Tina Bursill (born 24 July 1951) is an Australian actress. She played Louise Carter on the television series '' Skyways'' (1979–1981) and

Sonia Stevens Sonia Stevens is a character in Wentworth. Initially a secondary antagonist in the fourth and fifth season, she becomes the primary antagonist in the sixth, following the departure of Joan Ferguson (Pamela Rabe). Sonia was played by Sigrid ...

on ''

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. ...

'' (1983–1984). She played Meryl Knight in the Nine Network drama series '' Doctor Doctor''. Bursill won the AFI (AACTA) Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1987 film '' Jilted''.

Life and career

Tina Bursill was born on the 24 July 1951 in Sydney. Initially, she intended to pursue a career in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

, however, she set her sights on becoming an actress. She studied drama at the

National Institute of Dramatic Art The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts is based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, many of Australia's leading actors and directors trained at NIDA, including Cat ...

and graduated in 1971. Bursill started her career in musicals and stand-up comedy, before being cast in more serious roles in theatre. Bursill made her acting debut in 1973 appearing in the lead role of short-lived comedy series ''The People Next Door'' as Meg Penrose. She was a regular character in daily soap opera '' The Unisexers'' which was launched in February 1975 on the Nine Network however the program's low ratings led to its cancellation and removal from broadcast after only three weeks. What followed was a number of guest appearances Australian television series, before receiving the role of Louise Carter in the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australia ...

drama series '' Skyways'', for which she appeared from 1979 to 1981. During which, she also had a recurring role on police drama series, ''King's Men'' between 1976 and 1980. In 1983, Bursill was cast in the role of Sonia Stevens on Network Ten's cult classic prison drama series ''

'' (''Prisoner: Cell Block H''), in which she was introduced in the fifth season as a devious vice queen imprisoned for heroin trafficking and remained in the series until

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

. Her role as Sonia Stevens is one she is most recognized for. The characters in which she plays are often that of sophisticated and coolly self-reliant women. When Bursill departed the series, she appeared in several recurring roles; her first in '' A Country Practice'' as Bianca Forbes-Hamilton in 1981 and Cecily Day in 1985, '' Hey Dad..!'' as Det. Sgt. Anne Burke in 1987, and '' Heartbreak High'' in 1997 as Hilary Scheppers, the mother of characters Ryan and Anita Scheppers. She had appeared in Heartbreak High the year before as TV news reporter, Trish Ferro. She is perhaps also known for her recurring roles on the Seven Network soap opera '' Home and Away'' during the fourth season and fourteenth season in 1991 and 2001 as Lois Crawford and Stella Patterson respectively. Bursill most recently appeared in the recurring role of Kathy Carpenter in '' Neighbours'' during the thirtieth season in 2014. Bursill made her feature film debut in 1975 when she was cast in '' The Great Macarthy'', a

sports comedy A sports film is a film genre in which any particular sport plays a prominent role in the film's plot or acts as its central theme (arts), theme. It is a production in which a sport, sporting event, athlete (and their sport), or follower of sport ...

with

John Jarratt John Jarratt is an Australian television film actor, producer and director and TV presenter who rose to fame through his work in the Australian New Wave. He has appeared in a number of film roles including '' Picnic at Hanging Rock'' (1975), ' ...

and

Barry Humphries John Barry Humphries (born 17 February 1934) is an Australian comedian, actor, author and satirist. He is best known for writing and playing his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He is also a film pr ...

. Her second film role came in 1984, when she appeared in '' Melvin, Son of Alvin'', a sequel to the 1973 comedy, ''

Alvin Purple ''Alvin Purple'' is a 1973 Australian sex comedy film starring Graeme Blundell in the title role; the screenplay was written by Alan Hopgood and directed by Tim Burstall, through his production company Hexagon Productions and Village Roadshow ...

''. In 1987, she starred in '' Jilted'', which earned her an Australian Film Institute Awards for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Her further film credits include '' Afraid to Dance'', ''Spider & Rose'', '' Billy's Holiday'', '' The Goddess of 1967'', ''

Son of the Mask ''Son of the Mask'' is a 2005 superhero comedy film directed by Lawrence Guterman. A stand-alone sequel to ''The Mask'' (1994), it is the second installment in ''The Mask'' franchise, an adaptation of the comic book series of the same name by Da ...

'', ''

Three Blind Mice "Three Blind Mice" is an English-language nursery rhyme and musical round.I. Opie and P. Opie, ''The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), p. 306. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number o ...

'', ''Random 8'', and ''Wish You Were Here''. In 2022 she was in a production of ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

FILM

Other Appearances * ''Entertaining Angels'' (1998 short film) * ''Cheek to Cheek'' ... Julie (2000 short film) * ''Saturn's Return'' ... Sheila (2001 TV short) * ''Shuffle'' ... Denise (2006 short film) * ''Pleasance'' ... Biddy (2007 short film) * ''Bloody Henry'' ... Jane (2013 short film) (also makeup artist) * ''Going Down'' ... unknown role (2015 short film) STAGE/THEATRE * ''Theatre In Education'' (1971) * ''Grease'' (1972) * ''Great Banana Split'' (1972) * ''Godspell'' (1972-1973) * ''Scandals Of '74'' (1974) * ''The Jockey Club Stakes'' (1975) * ''Son Of Naked Vicar'' (1975) * ''The Big Bang Show'' (1976) * ''Mothers And Fathers'' (1976) * ''The Ripper Show'' (1976) * ''Beyond Mozambique'' (1977-1978) * ''2001 - A Postcode'' (1978) * ''Zastrozzi'' (1982) * ''Tom Foolery'' (1985) * ''Rough Crossing'' (1986;1990) * ''Manning Clark's History Of Australia - A Musical'' (1988) * ''Top Silk'' (1989) * ''On Golden Pond'' (1992) * ''MacBeth'' (1992) * ''The Sugar Mother'' (1993) * ''Don't Dress For Dinner'' (1994) * ''Blinded By The Sun'' (1998) * ''23 Blooms On My Great Grandmothers Rosebush'' (1999) * ''Up For Grabs'' (2001) * ''Cinderella'' (2022)

Awards and nominations

* Australian Film Institute Awards for Best Actress in a Supporting Role – ''Jilted'' (1987) * Equity Award for Most Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series – ''A Moody Christmas'' (2012)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bursill, Tina 1951 births Living people Australian film actresses Australian soap opera actresses Australian television actresses Best Supporting Actress AACTA Award winners 20th-century Australian actresses 21st-century Australian actresses