Ursula Yovich is an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

actress and singer.

Early life and education

Yovich was born and grew up in Darwin,

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

, Australia. Her father, Slobodan Jović, was a Serbian immigrant who anglicised his name to Stan Yovich. Her mother is an Aboriginal woman from north-west

Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia, with the term still in use. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territory capital, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compan ...

near the

Blyth River Blyth may refer to: People * Blyth (surname) * Blythe (given name) Places Australia * Blyth, South Australia, a small town Canada * Blyth, Ontario, a village United Kingdom * Blyth, Northumberland, a town ** Blyth Valley (UK Parliament cons ...

, with the closest community being

Maningrida Maningrida, also known as Manayingkarírra and Manawukan, is an Aboriginal community in the heart of the Arnhem Land region of Australia's Northern Territory. Maningrida is east of Darwin, and north east of Jabiru. It is on the North Central ...

Career

Yovich has appeared in more than 20 theatre and musical theatre productions, including ''Capricornia'', ''

Mother Courage and her Children ''Mother Courage and Her Children'' (german: Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder, links=no) is a play written in 1939 by the German dramatist and poet Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956), with significant contributions from Margarete Steffin. Four theatrical ...

'', '' The Sapphires'', ''Natural Life'', ''Nailed'', ''

The Sunshine Club ''The Sunshine Club'' is an Australian musical with book and lyrics by Wesley Enoch and music by John Rodgers. Synopsis Set in Brisbane, the story concerns Frank Doyle, an Aboriginal serviceman who has come home from World War II to find that ...

'', ''

Jerry Springer the Opera ''Jerry Springer: The Opera'' is a British musical written by Richard Thomas and Stewart Lee, based on the talk show ''Jerry Springer''. It contains irreverent treatment of Christian themes, extensive profanity, and surreal images, such as a ...

'', ''Nathaniel Storm'', and '' The Adventures of Snugglepot & Cuddlepie and Little Ragged Blossom''. Her film credits include ''

Jindabyne Jindabyne () is a town in south-east New South Wales, Australia that overlooks Lake Jindabyne near the Snowy Mountains, in Snowy Monaro Regional Council. It is a popular holiday destination year round, especially in winter. This is due to its ...

,'' ''

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and Goldstone''. Television credits include ''

Redfern Now ''Redfern Now'' is an Australian drama television series, that first aired on ABC1 in 2012. The program follows the lives of 6 Aboriginal Australian families living in the urban hub of Redfern, Sydney. The series provides insight into contempo ...

'', series 2 of the crime drama series '' Mystery Road'', and the comedy series ''

Preppers Survivalism is a social movement of individuals or groups (called survivalists or preppers) who proactively prepare for emergencies, such as natural disasters, as well as other disasters causing disruption to social order (that is, civil disord ...

''. She was the subject of an episode of the SBS documentary series ''Blaktrax''.

Awards and nominations

Wins

In 2002, at the

Tudawali Awards Robert Tudawali (1929 – 26 July 1967), also known as Bobby Wilson and Bob Wilson, was an Australian actor and Indigenous Australian, Indigenous activist. He is known for his leading role in the 1955 Australian film ''Jedda (movie), Jedda'', wh ...

, Yovich was the recipient of the inaugural Bob Maza Memorial Award from the

Australian Film Commission The Australian Film Commission (AFC) was an Australian government agency was founded in 1975 with a mandate to promote the creation and distribution of films in Australia as well as to preserve the country's film history. It also had a producti ...

, which recognised emerging acting talent and support professional development for Indigenous actors. In 2016 she was awarded the Sidney Myer individual award as a recognition of her outstanding body of work in theatre. She also received the

Balnaves Foundation Neil Richard Balnaves (5 May 1944 – 21 February 2022) was an Australian media executive and arts philanthropist. His production companies were responsible for bringing '' Big Brother'' and ''Bananas in Pyjamas'' to Australian television scre ...

's Indigenous playwrights award later in the same year. Yovich has won three

Helpmann Awards The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001. The annual awards recognise achievements in the disciplines of musical t ...

, for Best Female Actor in a Play in 2007 for her performance in ''Capricornia'' and for Best Female Actor in a Musical and Best Original Score in 2019 for ''

Barbara and the Camp Dogs ''Barbara and the Camp Dogs'' is a rock musical by Ursula Yovich and Alana Valentine with songs by Valentine, Yovich and Adm Ventoura. The work concerns Barbara, an Aboriginal pub singer trying to make it in Sydney, and her cousin and foster sis ...

''. The 2021

Ensemble Theatre The Ensemble Theatre is an Australian theatre company and theatre, situated in the Sydney suburb of Kirribilli, New South Wales. History It is Australia's longest continuously running professional theatre group, having given its first performa ...

Sandra Bates Director's Award was awarded to Yovich.

Nominations

In 2019 Yovich was nominated for the Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting for her original rock musical comedy, ''

'', co-written with playwright

Alana Valentine Alana Valentine is an Australian playwright, dramatist, librettist and Director working in theatre, film, opera and television. As a playwright, she won the Helpmann Award. Valentine first worked with Vicki Gordon Music Productions to create the F ...

. The play had its premiere performance at

Belvoir St. Theatre Belvoir is an Australian theatre company based at the Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney, Australia, originally known as Company B. Since 2016 and its artistic director is Eamon Flack. The theatre contains a 330-seat Upstairs Theatre and a 80-seat ...

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 2017, and in the 2017 Sydney Theatre Awards, Yovich was nominated for Best New Australian Work, Best Original Score and Best Female Actor. The work also received a Music Theatre AWGIE nomination. She has also been nominated multiple times for lead and supporting roles in plays and musicals, and as Best Cabaret Performer in 2010 for ''Magpie Blues''.

Personal life

Yovich was married to Stewart O'Connell, a lawyer, and the couple has one daughter.Most indigenous Australians now 'marrying out', study finds Joel Gibson. The Sydney Morning Herald 6 April 2009
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Filmography

Film

Television

Discography

*''Sketches'' EP (2004) *''Magpie Blues Live''

References

External links

*
"We are in Australia: Serbian Aboriginal woman"
RTS Short documentary about Ursula Yovich authored by Dragan Caran, 16 October 2015 {{DEFAULTSORT:Yovich, Ursula Australian film actresses Australian musical theatre actresses Australian television actresses Australian people of Serbian descent Helpmann Award winners Indigenous Australian actresses Indigenous Australian musicians Living people 1977 births 21st-century Australian actresses 21st-century Australian singers 21st-century Australian women singers