Marzena Godecki (born 28 September 1978) is a Polish-Australian actress. She is best known for her starring role as Neri in ''

Ocean Girl ''Ocean Girl'' (titled ''Ocean Odyssey'' in the UK) is an Australian science fiction TV series aimed for family audiences and starring Marzena Godecki as the lead character. The show is set in the near future, and focuses on an unusual girl n ...

''.

Early life

Marzena Godecki was born on 28 September 1978 in Bytom, Poland. When she was three years old her family emigrated from Poland to Australia. She was 16 and a modern dance and ballet student in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

when she was selected from more than 500 girls who auditioned for the role of Neri in ''Ocean Girl''. When she first tried out for the part Godecki recalls being taken to a local ocean pier in Melbourne and thrown into the cold waters to see if she was comfortable. She was, and after landing the lead role, Godecki was able to sharpen up her swimming skills and learn how to scuba dive at the ''Ocean Girl'' location,Depp wouldn't do Don Juan without Brando
''Lakeland Ledger''. 3 May 1995.

Port Douglas Port Douglas is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Douglas, Queensland, Australia, approximately 60 km north of Cairns. In the , Port Douglas had a population of 3,504 people. The town's population can often double, however, with the in ...

in Far North Queensland, Australia. During the filming, Godecki was able to swim with dolphins and even with a pod of

Minke whale The minke whale (), or lesser rorqual, is a species complex of baleen whale. The two species of minke whale are the common (or northern) minke whale and the Antarctic (or southern) minke whale. The minke whale was first described by the Danish na ...

s that came up to the film crew's boat. Because much of ''Ocean Girl'' was filmed in the open water, she was always under the close watch of a stunt and dive safety team who kept a watch out for sharks. Godecki took most of 1996 off from ''Ocean Girl'' to complete her final year at secondary school concentrating on her favourite subjects—maths and science. She originally hoped after the last season of ''Ocean Girl'' to secure a place at University in Australia in

veterinary science Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...

owing to her love of animals. Godecki married in 2008 and is now called Marzena D'Odorico. She has a son called Nico born in July 2008 and have been running the children's fashion store Tiny Threads in Melbourne, together with her business partner Melanie Tsoukas from 2008 to 2012. She also has a daughter called Sasha born in late 2011.

Career

Before Godecki was selected for the role of Neri in ''

'' for her graceful style of underwater swimming, she was a student in Melbourne where she studied

modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance which included dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th ...

and ballet. She also went to Methodist Ladies College. Apart from her starring role as Neri, Godecki was also a regular extra on the 1992 series of

Round the Twist ''Round the Twist'' is an Australian children's comedy television series based on stories by author Paul Jennings that follows the supernatural adventures of the Twist family. The series was created and produced by Patricia Edgar, and develope ...

, appearing and sitting next to Linda in school scenes, but never is heard speaking. She was credited as "Beautiful Girl". Although in the episode "Nails" she is called "Madeleine" by Mr Snapper.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Godecki, Marzena Australian television actresses Polish television actresses Polish emigrants to Australia People from Bytom 1978 births Living people Australian child actresses People educated at Methodist Ladies' College, Melbourne