Jessica McNamee (born 16 June 1988) is an Australian actress. She rose to fame in Australia playing roles 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 ...

television programs ''

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 ...

'' and ''

Packed to the Rafters ''Packed to the Rafters'' was an Australian family-oriented comedy drama television program which premiered on the Seven Network on Tuesday 26 August 2008 at 8:30 pm. The show continued on Tuesdays in this timeslot for its entire run. The d ...

''. From 2014 to 2015, she starred as patrol officer Theresa Kelly in the

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

series ''

Sirens Siren or sirens may refer to: Common meanings * Siren (alarm), a loud acoustic alarm used to alert people to emergencies * Siren (mythology), an enchanting but dangerous monster in Greek mythology Places * Siren (town), Wisconsin * Siren, Wisco ...

''. Her film roles include '' The Vow'' (2012), ''

Chips ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The serie ...

'' (2017), '' Battle of the Sexes'' (2017), ''

The Meg ''The Meg'' is a 2018 science fiction action film directed by Jon Turteltaub with screenplay by Dean Georgaris, Jon Hoeber, and Erich Hoeber, loosely based on the 1997 book '' Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror'' by Steve Alten. The film stars Jason Sta ...

'' (2018) and ''

Mortal Kombat ''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The development of the first game was originally based on an idea that Ed Boon and John Tobias had of making a v ...

'' (2021).

Career

McNamee secured a role in the

soap opera ''

'' playing the role of Lisa Duffy. She went on to play Sammy Rafter in the television series ''

''. In 2009, McNamee was a contestant on the ninth series of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...

''. She was partnered with dancer Stefano Olivieri and they were eliminated before the final. The role of Sammy in ''Packed to the Rafters'' left McNamee keen to lose the "good girl" image the role created. In the series production breaks, she decided to take on different roles. She starred in the horror film '' The Loved Ones''; which premiered at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

in 2009. In mid-2010, she made the short film ''50-50''. McNamee went on to secure a role in the 2012 film '' The Vow''. She filmed the project in Toronto alongside

Rachel McAdams Rachel Anne McAdams (born November 17, 1978) is a Canadian actress. After graduating from a theatre degree program at York University in 2001, she worked in Canadian television and film productions, such as the drama film ''Perfect Pie'' (200 ...

and

Channing Tatum Channing Matthew Tatum (born April 26, 1980) is an American actor. Tatum made his film debut in the drama ''Coach Carter'' (2005), and had his breakthrough role in the 2006 dance film ''Step Up (film), Step Up''. He gained wider attention for ...

. She described working on the film as a "surreal experience". In 2013, she returned to ''Packed to the Rafters'' for the final season as a special guest star. From 2014 to 2015, McNamee starred in the

TV series ''Sirens''. She played the role of Theresa Kelly, a Chicago police officer, and was a main character in the show. In 2017, she portrayed tennis player

Margaret Court Margaret Court (''née'' Smith; born 16 July 1942), also known as Margaret Smith Court, is an Australian retired former world No. 1 tennis player and a Christian minister. Considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, her 24 maj ...

in '' Battle of the Sexes''. In 2018, McNamee played the lead role of Jenna alongside

William Fichtner William Edward Fichtner (born November 27, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as Sheriff Tom Underlay on ''Invasion'', Alexander Mahone on ''Prison Break'', Carl Hickman on ''Crossing Lines'', and Adam Janikowski on ...

in the drama film '' The Neighbor''. She played Lori, the ex-wife of

megalodon Megalodon (''Otodus megalodon''), meaning "big tooth", is an extinct species of mackerel shark that lived approximately 23 to 3.6 million years ago (Mya), from the Early Miocene to the Pliocene epochs. It was formerly thought to be a member ...

hunter Jonas Taylor (

Jason Statham Jason Statham (; born 26 July 1967) is an English actor. He is known for portraying characters in various action-thriller films who are typically tough, hardboiled, gritty, or violent. Statham began practising Chinese martial arts, kickboxing ...

), in the blockbuster ''

''. In 2019, McNamee appeared in the crime-thriller film ''

Locusts Locusts (derived from the Vulgar Latin ''locusta'', meaning grasshopper) are various species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumst ...

'', playing the role of Izzy. In August 2019, McNamee was cast in ''

'' as

Sonya Blade Sonya Blade is a fictional character in the '' Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. She debuted in the original 1992 game as the roster's sole female fighter. Inspired by martial artist Cynthia Roth ...

and it was released in April 2021. In 2020, McNamee appeared in the horror film '' Black Water: Abyss''. She also provided voice work in

Rhys Wakefield Rhys Wakefield is an Australian actor and director, known for his roles in Australian TV series ''Home and Away'', the feature film ''The Black Balloon'' (2008) and in season 3 of HBO's ''True Detective'' in 2019. Wakefield's debut feature f ...

's drama podcasrt series titled ''From Now''. In 2021, McNamee was cast in the horror-thriller film ''The Visitor''.

Personal life

McNamee was born in Sydney. She is the sister of actress

Penny McNamee Penny McNamee (born 17 March 1983) is an Australian actress. Early and personal life Penny McNamee was born in Sydney to Peter and Helen McNamee. She has three sisters, including actress Jessica McNamee, and a younger brother. Through her sist ...

and they have two more sisters and a brother. Her niece is the actress Teagan Croft. Her cousin Daniel McNamee is in the band

Art Vs Science Art vs. Science are an Australian electronic dance band based in Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in February 2008, the three-piece consists of James Finn (styled as Jim) on vocals and keyboards; Daniel McNamee (styled as Dan Mac) on vocals, guit ...

. In April 2019, she married Patrick Caruso, a property developer. In February 2010, McNamee became an ambassador for

The Fred Hollows Foundation The Fred Hollows Foundation is a non-profit aid organisation based in Sydney, Australia, which was founded in 1992 by eye surgeon Fred Hollows. The foundation focuses on treating and preventing blindness and other vision problems. It operate ...

; the foundation focuses on treating and preventing blindness and other vision problems. McNamee represents The Foundation's 'Miracle Club', encouraging supporters to make monthly contributions that will restore sight to people in countries where The Foundation works.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McNamee, Jessica 1986 births Australian film actresses Actresses from Sydney Australian soap opera actresses Living people 21st-century Australian actresses