productions of stage, television and film. She is a graduate of NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art). She is best known for her leading role in the 1990s television show Spellbinder.
Heather Mitchell AM | |
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Born | 1958 (age 63–64) |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1981–present |
Website | heathermitchell.com.au |
Mitchell is well known for her performance as Ashka in the Australian/Polish co-productions of Spellbinder (1995), and Spellbinder: Land of the Dragon Lord (1997). The series was a popular children's fantasy program first broadcast in 1995.
Other television series include: the miniseries Bodyline (1984), Land of Hope (1986), Embassy (1992) and A Country Practice. In 1998, she starred in the miniseries drama The Day of the Roses, in which she played a victim of the 1977 Granville rail disaster. She has also appeared in episodes of Five Mile Creek (1984), Rake (2010), Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (2013), and Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries (2019). In 2021, she played Birdie in The Unusual Suspects.
Mitchell is a foundation director and board member of the Sydney Theatre Company (STC).[1] She first appeared at the STC in 1981 performing scenes of Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1 with Andrew Tighe for a workshop.[2] She has since appeared in dozens of productions for several Australian theatre companies and has contributed to Terence Crawford's 2005 book Trade Secrets: Australian Actors and Their Craft.[3][4]
Mitchell attended Camden High School in Camden, New South Wales, between 1971 and 1976 and was school captain in her final year. She took the leading role of Elvira in the 1976 school drama production of Noël Coward's Hay Fever.[citation needed]
Mitchell was made a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2020 Australia Day Honours for "significant service to the performing arts, and to the community."[5]
Mitchell's stage appearances include the following productions.[2][6]
Year | Play | Author(s) | Notes |
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1982 | You Can't Take It with You | George S. Kaufman, Moss Hart | with Geoffrey Rush |
1982 | As You Desire Me [it] | Luigi Pirandello | with Peter Carroll, Hugo Weaving, Geoffrey Rush |
1982 | Macbeth | William Shakespeare | directed by Richard Wherrett, with John Bell, Colin Friels, Hugo Weaving |
1983 | The Fields of Heaven | Dorothy Hewett | with Lex Marinos |
1983 | The Cherry Orchard | Anton Chekhov | with John Howard |
1985 | The Doll Trilogy: Kid Stakes and Other Times | Ray Lawler | with Harold Hopkins |
1986 | No Worries | David Holman | the play was adapted into a film in 1994 |
1987 | No(h) Exit | No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre, The Lady Aoi and Hanjo from Five Modern Noh Plays by Yukio Mishima | |
1987 | Blood Relations | David Malouf | with John Wood |
1988 | 1841 | Michael Gow | with Gillian Jones |
1989 | A Dream Play | August Strindberg | directed by Göran Järvefelt [sv; de] |
1989 | All My Sons | Arthur Miller | directed by Gale Edwards |
1990 | The Secret Rapture | David Hare | with Hugo Weaving. Pamela Rabe |
1990 | Burn This | Lanford Wilson | with Richard Roxburgh; directed by Wayne Harrison |
1992 | The Homecoming | Harold Pinter | with Richard Roxburgh and Warren Mitchell |
1993 | Two Weeks with the Queen | directed by Wayne Harrison | |
1993 | Coriolanus | William Shakespeare | with John Howard |
1998 | A Delicate Balance | Edward Albee | directed by Simon Phillips, with Michael Craig |
2000 | The White Devil | John Webster | directed by Gale Edwards, with Hugo Weaving, Angie Milliken |
2001 | Bye Bye Birdie | Music: Charles Strouse, words: Lee Adams | |
2003 | The Real Thing | Tom Stoppard | directed by Robyn Nevin, with Andrew Tighe |
2007 | Self Esteem | Brendan Cowell | with Toby Schmitz; directed by Brendan Cowell |
2007 | Hamlet | William Shakespeare | as Gertrude, with Brendan Cowell as Prince Hamlet and Barry Otto as Polonius; directed by Marion Potts |
2010 | True West | Sam Shepard | directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman |
2011 | Neighbourhood Watch | Lally Katz | with Robyn Nevin and Kris McQuade; directed by Simon Stone[7] |
2012 | Never Did Me Any Harm[lower-alpha 1] | devised by Force Majeure | with Marta Dusseldorp; directed by Kate Champion |
2012 | Les Liaisons Dangereuses | Christopher Hampton | with Hugo Weaving and Pamela Rabe; directed by Sam Strong |
2013 | Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead | Tom Stoppard | as Gertrude |
2014 | Strictly Ballroom | Baz Luhrmann, Craig Pearce and Terry Johnson | as Shirley Hastings |
2016 | Hay Fever | Noël Coward | |
2017 | Away | Michael Gow | directed by Matthew Lutton |
2017 | Cloud Nine | Caryl Churchill | as a young boy and the boy's mother; directed by Kip Williams[8] |
2018 | Top Girls | Caryl Churchill | as Pope Joan |
2018 | Still Point Turning: The Catherine McGregor Story | Priscilla Jackman | as Cate McGregor |
2018 | The Harp in the South, Part One and Part Two | Ruth Park, Kate Mulvany | directed by Kip Williams |
2022 | RGB: Of Many, One | Suzie Miller | as Ruth Bader Ginsburg[9] |
Title | Year | Role | Notes |
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Hoodwink | 1981 | Nurse 2 | Feature film |
Malcolm | 1986 | Barmaid | Feature film |
The Place at the Coast | 1987 | Margot Ryan | Feature film |
The Everlasting Secret Family | 1988 | Wife | Feature film |
Proof | 1991 | Mother | Feature film |
Muriel's Wedding | 1994 | Bridal manageress #1 | Feature film |
Bathing Boxes | 1995 | 1st woman | Short film |
Children of the Revolution | 1996 | Mrs. Savage | Feature film |
Thank God He Met Lizzie | 1997 | Melanie | Feature film |
Black and White | 2002 | Roma Chamberlain | Feature film |
Travelling Light | 2003 | Betty Ferris | |
Irresistible | 2006 | Rina | Feature film |
Mohammad Hossain's Intensive Care | 2006 | Herself – Narrator | Documentary film |
Romulus, My Father | 2007 | Television presenter | Feature film |
Rogue | 2007 | Elizabeth | Feature film |
Three Blind Mice | 2008 | Kathy | Feature film |
Seize the Day | 2008 | Valentine | Short film |
A Love Story | 2010 | Julia | Short film |
The Wedding Party | 2010 | Rose | Feature film |
Griff the Invisible | 2010 | Bronwyn | Feature film |
The Moment | 2011 | Narrator (voice) | Short film |
Afterglow | 2011 | Kate Whitcomb | Short film |
The Eye of the Storm | 2011 | June | Feature film |
The Fort | 2012 | Joanna | Short film |
Census | 2012 | Sue | Short film |
The Red Valentine | 2012 | The Mother | Short film |
Sanctuary | 2012 | Aunty / Nurse | Short film |
Ravage | 2013 | Clare | Short film |
The Great Gatsby | 2013 | Daisy's Mother | Feature film |
The Fragments | 2013 | Heather | Short film |
Maya the Bee | 2014 | Thekla the Spider / The Nurse (voice) | Animated Feature film |
Love Is Now | 2014 | Evelyn | Feature film |
Drown | 2015 | Helen | Feature film |
Unified | 2016 | Janet Boyce | Short film |
Lets Get Marriage Equality in Australia | 2017 | Herself | Short film |
Riot | 2018 | Joan / Checkerboard Interviewer | ABC TV film |
Dots | 2018 | The Lady | Short film |
Loud Thoughts | 2018 | Valerie | Short film |
Pimped | 2018 | Sophia Hanson | Feature film |
Palm Beach | 2019 | Eva | Feature film |
Bosch & Rockit | 2022![]() |
Wendy | post-production |
Blaze | 2022![]() |
Jackie Stevens | post-production |
Wedding of the Year | TBA![]() |
Eleanor | pre-production |
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Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Title | Year | Role | Notes |
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Cop Shop | 1981 | Michelle Beasley | 1 episode |
Ratbags | 1981 | Various characters | 1 episode |
A Country Practice | 1982 | Peggy | 2 episodes |
Five Mile Creek | 1984 | Jocelyn | 1 episode |
Bodyline | 1984 | Edith Clarke | Miniseries |
I Can't Get Started | 1985 | Jill | Television film |
Land of Hope | 1986 | Helen Davies | Miniseries |
The Fast Lane | 1986 | Eileen | 1 episode |
G.P. | 1989-95 | Julia / Bianca Resteghini | 3 episodes |
The Water Trolley | 1989 | Television film | |
Boys from the Bush | 1991 | Joyce | 1 episode |
Embassy | 1992 | Gillian | 1 episode |
