Sigrid Madeline Thornton (born 12 February 1959) is an Australian film and television actress. Her television work includes ''
Prisoner
A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison.
...
'' (1979–80), ''
All the Rivers Run
''All the Rivers Run'' is an Australian historical novel by Nancy Cato, first published in 1958.
It was adapted as a 1983 Australian television mini-series starring Sigrid Thornton and John Waters. The mini-series is marketed with the tagline ...
'' (1983), ''
SeaChange
''SeaChange'' is an Australian television program that ran from 1998 to 2000 on the ABC and in 2019 on the Nine Network. It was created by Andrew Knight and Deborah Cox and starred Sigrid Thornton, David Wenham, William McInnes, John Howar ...
'' (1998–2019) and ''
Wentworth Wentworth may refer to:
People
* Wentworth (surname)
* Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth (1873–1957), Lady Wentworth, notable Arabian horse breeder
* S. Wentworth Horton (1885–1960), New York state senator
* Wentworth Miller (born 1 ...
'' (2016–2018). She also starred in the American
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
series ''
Paradise
In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in paradis ...
'' (1988–91). Her film appearances include ''
Snapshot
Snapshot, snapshots or snap shot may refer to:
* Snapshot (photography), a photograph taken without preparation
Computing
* Snapshot (computer storage), the state of a system at a particular point in time
* Snapshot (file format) or SNP, a file ...
'' (1979), ''
The Man from Snowy River The Man from Snowy River may refer to:
* "The Man from Snowy River" (poem), an 1890 Australian poem by Banjo Paterson.
* '' The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses'' an 1895 poetry collection by Banjo Paterson (including the above)
* ''The Man ...
'' (1982), ''
Street Hero'' (1984) and ''
Face to Face'' (2011). She won the
for the 2015 miniseries ''
Peter Allen: Not the Boy Next Door''.
Biography
Early years
Thornton was born in
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
, the daughter of
Merle
Merle may refer to:
People
*Merle (given name), a given name used by both men and women
*Merle (surname), a surname of French origin
Others
*Merle (dog coat), a pattern in dogs’ coats
*Merle (grape), another name for the wine grape Merlot
*Akaf ...
, an academic and writer, and Neil Thornton, an academic. She was raised in Brisbane, attending
St. Peter's Lutheran College. For two years, she lived in London, where she was a member of the
Unicorn Theatre
The Unicorn Theatre is a children's theatre in the London Borough of Southwark, in England. It is a custom-built, RIBA Award–winning building on Tooley Street, which opened in 2005. The theatre was designed by Keith Williams, built by Arup an ...
.
Back in Brisbane she attended
Twelfth Night Theatre
250px, Twelfth Night Theatre
The Twelfth Night Theatre is an established Australian entertainment venue located in Bowen Hills, in Brisbane, Queensland. Many notable actors, both international and Australian, have performed there.
The Twelfth N ...
Junior Workshop and in 1970, during the
Captain Cook Bicentenary Celebrations, Thornton appeared before
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
as ''Rosa Campbell-Praed'' in ''Looking Glass on Yesterday''. Thornton was a student of noted theatre director,
Joan Whalley
Joan Agnes Whalley, OAM, (December 1927 – 27 August 2021) was an actress, teacher and artistic director of Twelfth Night Theatre in Bowen Hills, Brisbane, Australia from 1962 to 1976.
Early years
Whalley was born in December 1927 and went ...
.
Career
She acted in TV series ''
Homicide
Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...
'' and ''
Division 4
''Division 4'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the Nine Network between 1969 and 1975 for 301 episodes.
Synopsis
The series was one of the first dramas to follow up on the enormous success o ...
'' in 1975. She also appeared on
The Sullivans
''The Sullivans'' is an Australian period drama television series produced by Crawford Productions which ran on the Nine Network from 15 November 1976 until 10 March 1983. The series tells the story of a fictional average middle-clas ...
, as Elizabeth "Buffy" Turnbull.
In 1977, Thornton made her film debut as Wendy in ''
The FJ Holden'' directed by
Michael Thornhill
Michael Thornhill (29 March 1941 – 22 January 2022) was a film producer, screenwriter, and director.
Career
Thornhill had a background in freelance journalism and publishing including working as a film critic.
He was a member of the WEA Fi ...
, and in the same year as Maria in the film adaptation of
Henry Handel Richardson
Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson (3 January 187020 March 1946), known by her pen name Henry Handel Richardson, was an Australian author.
Life
Born in East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, into a prosperous family that later fell on hard tim ...
