Bonnie Sveen (born 14 July 1989) is an Australian actress. She began her acting career at the Huon Valley Theatre Company, before attending the

National Institute of Dramatic Art The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts is based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, many of Australia's leading actors and directors trained at NIDA, including Cat ...

. In 2010, Sveen starred in the multi-story drama film '' Before the Rain'' and made a guest appearance in the soap opera ''

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip ...

''. In 2013, Sveen appeared as the freed slave Chadara in '' Spartacus: Vengeance''. Sveen also joined the main cast of ''Home and Away'' as Ricky Sharpe. For her portrayal of Ricky, Sveen won the

Logie Award for Most Popular New Talent The Silver Logie for Most Popular New Talent is an award presented at the Australian TV Week Logie Awards. The award recognises the popularity of a new talent in an Australian program. It may or may not be their first television appearance, howev ...

. Sveen appeared as Ricky in the 2015 spin-off '' Home and Away: An Eye for an Eye''. The following year, she announced her departure from ''Home and Away'', after she was cast in the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

drama ''

The Secret Daughter ''The Secret Daughter'' is an Australian television drama series which premiered on the Seven Network on 3 October 2016. The series is written by Justin Monjo, Greg Haddrick, Louise Bowes and Keith Thompson and directed by Leah Purcell, Geoff ...

'', alongside

Jessica Mauboy Jessica Hilda Mauboy (born 4 August 1989) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. Born and raised in Darwin, Northern Territory, she rose to fame in 2006 on the fourth season of ''Australian Idol'', where she was runner-up and subseq ...

Early and personal life

Sveen was born in the Huon Valley, South Tasmania to Rob and Leanne Sveen. She has two brothers, one older and one younger. Sveen began her acting career at the Huon Valley Theatre Company. She attended

Rosny College Rosny College is a government comprehensive senior secondary school located in , a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Established in 1973, the college caters for approximately 1,000 students in Years 11 and 12. The college is administered ...

, before she moved to Sydney to attend the

(NIDA). Outside of acting, Sveen is also a painter. Sveen has been in a relationship with assistant director Nathan Gooley since 2015. In August 2018, Sveen announced that the couple were expecting identical twins in October. However, Sveen gave birth to the twin girls a month early.

Career

In 2010, Sveen starred as Violet in a chapter of the multi-story Australian film '' Before the Rain''. The chapter, titled ''Violet'', was written by

Alice Bell Alice Bell is an Australian screenwriter and director. Bell has written for Australian drama, including The Beautiful Lie, The Slap, Spirited, Rush and Puberty Blues. She has directed music videos for artists including Silverchair, Toni Coll ...

and directed by

Craig Boreham Craig Boreham is an Australian film director, producer, and writer. Career To date, Boreham has focussed his attention on short film works that explore issues of marginalised sexuality and the politics of desire. Craig Boreham graduated from bo ...

. ''Before the Rain'' was a co-production from NIDA and the

Australian Film, Television and Radio School The Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) formerly Australian Film and Television School, is Australia's national screen arts and broadcast school. The school is a Commonwealth Government statutory authority. History Establishe ...

. In that same year, Sveen also made a guest appearance as Hayley Doven in two episodes of ''

''. In 2013, Sveen appeared as Chadara in '' Spartacus: Vengeance''. Sveen auditioned for the role of

Bianca Scott Bianca Scott is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera '' Home and Away'', played by Lisa Gormley. Gormley had recently graduated from NIDA when she secured the role of Bianca, who was introduced as the sister of fel ...

in ''Home and Away'', before she was cast as Ricky Sharpe. Sveen told Tim Martain from ''

The Mercury Mercury most commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * M ...

'' that she wanted the part "more than anything I've ever auditioned for." Ricky was introduced as a

love interest ''Gli Innamorati'' (, meaning "The Lovers") were stock characters within the theatre style known as commedia dell'arte, who appeared in 16th century Italy. In the plays, everything revolved around the Lovers in some regard. These dramatic and pos ...

for established character

Darryl Braxton Darryl "Brax" Braxton is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Home and Away'', played by Steve Peacocke. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 16 February 2011. The character was created and introd ...

(

Steve Peacocke Stephen Peacocke (born 30 October 1981) is an Australian actor. Peacocke appeared in various theatre productions, before playing minor roles in television dramas and films, including ''Suburban Mayhem'' and '' All Saints''. From 2011 until 2016 ...

). Sveen made her first appearance as Ricky on 2 April 2013. Sveen won the

for the role. Her acceptance speech was praised by the media and viewers after she spoke about positive body images and acknowledged

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

as the original owners of the land where the Logies were held. In 2015, Sveen also starred in the spin-off episode '' Home and Away: An Eye for an Eye'' broadcast exclusively on the subscription service Presto. In early April 2016, it was announced Sveen had joined the cast of ''

'' alongside singer

, who encouraged producers to sign her for the show. Sveen plays the role of back-up singer Layla, while Mauboy plays Billie, a singer who goes to the city to pursue her music dreams, but finds out about her family's past at the same time. Sveen dyed her hair brunette for the role. A few days later, Sveen confirmed that she had left ''Home and Away''. She posted a goodbye message on her social media account, stating "If someone had told me 10 years ago that I'd be playing a staunch, surfie chick in Summer Bay (and that it would bring me more joy than I could imagine) I wouldn't have believed them. Playing Ricky has shaped me for ever. I carry every bond that was forged and so many fond memories, into the new beginning."

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sveen, Bonnie 1980s births 21st-century Australian actresses People from Tasmania Actresses from Tasmania Australian film actresses Australian soap opera actresses Living people Logie Award winners National Institute of Dramatic Art alumni