Asher Keddie (born 31 July 1974) is an Australian actress. Beginning her career in the television series ''

Five Mile Creek ''Five Mile Creek'' is a western television drama series adapted from Louis L'Amour's novel ''The Cherokee Trail'' and produced in Australia. It starred Liz Burch, Louise Caire Clark, Rod Mullinar, Jay Kerr, Michael Caton, Peter Carroll, Gu ...

'' in the mid 1980s, Keddie received wide recognition for her role in the television series ''

Offspring In biology, offspring are the young creation of living organisms, produced either by a single organism or, in the case of sexual reproduction, two organisms. Collective offspring may be known as a brood or progeny in a more general way. This ca ...

''. Her significant repertoire in television has led to her being dubbed as the 'Golden Girl of Australian Television'. Keddie also had a small role in the film '' X-Men Origins: Wolverine'', as Dr. Carol Frost. Aside from television and film work, she has several theatre credits, including in the

Melbourne Theatre Company The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre com ...

production of ''

Les Liaisons dangereuses ''Les Liaisons dangereuses'' (; English: ''Dangerous Liaisons'') is a French epistolary novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, first published in four volumes by Durand Neveu from March 23, 1782. It is the story of the Marquise de Merteuil and ...

'' as Madame de Tourvel. She won the

Logie Award for Most Popular Actress The Logie Award for Most Popular Actress is an award presented annually at the Australian TV Week Logie Awards. The award recognises the popularity of an actress in an Australian program. Commonly known as the Silver Logie for Best Actress, it h ...

five times in a row between 2011 and 2015. Keddie won the 2013

Gold Logie The Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television, commonly referred to simply as the Gold Logie, is an award presented annually at the Australian Logie Awards. The Gold Logie was first awarded at the 2nd Annual TV We ...

award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television, for her role as Dr Nina Proudman in the Network Ten drama ''

''. She had previously been nominated twice for the award. Keddie has a total of seven

Logie Award The Logie Awards (officially the TV Week Logie Awards; colloquially known as The Logies) is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The first ceremony was held in 1959 as the ...

Early life

Keddie was born to Robi and James Keddie, both school teachers. As a child, she took dancing lessons for nine years and at age 14, she dislocated her knee prior to an audition at the Australian Ballet School. Despite her initial misfortune, she landed an acting gig in a dance wear ad while at ballet school and subsequently landed an agent. Keddie completed her secondary education at

St Michael's Grammar School , motto_translation = For the Church of God , location = 25 Chapel Street, St Kilda, Victoria , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia Melbourne , ...

, St Kilda.

Entertainment career

Television and film career

Keddie had guest roles early in her career in various television dramas, including her first roles in ''

'' (1985), '' Fortress'' (1986) and ''Janus'' (1994). She played the role of Marriane Sheridan in ''

Blue Heelers ''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian Police procedural, police drama series that was produced by Endemol Australia, Southern Star Group and ran for 12 years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, ...

'' (season 3, episode 21) airing on 18 June 1996 and ''

Good Guys, Bad Guys ''Good Guys, Bad Guys'' was an Australian comedy/drama TV series that screened on the Nine Network between 1997 and 1998, with a telemovie and twenty-six episodes produced. The crime-themed show was set in Melbourne. The program and its lead ch ...

'' (1997). From 1997 to 1998, she came to the attention of senior network television producers, appearing in '' State Coroner''. Following this, she had a recurring role in '' Stingers'' from 2000 to 2004. Keddie's big break came in 2004, where she had a leading role in ''

Love My Way ''Love My Way'' is an Australian television drama series. It won the AFI award for Best Television Drama Series for each of its three seasons (2004–2007). Premise Set in Sydney, ''Love My Way'' was about a group of 30-somethings dealing wit ...

'', a drama series airing on Foxtel. The series ended in late 2007. This role led to Keddie being nominated for various awards for playing the part of Julia Jackson, a woman who struggles to cope with her own identity in the midst of family tragedy. Keddie's award win came at the end of ''Love My Way'' third series in 2006. In 2009, Keddie appeared in three different roles. She portrayed police officer Liz Cruickshank in the television drama '' Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities'' and journalist Jacinta Burns, in the TV series '' Rush'', as well as Dr Carol Frost in '' X-Men Origins: Wolverine''. In 2010, Keddie depicted author Blanche d'Alpuget in '' Hawke'', a telemovie about the premiership of Bob Hawke (the Prime Minister of Australia, 1983–91). She also became the star of the drama series ''

'', which began airing in August 2010. In April 2011, she had the leading role of

Ita Buttrose Ita Clare Buttrose (born 17 January 1942) is an Australian TV network chairperson, television and radio personality, author and former magazine editor, publishing executive and newspaper journalist. She was the founding editor of '' Cleo'', a ...

