Bonnie Piesse (born 10 August 1983) is an Australian actress and singer. Her breakthrough role was playing a trapeze artist in the Australian children's television series ''High Flyers'' at the age of 15 and not long after that she was scouted by
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...
to play a young
Beru Lars
This incomplete list of characters from the ''Star Wars'' franchise contains only those which are considered part of the official ''Star Wars'' canon, as of the changes made by Lucasfilm in April 2014. Following its acquisition by The Walt Dis ...
in ''
Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones'' and ''
Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption.
The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek term ''epeisodion'' (), meaning th ...
'', a role she reprised in the 2022
Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...
series ''
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Obi-Wan Kenobi () is a fictional Character (arts), character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Within the Star Wars original trilogy, original trilogy, Obi-Wan is a Jedi Master as a supporting character and is portrayed by English actor Alec Guinn ...
'' (2022). She also had recurring roles on ''
Blue Heelers
''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian police drama series that was produced by Southern Star Group and ran for 12 years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, the series generally depicted the ever ...
'', ''
Horace and Tina
''Horace & Tina'' is an Australian children's television series that first screened on Network Ten in 2001. The series was produced by Jonathan M. Shiff Productions. The series mixes animatronic characters (Horace & Tina) with live action drama. ...
'', ''
Stingers'', and ''
Last Man Standing''.
Early life
Piesse attended a Rudolf Steiner School in Australia where she developed a love for the performing arts and honed her skills as a singer/songwriter. Between 2000 and 2002, Bonnie won the 'Ranges Songsmith Award' and 'Apollo Bay Young Performers Competition' for songs she'd written and she was one of only a handful of ''
VCE'' performing arts students from around Victoria to be selected to perform at ''
Hamer Hall'' as part of the 2002 'Season of Excellence'.
Career
Actress
Piesse was cast as Donna in ''High Flyers'' when she was 15. She learned the trapeze and Spanish web for the role and took six months off school for the shoot. She then went on to play Alicia in ''
Horace and Tina
''Horace & Tina'' is an Australian children's television series that first screened on Network Ten in 2001. The series was produced by Jonathan M. Shiff Productions. The series mixes animatronic characters (Horace & Tina) with live action drama. ...
'', had a recurring role in ''
Stingers'', and guest starred in ''
Blue Heelers
''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian police drama series that was produced by Southern Star Group and ran for 12 years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, the series generally depicted the ever ...
'' and ''
Last Man Standing''. She subsequently appeared in ''
Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones'' and ''
Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption.
The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek term ''epeisodion'' (), meaning th ...
'' as
Beru Lars
This incomplete list of characters from the ''Star Wars'' franchise contains only those which are considered part of the official ''Star Wars'' canon, as of the changes made by Lucasfilm in April 2014. Following its acquisition by The Walt Dis ...
(
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the protagonist of the original film trilogy of the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. Portrayed by Mark Hamill, Luke first appeared in ''Star Wars'' (1977), and he returned in ''The ...
's aunt).
In 2005, Piesse played Sharona in ''Attack of the Sabretooth'', which was directed by
George T. Miller
George Trumbull Miller (born 28 November 1943) is a Scottish-Australian film and television director and producer. He has directed '' The Man from Snowy River'', '' The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter'' and ''Zeus and Roxanne''.
He sta ...
and shot in
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
.
In January 2011, Piesse completed shooting her scenes for the romantic comedy, ''
Love Eterne''. She plays Sidonia, a psychic, mentor and confidant to the female lead, Medina, played by Melissa Navia. Her song, "There for Me" is featured in it. After completing its film festival run, ''Love Eterne'' has won awards at the Los Angeles Movie Awards, Best Shorts Competition and ''The Accolade Competition''. It was an official selection at the ''New York International Independent Film & Video Festival'' (20 November 2011) and NewFilmmakers New York Annual Christmas Show (13 December 2011).
In December 2017, ''The Actors Awards'' nominated Piesse for ''Best Supporting Actress'' for her role in ''Love Eterne Mourning'', a short film made from a couple of her scenes from ''Love Eterne''.
