Sarah Roberts (born 4 December 1984) is an Australian television and film actress. After training at the 16th Street Actors Studio, Roberts took part in the 2012 reality television series ''Bollywood Star'', in which Australians compete for a chance to work with

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

director Mahesh Bhatt. She has made guest appearances in various Australian television shows, including ''

Jack Irish ''Jack Irish'' is an Australian television drama series first broadcast on ABC TV on 14 October 2012. The series stars Guy Pearce as the title character, a former criminal lawyer turned private investigator and debt collector. Much of the acti ...

'' and '' INXS: Never Tear Us Apart''. After appearing in the 2014 '' Neighbours'' spin-off series '' Brennan on the Run'' as Sienna Matthews, Roberts joined the cast of the main show in a recurring capacity. From 2017 to 2021, she played Willow Harris in '' Home and Away''. Roberts has also starred in the feature films ''

Felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

'' and '' UnIndian''.

Early life

Roberts is of Sri Lankan heritage. After graduating from high school, Roberts moved to China to teach English. She then moved to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

when she was 18 and secured the role of

Princess Jasmine Princess Jasmine is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Pictures' 31st animated feature film ''Aladdin'' (1992). Voiced by American actress Linda Larkin with a singing voice provided by Filipina singer Lea Salonga Jasmine is the s ...

at the

Tokyo Disneyland (local nickname ''TDL'') is a theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, near Tokyo. Its main gate is directly adjacent to both Maihama Station and Tokyo Disneyland Station. It was the first Disney park to ...

production of '' Aladdin''. Three years later, Roberts returned to Australia. She trained at the 16th Street Actors Studio in Melbourne.

Career

Roberts was a contestant on the 2012 SBS reality television series ''Bollywood Star'', in which Australians competed for the chance to appear in a

film by director Mahesh Bhatt. She made it to the top four. Shortly after the show finished, Roberts auditioned for

Matthew Saville Matthew Saville (born 1966) is an Australian television and film director, known for ''Noise'' (2007) and '' A Month of Sundays'' (2015). Early life and education Saville was born around 1966, the youngest of six children, and grew up in Ade ...

's crime thriller ''

''. Roberts attended three auditions in total, and after the final one in Sydney, she was convinced that she would not receive the role. Two weeks later, Roberts was informed that she had been cast as Ankhila, the mother of a young boy who is killed in a

hit and run In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions. Additional obligation In many jurisdictions, there may be a ...

. ''Felony'' was written by

Joel Edgerton Joel Edgerton (born 23 June 1974) is an Australian actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his appearance in the ''Star Wars'' films ''Attack of the Clones'' (2002) and ''Revenge of the Sith'' (2005) as a young Owen Lars, a role he reprised i ...

, who also stars in the lead role, and it premiered at the

2013 Toronto Film Festival The 38th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 5 and 15, 2013. '' The Fifth Estate'' was selected as the opening film and '' Life of Crime'' was the closing film. 75 films were ...

. Roberts was also cast in a production of Alan Ball's play ''All That I Will Ever Be'' by director

Robert Chuter Robert Chuter is an Australian theatre director, film director, producer, writer, and actor. Early life Robert John Chuter was born on 23 April 1964 in Carlton, Victoria, Australia, the only son of Rita Spalding and British emigrant Harry Chut ...

in 2012. She portrayed the two female roles of Cynthia and Beth. Roberts has had guest stints in several Australian television shows and films, including '' It's a Date'', ''

Angry Boys ''Angry Boys'' is an Australian television mockumentary miniseries written by and starring Chris Lilley, continuing the mockumentary style of his previous series. In ''Angry Boys'', Lilley plays multiple characters: S.mouse, an American rapper; ...

'' and '' Wolf Creek 2''. She also appears in the ''

'' television film series, and the '' INXS: Never Tear Us Apart'' miniseries. In 2014, Roberts appeared in the '' Neighbours'' web series '' Brennan on the Run'' as Sienna Matthews, the girlfriend of Mark Brennan ( Scott McGregor), a former police detective in witness protection. Later that year, Roberts reprised her role of Sienna and joined the cast of ''Neighbours'' in a recurring capacity. Roberts received

hate mail Hate mail (as electronic, posted, or otherwise) is a form of harassment, usually consisting of invective and potentially intimidating or threatening comments towards the recipient. Hate mail often contains exceptionally abusive, foul or otherwi ...

during her time in the show, as viewers did not like her character. She had previously made one off guest appearances in ''Neighbours'' during 2010 and 2011. In late 2014, Roberts was cast in the romantic comedy '' UnIndian''. It was the first feature film from the Australia India Film Fund established the previous year. Roberts stars alongside

Tannishtha Chatterjee Tannishtha Chatterjee is an Indian actress and director best known in the west for her performance in the British film ''Brick Lane'' (2007), the film adaptation of Monica Ali's best selling novel of the same name Brett Lee Brett Lee (born 8 November 1976) is an Australian former international cricketer, who played all three formats of the game. During his international career, Lee was recognised as one of the fastest bowlers in the world. In each of his first two ...

. Roberts joined the cast of '' Home and Away'' in 2017 as Willow Harris. She flew up from Melbourne to Sydney for the audition, where she had a chemistry reading with actor James Stewart, who plays

Justin Morgan Justin Morgan (February 28, 1747 – March 22, 1798) was a U.S. horse breeder and composer. He was born in West Springfield, Massachusetts, and by 1788 had settled in Vermont. In addition to being a horse breeder and farmer, he was a teacher of ...

. She had originally auditioned for the roles of

Kat Chapman Katarina Chapman is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera '' Home and Away'', played by Pia Miller. The actress joined the cast in July 2014 following a successful audition. She began filming during the following month, and initial ...

and Scarlett Snow. Roberts described Willow as "a tough, dynamic and powerful character". In March 2021, Roberts confirmed that she had quit ''Home and Away'' and was auditioning for new roles. Her final scenes aired on 14 April 2021. In 2022, Roberts will appear in the comedy film ''Wog Boys Forever'', written by

Nick Giannopoulos Nicholas Giannopoulos (born 1 July 1963) is an Australian stand-up comedian, film and TV actor and film director. He is best known for his comedy stage show '' Wogs Out of Work'' alongside George Kapiniaris, the television sitcom ''Acropolis ...

Personal life

In addition to her acting career, Roberts is also a DJ and plays with singer Kate Greer in a duo called VAMP. Their first single "Neon Lights" features rapper

Eve Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...

. Roberts has been in a relationship with her ''Home and Away'' co-star James Stewart since October 2017. They announced their engagement in December 2018, and married at

Luttrellstown Castle Luttrellstown Castle Luttrellstown Castle, dating from the early 15th century (c. 1420), is located in Clonsilla on the outskirts of Dublin, Ireland. It has been owned variously by the eponymous and notorious Luttrell family, by the bookseller ...

in Ireland in July 2019. Roberts is stepmother to Stewart's daughter Scout from his relationship with Jessica Marais. On 23 October 2019, Roberts' brother Karl died of brain cancer.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Sarah Australian people of Sri Lankan descent Australian soap opera actresses Australian film actresses Australian DJs Actresses from Melbourne 21st-century Australian actresses Living people 1984 births