Seven Deadly Sins | 1993 | Anthology series 1 episode | |
A Country Practice | 1993 | Dr. Simone Fox | 2 episodes |
Clowning Around | 1993 | Sarah Gunner | series 2 |
The Ferals | 1994 | Crystal | 1 episode |
Cody: A Family Affair | 1994 | Inspector Genevieve Simmonds | Television film |
Cody: The Tipof | 1994 | Inspector Genevieve Simmonds | Television film |
Cody: Bad Love | 1994 | Inspector Genevieve Simmonds | Television film |
Spellbinder | 1995 | Ashka | Main role 24 episodes |
Mercury | 1996 | Erica Boyer | Miniseries unknown episode |
Spellbinder: Land of the Dragon Lord | 1997 | Ashka | Main role |
FCTV | 1998 | Herself - Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
The Day of the Roses | 1998 | Margaret Shuttler | Miniseries |
Good Morning Australia | 1998 | Herself - Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
A Little Bit of Soul | 1998 | Grace Michael | Television film |
On the Beach | 2000 | British anchorwoman | Television film |
The Love of Lionel's Life | 2000 | Det Sgt | Television film |
All Saints | 2002 | Louise Malloy | 1 episode |
Snobs | 2003 | Mary | 1 episode |
Jessica | 2004 | Ada Thomas | Miniseries |
The Brush-Off | 2004 | Fiona Lambert | Television film |
Hell Has Harbour Views | 2005 | Anne | Television film |
Da Kath & Kim Code | 2005 | Heather | Television film |
The Society Murders | 2006 | Sally Honan | Television film |
Rain Shadow | 2007 | Sarah Balfour | Main role |
Emerald Falls | 2008 | Catherine Reid | Television film |
Blue Water High | 2008 | Heather | 1 episode |
Rogue Nation | 2009 | Elizabeth Macarthur | 1 episode |
Chandon Pictures | 2009 | Agent | 1 episode |
All Saints | 2009 | Gemma McKenzie | 1 episode |
A Model Daughter: The Killing of Caroline Byrne | 2009 | June Dally-Watkins | Television film |
Satisfaction | 2010 | Georgia | 1 episode |
The Pacific | 2010 | Mrs. Keller | Miniseries 1 episode |
Rake | 2010 | Jan Chandler | 1 episode |
Snobs | 2011 | Mother | Television film |
Underbelly Files: The Man Who Got Away | 2011 | Rose McMillan | Television film |
Killing Time | 2011 | Judge Hale | 2 episodes |
Crownies | 2011 | Judge Walker | 8 episodes |
Spirited | 2011 | Helen Payne | 8 episodes |
Dance Academy | 2012 | Robyn | 1 episode |
Agony Aunts | 2012 | Herself | 3 episodes |
Jack Irish: Bad Debts | 2012 | Mrs. Vane | Television film |
A Place to Call Home | 2013–18 | Prudence Swanson | Recurring role 22 episodes |
Power Games: The Packer-Murdoch War | 2013 | Gretel Packer | Miniseries |
Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries | 2013 | Madame Fleuri | 1 episode |
Janet King | 2014–17 | Justice Victoria Walker | 4 episodes |
Starting From... Now! | 2014–17 | Elizabeth Peters | 2 episodes |
Pypo | 2015 | Web series 1 episode | |
Shit Creek | 2015 | Helen | Web series 2 episodes |
Molly | 2016 | Pat Hatcher | Miniseries 1 episode |
Newton's Law | 2017 | Caroline Gale | 1 episode |
Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries | 2019 | Edwina Maddox | 1 episode |
Harrow | 2019 | Louise Whitehall | 3 episodes |
Reef Break | 2019 | Maeve Devlin | 4 episodes |
The Strange Chores | 2019 | Inspector (voice) | 1 episodes |
Upright | 2019 | Jen Flynn | Main role |
Grey Nomads | 2020 | Ingrid | Main role Web series |
The Secrets She Keeps | 2020 | Jenny | 3 episodes |
Operation Buffalo | 2020 | Caroline Syddell | 2 episodes |
Wakefield | 2021 | Belle Knight | 2 episodes |
Homespun | 2021 | Pamela Monterra | Miniseries |
Daddy's Perfect Little Girl | 2021 | Fay Broward | Television film |
The Unusual Suspects | 2021 | Birdie | SBS TV Miniseries, 4 episodes |
Love Me | 2022![]() |
TV Miniseries filming |
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Denotes television series that have not yet been aired |
Year | Work | Award | Result | Ref |
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2014 | Power Games: The Packer-Murdoch War (for "Part 1") | Best Guest or Supporting Actress Television Drama | Nominated | [10] |
Helpmann Award for Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical | |
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General | |
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National libraries |