Arkie Deya Whiteley (6 November 1964 – 19 December 2001) was an Australian actress who appeared in television and film.

Early life and education

Whiteley's parents were the renowned Australian artist Brett Whiteley and cultural figure Wendy Whiteley. According to her obituary in '' The Times'' newspaper, when living with her parents at the Hotel Chelsea in New York as an infant her babysitter was US blues singer

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and musician. One of the most successful and widely known Rock music, rock stars of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and "electric" stage ...

. Arkie was educated at the prestigious

Ascham School , motto_translation = With Heart and Soul , established = , type = Independent, day and boarding , gender = Girls , educational_authority = , oversight = , district = , denomination = , slogan = , ...

in Sydney and an alternative school: the Australian International School at North Ryde, Sydney. She also attended Cremorne Girls High.

Career

Her television and film work included '' A Town Like Alice'', ''

Razorback The feral pig is a domestic pig which has gone feral, meaning it lives in the wild. They are found mostly in the Americas and Australia. Razorback and wild hog are Americanisms applied to feral pigs or boar-pig hybrids. Definition A feral pi ...

'', ''

Mad Max 2 ''Mad Max 2'' (released as ''The Road Warrior'' in the United States) is a 1981 Australian post-apocalyptic action film directed by George Miller. It is the second installment in the ''Mad Max'' franchise, with Mel Gibson reprising his role a ...

'', '' Gallowglass'', '' Princess Caraboo'' and ''The Last Musketeer'' with Robson Green. She also appeared in the television series '' Prisoner'' as troubled prostitute/junkie Donna Mason and in early episodes of '' A Country Practice''. After her father's overdose in 1992, she negotiated with the New South Wales government to purchase his studio and run it as a studio museum managed by the

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most importa ...

Personal life

Whiteley married her first husband Christopher Kuhn in 1995; they divorced in 1999. She married her second husband Jim Elliott in December 2001, shortly before she died from adrenal cancer on December 19, at age 37. She had a seven-year relationship with actor Paul Rhys who nursed her during her illness. She was cremated at Sydney's

Northern Suburbs Crematorium The Northern Suburbs Crematorium, officially Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens and Crematorium, is a crematorium in North Ryde, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. It was officially opened on 28 October 1933, and the first cremation t ...

. Both Arkie's and her father Brett's ashes are buried in an undisclosed location in Wendy's secret garden in the Sydney North Shore suburb of Lavender Bay.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Child of Fame
(Sydney Morning Herald, Saturday 22 December 2001) {{DEFAULTSORT:Whiteley, Arkie 1964 births 2001 deaths Australian film actresses Australian soap opera actresses Australian people of English descent Deaths from cancer in New South Wales Deaths from adrenocortical cancer People educated at Ascham School 20th-century Australian actresses 21st-century Australian actresses Julius family