Leah Purcell

Leah Purcell was born in Murgon, Queensland, and she was the youngest of seven children of Aboriginal (Goa–Gunggari–Wakka Wakka Murri) and white Australian descent.[2][3] Her father was a butcher and a boxing trainer.[4] After a difficult adolescence, looking after her sick mother, Florence who died while Leah was in her late teens, problems with alcohol and teenage motherhood, Leah left Murgon and moved to Brisbane and became involved with community theatre.[2]

In 1996 she moved to Sydney to become presenter on a music video cable television station, RED Music Channel.[5] This was followed by acting roles in ABC television series Police Rescue and Fallen Angels.[6][7] Together with Scott Rankin, a White Australian eleven years her senior, she co-wrote and acted in a play called Box the Pony, which played at Sydney's Belvoir Street Theatre, the Sydney Opera House, the 1999 Edinburgh Festival and in 2000 at the Barbican Theatre in London.[8] She then wrote and directed the documentary Black Chicks Talking, which won a 2002 Inside Film award.[9] She appeared as Claudia in the Australian film Lantana for which role she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress by Sydney-based Film Critics Circle of Australia; she lost to Daniela Farinacci. She appeared on stage in The Vagina Monologues.[10] She went on to appear in three 2004 films, Somersault, The Proposition and Jindabyne as well as playing the role of Condoleezza Rice in David Hare's play, Stuff Happens in Sydney and Melbourne.[11]

In 2018, Purcell joined the cast of Foxtel drama series Wentworth as Rita Connors, a role originally portrayed by Glenda Linscott in Prisoner. It was announced that she was one of three new leading cast members to join the series for its sixth season, alongside Susie Porter and Rarriwuy Hick. She first appeared in the first episode of season six, broadcast on 19 June 2018.[12] Following her appearances in seasons six and seven, it was announced in October 2018, that she would be reprising her role for the eighth season, which is set to premiere in 2020.[13]

Purcell wrote and starred in the play The Drover's Wife (2016)[14] and penned a novel subtitled The legend of Molly Johnson that was published in 2019.[15] A film adaptation premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival in March 2021.[16] All were based on the short story by Henry Lawson,[17] which Purcell recalls her mother reading to her.[18]

In the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours Purcell was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for "significant service to the performing arts, to First Nations youth and culture, and to women".[19] At the 14th Asia Pacific Screen Awards held in November 2021, Purcell was awarded the Jury Grand Prize for The Drover's Wife film,[20] "not just for her singular vision in writing, directing, producing and starring in the film but for the journey to bring this remarkable story, viewed through the lens of a First Nations woman to the screen in its entirety."[21]

Purcell's partner is Bain Stewart, who is also her business partner in Oombarra Productions. She has a daughter and two grandchildren.[22]

In 2006 Purcell was the recipient of the Bob Maza Fellowship, which recognises emerging acting talent and support professional development for Indigenous actors.[24]

• Leah Purcell on Twitter
• Leah Purcell at IMDb