On March 29, 2021, it was announced that Piesse would return to her role as Beru Lars in the
Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...
series ''
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Obi-Wan Kenobi () is a fictional Character (arts), character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Within the Star Wars original trilogy, original trilogy, Obi-Wan is a Jedi Master as a supporting character and is portrayed by English actor Alec Guinn ...
''.
Singer and songwriter
![bonniepiesse003](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Bonniepiesse003.jpg)
Piesse met Grammy-winning music producer
Val Garay
Val Garay (born May 9, 1942, in San Francisco, California, United States) is an American recording engineer and record producer who has worked with Kim Carnes, Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Neil Diamond, and others. Garay also co-founded Los An ...
when she first arrived in Los Angeles. He introduced her to several songwriters including
Jack Tempchin
Jack Tempchin is an American musician and singer-songwriter who wrote the Eagles song "Peaceful Easy Feeling" and co-wrote " Already Gone", "The Girl From Yesterday", "Somebody", and "It's Your World Now".
Career
During the Eagles' breakup per ...
,
Eric Kaz
Eric Justin Kaz (born January 21, 1946)
is an American singer-songwriter born in Brooklyn, New York. Besides his solo work, Kaz was a member of Blues Magoos for their fourth and fifth albums, ''Never Goin' Back to Georgia'' and ''Gulf Coast Bound ...
,
Bonnie Hayes
Bonnie Hayes is an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer, born in San Francisco, California, United States, and currently lives between Los Angeles and New York City. Her songs have been recorded by Cher, Bette Midler, Bonnie ...
, and
J.D. Souther
John David "J. D." Souther (born November 2, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He has written and co-written songs recorded by Linda Ronstadt and the Eagles (band), Eagles. Souther is probably best known for his songwriting ab ...
, with whom she co-wrote some of the songs for her debut album ''The Deep End.'' The album was recorded in Los Angeles, and was released in January 2011 on Big Deal Records.
Piesse's song "All I Have" was featured in two episodes of the CW television series ''
Life Unexpected
''Life Unexpected'' is an American teen drama television series that aired for two seasons from January 18, 2010 to January 18, 2011. It was produced by Best Day Ever Productions and Mojo Films in association with CBS Productions and Warner Br ...
'' in 2010.
Bonnie recorded "Bittersweet EP" with Producer
Emile Kelman and her song "Ariella" won the Singer Songwriter Category of the UK Songwriting Contest in 2013, alongside Lisa Nelson for her song, "Butterfly."
Another one of her songs, "There for Me", is featured in the romantic comedy, ''
Love Eterne''.
Piesse recorded a cover of ''Dream State (Brighter Night)'' by
Son Lux
Son Lux is an American experimental band. Originally the solo project and moniker of founding member Ryan Lott, the band's first three albums, '' At War with Walls & Mazes'', ''We Are Rising'' and ''Lanterns'', shaped the band's unique sound th ...
for opening credits of ''
The Vow''.
Personal life
Piesse is married to
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
n filmmaker Mark Vicente. Piesse and her husband were members of the self-described American multi-level marketing company and cult
NXIVM
NXIVM () is the name commonly used to describe the personality cult of imprisoned racketeer and sex offender Keith Raniere. NXIVM is also the trademarked name of the defunct corporation that Raniere founded, which provided seminars and vide ...
. The couple left the organization in 2017 and became NXIVM's most outspoken detractors. Their departure from the cult is documented in ''
The Vow'', a documentary series for
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
directed by
Jehane Noujaim
Jehane Noujaim ( ar, جيهان نجيم, ) (born May 17, 1974) is an Academy Award nominated American documentary film director best known for her films ''Control Room'', '' Startup.com'', '' Pangea Day'' and '' The Square.'' In 2019, she co-di ...
and
Karim Amer
Karim Amer (born November 10, 1983) is an Egyptian-American film producer and director. He worked on '' The Square'' (2013) and ''The Great Hack'' (2019); the former was the first Egyptian film to earn an Academy Award nomination and went on to ...
.
Selected filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
*
Interview by Daniel Lehmanat ''
Backstage''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Piesse, Bonnie
1983 births
Living people
Actresses from Melbourne
Australian film actresses
Australian television actresses
NXIVM people
21st-century Australian singers
21st-century Australian women singers