Kiruna Stamell is a British-Australian actress. Since January 2023, she has portrayed Kirsty Millar in the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

soap opera ''

Doctors Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

''.

Life and career

Stamell was born 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 ...

, Australia with a rare form of

dwarfism Dwarfism is a condition wherein an organism is exceptionally small, and mostly occurs in the animal kingdom. In humans, it is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than , regardless of sex; the average adult height among people with dw ...

. She studied ballet,

contemporary dance Contemporary dance is a genre of dance performance that developed during the mid-twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world, with particularly strong popularity in ...

and tap. While studying dance, theatre and film at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...

, Stamell developed her passion for acting, landing her first major role in the film ''

Moulin Rouge! ''Moulin Rouge!'' (, ) is a 2001 jukebox musical romantic drama film directed, co-produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. It follows a young English poet, Christian, who falls in love with the star of the Moulin Rouge, cabaret actress and cour ...

''. She has worked alongside leading artistic directors both in Europe and Australia, including Shaun Parker. Kiruna states that "'whilst (my) work is heavily influenced by my own experiences of dwarfism, disability, gender, sexuality... etc... no singular discourse defines my identity or my work." In 2005, Stamell was funded to study Shakespearean and Jacobean plays at

LAMDA LaMDA, which stands for Language Model for Dialogue Applications, is a family of conversational neural language models developed by Google. The first generation was announced during the 2021 Google I/O keynote, while the second generation was a ...

. Her British television career began in 2009 when she appeared as Phoebe Tunstall in the

drama series ''

All the Small Things "All the Small Things" is a song by American rock music, rock band Blink-182. It was the second single and eighth track released from the band's third album, ''Enema of the State'' (1999). The track was composed primarily by guitarist and vocal ...

''. She has also acted in ''EastEnders'' as Sandra Fielding, starred in ''

Cast Offs ''Cast Offs'' is a BAFTA-nominated comedy-drama mockumentary that follows a group of six disabled people sent to a remote British Island for a fictional reality show. The series is made up of six episodes, with each episode concentrating on on ...

'' for

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

, and as Amy in '' Life's Too Short'' for

BBC 2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

. In 2012 Kiruna's audition for the Sky 1 series ''

Got to Dance ''Got to Dance'', originally titled ''Just Dance'', is a British dance competition that was broadcast on Sky 1 in the United Kingdom from 20 December 2009 to 28 December 2014. Auditions for the show were held in specially built "Dance Domes" and ...

'' was televised, in which she was unanimously voted through. She also appeared in

Giuseppe Tornatore Giuseppe Tornatore (born 27 May 1956) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. He is considered one of the directors who brought critical acclaim back to Italian cinema.Katz, Ephraim, "Italy," ''The Film Encyclopedia'' (New York: HarperRes ...

's 2013 film, ''

The Best Offer ''The Best Offer'' ( it, La migliore offerta – entitled ''Deception'' in the UK) is a 2013 English-language Italian psychological thriller film written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore. The film stars Geoffrey Rush, Jim Sturgess, Sylvia Hoeks ...

'' appearing alongside

Geoffrey Rush Geoffrey Roy Rush (born 6 July 1951) is an Australian actor. He is known for his Eccentricity (behavior), eccentric leading man roles on stage and screen. He is among 24 people who have won the Triple Crown of Acting, having received an Academy ...

. Later in 2014, Stamell appeared in ''

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

'' at The National Theatre, her West End debut. In 2019 she continued on the stage, as one of the original cast members of the Olivier Award-winning ''

Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th cen ...

'' production, starring James McAvoy, with The Jamie Lloyd Company. She also appeared on television in the critically aclaimed drama series ''

The New Pope ''The New Pope'' is a drama television series created and directed by Paolo Sorrentino for Sky Atlantic, HBO and Canal+. It is a continuation of the 2016 series ''The Young Pope'', originally announced as its second season. The nine-episode serie ...

'' starring Jude Law. Throughout lockdown 2020, Kiruna presented on ABC's '' Playschool'', winning her the Kidscreen Award for Best On-Air Host. She has also starred in the National Theatre of Scotland’s production of ''Them''. In 2022, Kiruna was seen in

Starz Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consist ...

television series ''

The Serpent Queen ''The Serpent Queen'' is an American period drama television series about the life of Catherine de' Medici, the 16th century Queen of France, as portrayed by actress Samantha Morton. The series was created by Justin Haythe and is based on the 200 ...

