Who is Deborah Mailman?
Deborah Mailman is an Aboriginal Australian actor from Queensland, known for The Sapphires, Offspring, Radiance and Total Control. She was the first Aboriginal actor to win an Australian Film Institute award for Best Actress.
Mailman was born in 1972 and grew up in Mount Isa. She has Bidjara heritage through her father and Maori heritage through her mother. She studied acting at the Queensland University of Technology.
Her breakthrough came in Rachel Perkins's 1998 film Radiance, which won her the AFI Award for Best Actress. She later became widely known on television in The Secret Life of Us, set in Melbourne.
The Sapphires and beyond
In The Sapphires, released in 2012, Mailman played Gail, the protective older sister of the singing group, winning an AACTA Award for Best Supporting Actress.
She starred in the political drama Total Control as Alex Irving, an Aboriginal woman who becomes a senator, and appeared in Mystery Road, Offspring and Redfern Now.
Mailman has won multiple Logie Awards and has also worked as a children's television presenter on Play School. She is widely respected for her warmth and strong performances.
Did You Know?
Mailman co-wrote and performed the stage show The 7 Stages of Grieving, about Aboriginal experience.