's colonial Australian novel, ''
The Getting of Wisdom
''The Getting of Wisdom'' is a novel by Australian novelist Henry Handel Richardson. It was first published in 1910, and has almost always been in print ever since.
Plot introduction
Henry Handel Richardson was the pseudonym of Ethel Florence ...
'' (1977) directed by
Bruce Beresford
Bruce Beresford (; born 16 August 1940) is an Australian film director who has made more than 30 feature films over a 50-year career, both locally and internationally in the United States.
Beresford's notable films he has directed include ''Br ...
. In 1978, Thornton appeared in the Australian television sequel of the British comedy series ''
Father, Dear Father in Australia'' and ''
Cop Shop
''Cop Shop'' is a long-running Australian police drama television series produced by Crawford Productions that ran for seven seasons between 28 November 1977 and 23 July 1984. It comprised 582 one-hour episodes.
The show
The show revolved ar ...
'',. The same year she played Angela in the film ''
Snapshot
Snapshot, snapshots or snap shot may refer to:
* Snapshot (photography), a photograph taken without preparation
Computing
* Snapshot (computer storage), the state of a system at a particular point in time
* Snapshot (file format) or SNP, a file ...
'' (aka ''The Day After Halloween'') directed by
Simon Wincer
Simon may refer to:
People
* Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon
* Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon
* Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...
, for which role she was nominated for Australian Film Awards Best Actress in a Feature Film in 1979.
In 1980, she appeared as Roslyn Coulson in the Australian television drama ''
Prisoner
A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison.
...
'' (known overseas as ''Prisoner: Cell Block H'').
Thornton starred in 1981 in ''
Duet for Four''. In 1982, she took on the roles of ''Jessica Harrison'' in the films ''
The Man from Snowy River The Man from Snowy River may refer to:
* "The Man from Snowy River" (poem), an 1890 Australian poem by Banjo Paterson.
* '' The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses'' an 1895 poetry collection by Banjo Paterson (including the above)
* ''The Man ...
'' and its sequel in 1988 ''
The Man from Snowy River II
''The Man from Snowy River II'' is a 1988 Australian drama film, the sequel to the 1982 film ''The Man from Snowy River''.
It was released in the United States by Walt Disney Pictures as ''Return to Snowy River'', and in the United Kingdom as ...
''. In 1983, she marked an appearance in ''
Street Hero''. She starred in 1983's miniseries ''
All the Rivers Run
''All the Rivers Run'' is an Australian historical novel by Nancy Cato, first published in 1958.
It was adapted as a 1983 Australian television mini-series starring Sigrid Thornton and John Waters. The mini-series is marketed with the tagline ...
''. 1986 saw her in ''
The Lighthorsemen'', the TV adaptation of
Nevil Shute
Nevil Shute Norway (17 January 189912 January 1960) was an English novelist and aeronautical engineer who spent his later years in Australia. He used his full name in his engineering career and Nevil Shute as his pen name, in order to protect h ...
's novel ''
The Far Country
''The Far Country'' is a 1954 American Technicolor Western film directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart, Ruth Roman, Walter Brennan, John McIntire and Corinne Calvet. Written by Borden Chase, the film is about a self-minded advent ...
'', ''
Great Expectations: The Untold Story'' and ''Slate, Wyn & Me''.
From 1988 to 1991, she appeared as Amelia Lawson in the American television drama series ''
Paradise
In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in paradis ...
''.
Syndication
Syndication may refer to:
* Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system
* Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips
* Web syndication, ...
of ''All the Rivers Run'' and ''The Man from Snowy River'' and ''The Man from Snowy River II'' brought her to a wider international audience.
In 1991, she starred in ''
Over the Hill'' directed by
George T. Miller
George Trumbull Miller (born 28 November 1943) is a Scottish-Australian film and television director and producer. He has directed '' The Man from Snowy River'', '' The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter'' and ''Zeus and Roxanne''.
He sta ...
and in 1996, ''Love in Ambush'' directed by Carl Shultz. She starred as ''Laura Joy Gibson'' in the Australian television series ''
SeaChange
''SeaChange'' is an Australian television program that ran from 1998 to 2000 on the ABC and in 2019 on the Nine Network. It was created by Andrew Knight and Deborah Cox and starred Sigrid Thornton, David Wenham, William McInnes, John Howar ...
'' from 1998 to 2000, winning the Most Outstanding Actress award in 1999 and 2000.
