Jessica Falkholt (15 May 1988 – 17 January 2018) was an Australian actress who appeared in the television series ''

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 ...

'' as Hope Morrison from September to November 2016. Along with her parents and sister, she died as a result of a December 2017 traffic collision in southern

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. She appeared posthumously playing the title role in the 2018 fantasy thriller film ''

Harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...

'', released 10 months after her death.

Biography

Falkholt was born on 15 May 1988 in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

to an Italian mother, Vivian and Swedish father Lars. She attended

Gilroy College Gilroy Catholic College is a Roman Catholic comprehensive co-educational secondary day school, located in Castle Hill, in the Hills District of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The College provides a Catholic and general education for stud ...

in Castle Hill, and was awarded the Higher School Certificate in 2006. She obtained a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in Media and Communication at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...

, where she starred in several theatrical productions including the musical ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

''. After graduation, she worked production jobs at Channel Seven and

Carnival Films Carnival Films is a British production company based in London, UK, founded in 1978. It has produced television series for all the major UK networks including the BBC, ITV (TV network), ITV, Channel 4, and Sky (United Kingdom), Sky, as well as ...

, building a portfolio by acting in television commercials. In 2012, Falkholt was accepted into 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 ...

(NIDA). While studying there, she had minor television roles in '' Tricky Business'' and '' Underbelly: Badness''. Falkholt graduated from NIDA in 2015, and the following year took on a recurring role in series ''

'' as Hope Morrison. In 2017 she completed work on her first feature film, ''

'', released after her death in October 2018, in which she played the titular character. She also filmed a guest role in

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

's drama '' Bite Club''. Shortly before the accident, Falkholt finished filming the role of Genevieve in crime drama '' Mystery Road''.

Traffic collision

On 26 December 2017, Falkholt was involved in a car crash which killed both her parents instantly. As the vehicle burst into flames, both Jessica and her sister Annabelle, aged 21, were pulled out of the vehicle alive, but Annabelle died on 29 December in

Liverpool Hospital Liverpool Hospital is located in the South Western Sydney suburb of Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia and is a 50-minute drive from the Sydney CBD. It is the second largest hospital in New South Wales (behind Westmead Hospital) and one of th ...

. The 50-year-old driver of the other vehicle, who was also killed, was reportedly a serial traffic offender. His car failed to negotiate a curve on the

Princes Highway Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former ...

, near

Sussex Inlet Sussex Inlet is a town in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The town lies on the west bank of the waterway called Sussex Inlet, which divides New South Wales from the Jervis Bay Territory. The town lies within the City of Sh ...

, and travelled into the path of the Falkholts' car. The Falkholts were returning to

Ryde Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 23,999 according to the 2011 Census and an estimate of 24,847 in 2019. Its growth as a seaside resort came af ...

after attending Christmas celebrations. Officials confirmed the other driver was returning home to

Ulladulla Ulladulla is a coastal town in New South Wales, Australia in the City of Shoalhaven local government area. It is on the Princes Highway about south of Sydney, halfway between Batemans Bay to the south and Nowra to the north. Ulladulla has cl ...

, after visiting a

methadone Methadone, sold under the brand names Dolophine and Methadose among others, is a synthetic opioid agonist used for chronic pain and also for opioid dependence. It is used to treat chronic pain, and it is also used to treat addiction to heroin ...

clinic in

Nowra Nowra is a city in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south-southwest of the state capital of Sydney (about as the crow flies). As of the 2021 census, Nowra has an estimated population of 22,584. Situated in th ...

. Police are investigating whether the drug was a factor in the crash, among other contributing factors. Following the crash, Falkholt was taken to Sydney's St George Hospital, where she underwent surgery that included the removal of a kidney and part of her skull. On 12 January 2018, a spokesperson for St George Hospital confirmed that her life support had been turned off. She died in hospital on 17 January 2018, aged 29.

Roles

Television

*''

'' (2016) – Hope Morrison *'' Bite Club'' (2018) – Emma Bailey *'' Mystery Road'' (2018) – Genevieve Leclaire

Film

*''

'' (2018) – Harmony

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Falkholt, Jessica 1988 births 2018 deaths Actresses from Sydney Road incident deaths in New South Wales Australian people of Italian descent Australian people of Swedish descent