'', as Mathilde, the Queen's maid and close confidant. Stamell has lived in England for over 20 years, and in Birmingham since 2011. She is a frequent guest presenter on the BBC's ''Ouch!'' podcast. Kiruna has been involved in the disability arts movement for many years, and was an original co-founder of ''Atypical Theatre Company'' in Australia. She is co-director, alongside her husband Gareth Berliner, of the production company A Little Commitment Ltd. In January 2023, Stammell began appearing as receptionist Kirsty Millar in the

soap opera ''

''.

Work

Film and television

* ''

'' – La Petite Princess (directed by

Baz Luhrmann Mark Anthony Luhrmann (born 17 September 1962), known professionally as Baz Luhrmann, is an Australian film director, producer, writer and actor. With projects spanning film, television, opera, theatre, music and recording industries, he is re ...

) * ''

'' – Carrie (directed by Miranda Bowen) * ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'' – Sandra Fielding (directed by Richard Platt) * ''

All The Small Things "All the Small Things" is a song by American rock music, rock band Blink-182. It was the second single and eighth track released from the band's third album, ''Enema of the State'' (1999). The track was composed primarily by guitarist and vocal ...

'' – Phoebe (directed by Cilla Ware) * '' Life's Too Short'' – Amy (

Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office'' (2001–2003), '' Extras'' (2005–2007), and '' An Idiot Abroad' ...

) * ''

'' – the "real" Claire (directed by

) * ''

Life Support Life support comprises the treatments and techniques performed in an emergency in order to support life after the failure of one or more vital organs. Healthcare providers and emergency medical technicians are generally certified to perform basic ...

'' – PA (directed by David McDonald) * ''

Father Brown Father Brown is a fictional Roman Catholic priest and amateur detective who is featured in 53 short stories published between 1910 and 1936 written by English author G. K. Chesterton. Father Brown solves mysteries and crimes using his intuiti ...

'' – Enid Flay – episode 3.3 "The Invisible Man" * '' Play School'' – Kiruna (from September 2018) * ''

'' – Abbess of the Monastery of Saint Therese (created and directed by

Paolo Sorrentino Paolo Sorrentino (; born 31 May 1970) is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and writer. His 2013 film ''The Great Beauty'' won the Academy Award, the Golden Globe, and the Bafta Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In Italy he was honoure ...

) * ''

'' – Mathilde * ''

'' – Kirsty Millar

Stage

* ''

''... Wendy Klinkard (

Lyttelton Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. In ...

and West End transfer, directed by

Nicholas Hytner Sir Nicholas Robert Hytner (; born 7 May 1956) is an English theatre director, film director, and film producer. He was previously the Artistic Director of London's National Theatre. His major successes as director include ''Miss Saigon'', ''Th ...

) * ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

''... Starveling (directed by

David Thacker David Thacker (born 21 December 1950) is an English theatre director. He is married to the actress Margot Leicester. Education Thacker studied at the University of York. Theatre Thacker was the artistic director at the Octagon Theatre Bolton unti ...

) * ''Whiter Than Snow''... Frieda (directed by Jenny Sealey) * '' For All the Wrong Reasons''... Femme Fatal (directed by Lies Pauwels) * ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...

''... Cordelia (directed by Richard Davey) * ''Here's to the Small Minded''...(directed by Matt Noffs) * ''

The Maids ''The Maids'' (french: Les Bonnes, links=no) is a 1947 play by the French dramatist Jean Genet. It was first performed at the Théâtre de l'Athénée in Paris in a production that opened on 17 April 1947, which Louis Jouvet directed. The pla ...

''... Claire (directed by Paul Barry) * ''Grace''... Deviser/Performer (directed by Richard Gregory) * ''Preserving the Apple''... Rai (directed by Nikki Heywood) * ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

''... King Duncan (directed by Benjamin Winspear) * ''Why Dwarves Hate Christmas'' ... One Woman Show (directed by Gareth Berliner) * ''The Lost Happy Endings'' ...Sparrow/Witch (directed by Wendy Rouse and Amanda Wilde) * ''Peeling'' ...Beaty (directed by Kirstie Davis) * ''The Ugly Spirit'' (directed by Deborah Wintle) * ''The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs'' (directed by Hannah Hauer-King)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stamell, Kiruna Australian film actresses Australian soap opera actresses Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art 1981 births United Kingdom disability case law Living people Actors with dwarfism 21st-century Australian actresses Television presenters with disabilities