Stage highlights
Thornton's stage performances include a 2002/03 touring production of ''
The Blue Room'' directed by
Simon Phillips for the
Melbourne Theatre Company
The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre compa ...
opposite
Marcus Graham
Marcus Graham (born 11 October 1963) is an Australian film, television (including both serials and mini-series) and stage actor and director, with roles including ''Mulholland Drive'' and '' Josh Jarman''. He was known as a teenage heartthrob i ...
. In 2009 she made her debut with
Opera Australia
Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder of ...
in its production at Melbourne's
Arts Centre
An art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An arts centre is a functional community centre with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as theatre space, gallery space, venues for ...
as Desiree Armfeldt in
Sondheim and
Wheeler
Wheeler may refer to:
Places United States
* Wheeler, Alabama, an unincorporated community
* Wheeler, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Wheeler, California, an unincorporated community
* Wheeler, Illinois, a village
* Wheeler, Indiana, a ...
's ''
A Little Night Music
''A Little Night Music'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the 1955 Ingmar Bergman film ''Smiles of a Summer Night'', it involves the romantic lives of several couples. ...
'', directed by
Stuart Maunder
Stuart Lionel Maunder (born 1957) is an Australian theatre director, currently appointed as the artistic director of State Opera of South Australia. He has also directed for Opera Australia, Victorian Opera, West Australian Opera, New Zealand O ...
.
In 2014, she won critical acclaim for her portrayal of
Blanche DuBois
Blanche DuBois (married name Grey) is a fictional character in Tennessee Williams' 1947 Pulitzer Prize-winning play ''A Streetcar Named Desire''. The character was written for Tallulah Bankhead and made popular to later audiences with Elia Kaza ...
in
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thre ...
' play ''
A Streetcar Named Desire
''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of person ...
'' for the
Black Swan State Theatre Company
Black Swan State Theatre Company (formerly The Black Swan Theatre Company) is Western Australia's state theatre company. It runs an annual subscription season in Perth at the State Theatre Centre of Western Australia, tours its productions reg ...
in Perth.
In 2015, she appeared in the premiere of Stephen Beckett's play ''Diary of a Nobody'', inspired by the 1892 novel ''
The Diary of a Nobody
''The Diary of a Nobody'' is an English comic novel written by the brothers George and Weedon Grossmith, with illustrations by the latter. It originated as an intermittent serial in ''Punch'' magazine in 1888–89 and first appeared in book for ...
'', at the
Princess Theatre, Launceston, Tasmania. The same year, Thornton played the part of Golde in ''
Fiddler on the Roof
''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905. It is based on ''Tevye and his Daughters'' (or ''Tevye the ...
'' at the
Princess Theatre, Melbourne
The Princess Theatre, originally Princess's Theatre, is a 1452-seat theatre in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1854 and rebuilt in 1886 to a design by noted Melbourne architect William Pitt, it is the oldest surviving entertain ...
.
As of September 2022 Sigrid made her stage debut for The Sydney Theatre Company in the premiere stage play ''
The Lifespan of a Fact
''The Lifespan of a Fact'' is a book co-written by John D'Agata and Jim Fingal and published by W.W. Norton & Company in 2012. The book is written in a non-traditional format consisting of D’Agata's 2003 essay “What Happens There” in black ...
'' to rave reviews and in 2023 returns to the stage for Anton Checkov's ''
The Seagull
''The Seagull'' ( rus, Ча́йка, r=Cháyka, links=no) is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramatises t ...
'' for The Sydney Theatre Company.
Recent film and television work
In 2002, Thornton starred in Australian thriller ''The Pact'', directed by Strathford Hamilton, written by Hugh O'Brien.
In 2003, Thornton appeared in ''Mittens'' directed by
Emma Freeman
Emma Freeman is an Australian director of television films and series. With her short film ''Lamb'', in 2002 she was the first woman to win Tropfest.
Freeman graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts.
In 2002 she wrote, produced and dir ...
. In 2004, she played a
geneticist
A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic processe ...
in a four-episode arc on ''
MDA
MDA, mda, or ''variation'', may refer to:
Places
* Moldova, a country in Europe with the ISO 3166-1 country code MDA Politics
* Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (2018), ruling coalition government in the Indian State of Meghalaya led by National Pe ...
''. She shaved her head for her role in the 2005 telemovie ''
Little Oberon
''Little Oberon'', directed by Kevin Carlin, is an Australian telemovie starring Sigrid Thornton, which was broadcast on 18 September 2005 by Network Nine. The movie was filmed during 2004 in and around the town of Marysville, Victoria, Marysville ...
''.
Thornton hosted the
Nine Network
The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...