ABC1 ABC TV, formerly known as ABC1, is an Australian national public television network. It is owned and operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is the flagship ABC Television network. The headquarters of the ABC TV channel an ...

's telemovie '' Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo'', the story of Buttrose's rise to success as the editor of ''

Cleo Cleo may refer to: Entertainment * ''Cleo'' (magazine), an Australian magazine established in 1972, now active in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand * Cleo (group), a South Korean girl group formed in 1999 * ''Cleo'' (play), by Lawren ...

'' magazine. In 2014, Keddie starred in ''

Party Tricks ''Party Tricks'' was an Australian television political drama/comedy series starring Asher Keddie and Rodger Corser. It premiered on Network Ten on 6 October 2014 at 8:30pm. On 3 October 2014 along with ''Offspring'', John Edwards confirmed t ...

'' as Premier Kate Ballard. Ballard faces an election campaign alongside newly announced Opposition candidate David McLeod (

Rodger Corser Rodger Corser (born 28 February 1973) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his portrayals of Detective Senior Sergeant Steve Owen in the Nine Network crime mini-series '' Underbelly'', based on the Melbourne gangland killings, Senior Ser ...

), with whom she once had a tumultuous affair. In 2019, Keddie starred in the ABC1 acclaimed series " The Cry". In March 2020, she starred in a 6 part series on ABC1, " Stateless". The series also stars and is produced by Australian actress, Cate Blanchett and is set in a detention centre in the middle of the Australian outback. In 2021, Keddie played Heather Marconi in the

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid act ...

led Hulu series, ''

Nine Perfect Strangers ''Nine Perfect Strangers'' is a 2018 novel by Australian author Liane Moriarty. It was published on September 18, 2018 by Macmillan Australia. It is a ''New York Times'' Bestseller. Synopsis Nine people from different walks of life attend a ...

'' alongside

Melissa McCarthy Melissa Ann McCarthy (born August 26, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, producer, writer, and fashion designer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards and tw ...

Samara Weaving Samara Weaving (born 23 February 1992) is an Australian actress and model. She began her career in her home country, playing Kirsten Mulroney on the drama series '' Out of the Blue'' (2008). She came to prominence with her portrayal of Indi Wal ...

and Bobby Cannavale.

Stage

Making her theatre debut for the

in 1998 in

Patrick Marber Patrick Albert Crispin Marber (born 19 September 1964) is an English comedian, playwright, director, actor, and screenwriter. Early life Marber was born and raised in a middle-class Jewish family in Wimbledon, London, the son of Angela (Benja ...

's ''Closer'', Keddie went on to appear in ''

Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th cen ...

'', ''

'', '' Birthrights'', '' Great Expectations'', ''

The Seagull ''The Seagull'' ( rus, Ча́йка, r=Cháyka, links=no) is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramatises th ...

'' and

Hannie Rayson Hannie Rayson (born 1957) is an Australian playwright and newspaper columnist. She is recognised as one of Australia's most significant playwrights. Biography Rayson was born in Melbourne, Victoria and graduated from the University of Melbourne ...

's '' Life After George''. Her performances in the 2005 Melbourne Theatre Company production of ''Les Liaisons dangereuses'', and the Playbox's ''The Ishmael Club'', both earned her

Green Room Award The Green Room Awards are peer awards which recognise excellence in cabaret, dance, drama, fringe theatre, musical theatre and opera in Melbourne. The awards were started in 1982 when Blair Edgar and Steven Tandy formed the Green Room Awards A ...

nominations. In 2007 Keddie starred alongside Jay Bowen in the Melbourne Theatre Company's play ''The Glass Soldier'' written by

Personal life

Keddie married actor and musician Jay Bowen in January 2007. The pair separated in December 2011. In April 2014, she married artist

Vincent Fantauzzo Vincent Fantauzzo (born 1977, Manchester, England), is a Melbourne-based Australian portrait artist known for his award winning portraits of Heath Ledger, Brandon Walters, Matt Moran, Emma Hack, Baz Luhrmann, Asher Keddie and his son Luca. He h ...

. On 19 November 2014 she announced at the GQ Men's Award that she was pregnant. On 1 March 2015, the couple welcomed their first child, a boy named Valentino Fantauzzo.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Keddie, Asher 1974 births Australian film actresses Australian television actresses Living people People educated at St Michael's Grammar School Australian stage actresses Actresses from Melbourne Gold Logie winners 20th-century Australian actresses 21st-century Australian actresses