Rhoda Ann Roberts (born 1959) is an Australian actress, director and arts executive. Born in

Canterbury Hospital The Canterbury Hospital is a metropolitan hospital in Campsie, a south-western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Canterbury Hospital was opened in 1929 and was rebuilt in 1998. Canterbury Hospital is one of many hospitals 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 ...

in 1959, Bundjalung woman Roberts grew up and completed Year 10 in Lismore, then moved back to Sydney where she qualified as a nurse in 1979. Roberts co-starred with Rachael Maza and Lydia Miller in Belvoir Street Theatre's 1993 production of Louis Nowra's play '' Radiance''. She was employed as presenter of ''Vox Populi'', an SBS Television program, in 1990, becoming the first Indigenous Australian to present a

prime time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

current affairs program. In 1995 she founded the Festival of Dreaming and was its director until 2009. Roberts has been Head of Indigenous Programming at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

since 2012. She was appointed an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AO) in the

2016 Queen's Birthday Honours The 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as pa ...

for "distinguished service to the performing arts through a range of leadership and advocacy roles in the development, promotion and presentation of contemporary Indigenous culture". She was honoured with one of the 2017 Centenary Sue Nattrass Awards presented at the

18th Helpmann Awards The 18th Annual Helpmann Awards for live performance in Australia was held across two nights; the Curtain Raiser Ceremony on 15 July 2018 at the Sydney Town Hall and the Awards Ceremony on 16 July 2018 at the Capitol Theatre, Sydney. Nominations ...

. Penny Tweedie's image of Roberts is held by the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: *National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra *National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London, with s ...

in Canberra.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Rhoda 1960 births Living people Bundjalung people Australian stage actresses Australian theatre directors Officers of the Order of Australia 20th-century Australian actresses 21st-century Australian actresses Australian television actresses Australian film actresses Actresses from Sydney