's ''
What's Good For You
''What's Good For You'' is a Logie Award-winning Australian health and lifestyle television program that airs on the Nine Network. It investigates myths and fables concerning health and well-being. Examples of myths investigated include "Does c ...
''.
In 2010, she appeared in ''
Underbelly: The Golden Mile'' as recurring character Geraldine "Gerry" Lloyd, an
Australian Federal Police
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the national and principal federal law enforcement agency of the Australian Government with the unique role of investigating crime and protecting the national security of the Commonwealth of Australia. Th ...
detective
A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...
and investigator for the
Wood Royal Commission
The Royal Commission into the New South Wales Police Service, also known as the Wood Royal Commission, was a royal commission held in the State of New South Wales, Australia between 1995 and 1997. The Royal Commissioner was Justice James Ro ...
.
In 2011, Thornton starred in ''
Face to Face'', an independent Australian film directed by
Michael Rymer
Michael Rymer (born 1 March 1963 in Melbourne) is an Australian television and film director, best known for his work on the re-imagined '' Battlestar Galactica'' TV series, for which he directed the pilot miniseries and several episodes of the ...
.
In 2012, she participated in ''
Who Do You Think You Are Who Do You Think You Are may refer to:
Television series
* ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' (British TV series), a genealogy documentary with many adaptations:
** ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' (American TV series)
** ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' ...
.''
In 2016, Thornton appeared in the fourth season of
SoHo
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was develop ...
drama series ''
Wentworth Wentworth may refer to:
People
* Wentworth (surname)
* Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth (1873–1957), Lady Wentworth, notable Arabian horse breeder
* S. Wentworth Horton (1885–1960), New York state senator
* Wentworth Miller (born 1 ...
'' for seven episodes as a special guest star. She portrayed the character of Sonia Stevens (initially played by
Tina Bursill
Tina Bursill (born 24 July 1951) is an Australian actress. She played Louise Carter on the television series '' Skyways'' (1979–1981) and Sonia Stevens on ''Prisoner'' (1983–1984). She played Meryl Knight in the Nine Network drama series ...
in ''Prisoner''), a woman on remand for the suspected murder of her best friend.
Thornton returned for season 5 of ''Wentworth'' as a main cast member and served as the main antagonist in season 6, until her characters death in episode 7, "The Edge".
In 2018, she appeared in ''
Anh's Brush with Fame''.
In 2021 Thornton would film the feature film Slant and critics praised Thornton's role as 'career best'.
The "Sigrid Factor"
In his book ''The Big Shift'', about changing Australian demographics and culture,
Bernard Salt coined the term the "Sigrid factor" pointing out that Australian towns in which movies had been made featuring Thornton had prospered since that time. More broadly he referred to changing Australian cultural values which were well reflected in the types of places in which Sigrid Thornton had acted: the Riverland during the 1980s ''All the Rivers Run'' and the coast in the 2000s ''SeaChange''.
Personal life and advocacy
Thornton is married to actor Tom Burstall and has two children. She is known for her work with
World Vision
In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
, the
Royal Children's Hospital,
Vision Australia
Vision Australia is a not-for-profit organisation and Australia's largest provider of services for people with blindness and low vision.
Background
Vision Australia was created in 2004 through the merger of 4 smaller blindness organisations: t ...
, Reach Foundation and other charitable causes. She has lobbied successive governments to keep libraries open and to resource the Australian film and television industry. She has been appointed to several federal and state film bodies, including
Film Victoria
VicScreen, formerly known as Film Victoria, is the Victoria State Government, Victorian Government’s creative and economic screen development agency. They function behind the scenes, supporting professionals, infrastructure, projects and ev ...
and is involved in helping to sustain and develop the industry.
Filmography
FILM
TELEVISION
Awards and nominations
In 2019, Thornton won the
Chauvel Award
The Gold Coast Film Festival (GCFF), formerly Gold Coast Film Fantastic, is an annual Australian film festival, held at the Home of the Arts (HOTA) in Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast, Queensland. Founded in 2002 as a fantasy film festival, GC ...
, which acknowledges significant contribution to the
Australian screen industry
The cinema of Australia had its beginnings with the 1906 production of '' The Story of the Kelly Gang'', arguably the world's first feature film. Since then, Australian crews have produced many films, a number of which have received internat ...
.
References
Notes
Sources
*
*
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton, Sigrid
1959 births
20th-century Australian actresses
21st-century Australian actresses
Actresses from Brisbane
Actresses from Canberra
Australian film actresses
Australian soap opera actresses
Australian stage actresses
Officers of the Order of Australia
Living people
Logie Award winners