Minnie Crozier is a fictional character on the

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

Shortland Street ''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital, first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992. It is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, being broadcast continuously ...

'', who was portrayed by

Katrina Devine Katrina Devine (born 21 April 1980) is an Irish-born New Zealand actress. Biography Devine migrated to New Zealand with her family when she was six years old and competed in Irish dance during her teens. In 1994, Katrina earned a role on '' Sho ...

from her first appearance in 1994 as part of the Crozier family unit until 2001 when the character was axed as part of a large cast overhaul.

Creation and casting

was cast in the role at the age of 14 and never imagined just how central Minnie would become in following years. After appearing on the show for 6 years, it was announced in 2000 the character was axed and would be making her last appearance in early 2001. The cause was later revealed as a show revamp which would see the tone more suited towards working class characters.

Storylines

Minnie arrived to Ferndale with her mother

Ellen Crozier Ellen Rosemary Crozier is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera '' Shortland Street'', who was portrayed by Robyn Malcolm for nearly six years in the mid to late 1990s. Creation and casting Robyn Malcolm "won" the role of Ellen Cr ...

(

Robyn Malcolm Robyn Jane Malcolm (born 15 March 1965) is a New Zealand actress, who first gained recognition for her role as nurse Ellen Crozier on the New Zealand soap opera '' Shortland Street''. She is best known for six seasons of playing Cheryl West, ma ...

) and stepfather

Johnny Marinovich The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the New Zealand soap opera '' Shortland Street'' in 1994, by order of first appearance. Marilyn Bluck Marilyn Bluck (previously Harrison) was the overbearing sister in law to Jenny Ha ...

(Stelio Yiakmis) and was devastated when the two separated. She developed a crush on James Thornton (Chris Dykzeul) but nothing came of it. Minnie met her real father Ryan Birch ( Robert Harte) and was shocked when she learned she was the product of rape. She grew close to Harry Martin (

Dean O'Gorman Dean Lance O'Gorman (born 1 December 1976) is a New Zealand actor, artist, and photographer. He played the dwarf Fíli in the ''Hobbit'' trilogy and the Norse God Bragi/Anders Johnson in the fantasy series ''The Almighty Johnsons''. He also por ...

) and soon lost her virginity to her streetkid stepbrother

Fergus Kearney David Fergus Kearney is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera '' Shortland Street'' who was portrayed by Paul Ellis for numerous recurring stints from 1995 to 1999 before becoming a regular character until 2001. The character returne ...

(Paul Ellis). After taking up

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

acting, Minnie was nearly raped by her teacher and ended up getting him fired. Minnie was disgusted in Johnny when he didn't get back together with Ellen and she briefly dated a Neo Nazi leader in retaliation. Following the death of her sister

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

(Georgia Bishop), Minnie dated

Oscar Henry Oscar Henry is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera '' Shortland Street'' played by Christopher Brown from 1998 to 1999. Oscar debuted in mid-1998 as a love interest for Minnie Crozier (Katrina Devine). He was at first liked by th ...

(Christopher Brown) but the two broke up when he started to control all aspects of her life. This resulted in Oscar blackmailing and raping Minnie. As the year ended, Oscar was found bludgeoned but alive and Minnie was the chief suspect. The aftermath of the rape and the ordeal of being suspects drew Fergus back to Minnie but the two broke up once and for all when he cheated on her. Minnie started to use men and briefly became a prostitute. Good friend Nick Harrison ( Karl Burnett) helped her out of the hole she'd dug and the two briefly dated. Minnie met

Waverley Waverley may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Waverley'' (novel), by Sir Walter Scott ** ''Waverley'' Overture, a work by Hector Berlioz inspired by Scott's novel * Waverley Harrison, a character in the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Stree ...

's ( Claire Chitham) brother Stratford (

Antony Starr Antony Starr (born 25 October 1975) is a New Zealand actor, known for his television roles. He played the dual roles of Jethro and Van West on '' Outrageous Fortune'' (2005–10), Lucas Hood on ''Banshee'' (2013–16), and Homelander on '' The Bo ...

) and fell in love. She ditched the big smoke and the two left to live on a farm. A few years later Eltham Wilson (Kip Chapman) stated that Minnie and Stratford were very much still together though were in the midst of a massive argument.

Reception

Minnie's romances were known for their bad luck, with the character dating a neo-nazi, being raped and going after a gay chemist. Devine won the "Best Supporting Actress" award in the 1998 ''New Zealand Television Awards'' for her portrayal of Minnie throughout the rape storyline. Following the departure of Kirsty Knight ( Angela Dotchin), Minnie received the label of being her replacement, something which annoyed Devine. Shortly before being axed from the show, Minnie was criticized for being "plain". When fans learned of the axing, they hoped the character would leave unharmed. In 2012, the character was named as one of the standout characters of the show's first 20 years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crozier, Minnie Shortland Street characters Television characters introduced in 1994 Fictional receptionists Female characters in television