Heather Mitchell

For the Australian farmer and community leader, see Heather Mitchell (farmer).

Heather Lee Mitchell AM (born 1958) is an Australian actress, appearing in Australian productions of stage, television and film. She is a graduate of NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art). She is best known for her leading role in the 1990s television show Spellbinder.

Heather Mitchell AM
Born	1958 (age 65–66)
Education	National Institute of Dramatic Art (BFA)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1981–present
Website	heathermitchell.com.au

Early life

Mitchell attended Camden High School in Camden, New South Wales, between 1971 and 1976 and was school captain in her final year. She took the leading role of Judith Bliss in the 1976 school production of Noël Coward's Hay Fever.^{[citation needed]}

Career

Television

Mitchell is, internationally, well known for her performance as Ashka in the Australian/Polish co-productions of Spellbinder (1995), and Spellbinder: Land of the Dragon Lord (1997). The series was a popular children's fantasy program first broadcast in 1995.

Other television series include: the miniseries Bodyline (1984), Land of Hope (1986), Embassy (1992) and A Country Practice. In 1998, she starred in the miniseries drama The Day of the Roses, in which she played a victim of the 1977 Granville rail disaster. She has also appeared in episodes of Five Mile Creek (1984), Rake (2010), Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (2013), and Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries (2019). In 2021, she played Birdie in The Unusual Suspects.

In 2024 Mitchell was named as part of the cast for the series The Narrow Road to the Deep North.^[1] She was also named for Paramount Plus series Fake.^[2]

Stage

Mitchell is a foundation director and board member of the Sydney Theatre Company (STC).^[3] She first appeared at the STC in 1981 performing scenes of Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1 with Andrew Tighe for a workshop.^[4] She has since appeared in dozens of productions for several Australian theatre companies and has contributed to Terence Crawford's 2005 book Trade Secrets: Australian Actors and Their Craft.^[5][6]

In 2022, Mitchell was announced to play the late justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the theatre play RBG: Of Many, One.^[7] In 2024, Mitchell would again play Ginsburg for the 2024 Black Swan State Theatre Company season.^[8] Critics called Mitchell's performance as Ginsburg as a 'tour de force'.^[9] Mitchell would again reprise Ginsburg for the 2025 Sydney Theatre Company season.^[10]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1981	Hoodwink	Nurse 2	Feature film
1985	I Can't Get Started	Jill	TV film
1986	Malcolm	Barmaid	Feature film
1987	The Place at the Coast	Margot Ryan	Feature film
1988	The Everlasting Secret Family	Wife	Feature film
1989	The Water Trolley		TV film
1991	Proof	Mother	Feature film
1994	Muriel's Wedding	Bridal manageress #1	Feature film
1995	Bathing Boxes	1st woman	Short film
1996	Children of the Revolution	Mrs. Savage	Feature film
1997	Thank God He Met Lizzie	Melanie	Feature film
1998	A Little Bit of Soul	Grace Michael	TV film
2000	On the Beach	British anchorwoman	TV film
	The Love of Lionel's Life	Det Sgt	TV film
2002	Black and White	Roma Chamberlain	Feature film
2003	Travelling Light	Betty Ferris	Feature film
2004	The Brush-Off	Fiona Lambert	TV film
2005	Hell Has Harbour Views	Anne	TV film
	Da Kath & Kim Code	Heather	TV film
2006	The Society Murders	Sally Honan	TV film
	Irresistible	Rina	Feature film
	Mohammad Hossain's Intensive Care	Herself – Narrator	Documentary film
2007	Romulus, My Father	Television presenter	Feature film
	Rogue	Elizabeth	Feature film
2008	Three Blind Mice	Kathy	Feature film
	Seize the Day	Valentine	Short film
	Emerald Falls	Catherine Reid	TV film
2009	A Model Daughter: The Killing of Caroline Byrne	June Dally-Watkins	TV film
2010	A Love Story	Julia	Short film
	The Wedding Party	Rose	Feature film
	Griff the Invisible	Bronwyn	Feature film
2011	The Moment	Narrator (voice)	Short film
	Afterglow	Kate Whitcomb	Short film
	The Eye of the Storm	June	Feature film
	Snobs	Mother	TV film
	Underbelly Files: The Man Who Got Away	Rose McMillan	TV film
2012	The Fort	Joanna	Short film
	Census	Sue	Short film
	The Red Valentine	The Mother	Short film
	Sanctuary	Aunty / Nurse	Short film
	Jack Irish: Bad Debts	Mrs. Vane	TV film
2013	Ravage	Clare	Short film
	The Great Gatsby	Daisy's Mother	Feature film
	The Fragments	Heather	Short film
2014	Maya the Bee	Thekla the Spider / The Nurse (voice)	Animated feature film
	Love Is Now	Evelyn	Feature film
2015	Drown	Helen	Feature film
2016	Unified	Janet Boyce	Short film
2017	Lets Get Marriage Equality in Australia	Herself	Short film
2018	Riot	Joan / Checkerboard Interviewer	TV film
	Dots	The Lady	Short film
	Loud Thoughts	Valerie	Short film
	Pimped	Sophia Hanson	Feature film
2019	Palm Beach	Eva	Feature film
2021	Daddy's Perfect Little Girl	Fay Broward	TV film
2022	Bosch and Rockit	Wendy	Feature film
	Blaze	Jackie Stevens	Feature film
2023	Jones Family Christmas	Heather Jones	TV film
2024	Ricky Stanicky	Leona	Feature film
	200% Wolf	Lady Hightail (voice)	Animated feature film
TBA†	Wedding of the Year	Eleanor	Pre-production

†	Not yet released

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1981	Cop Shop	Michelle Beasley	TV series, 1 episode
1981	Ratbags	Various characters	TV series, 1 episode
1982	A Country Practice	Peggy	TV series, 2 episodes
1984	Five Mile Creek	Jocelyn	TV series, 1 episode
1984	Bodyline	Edith Clarke	Miniseries
1986	Land of Hope	Helen Davies	Miniseries
1986	The Fast Lane	Eileen	TV series, 1 episode
1989-95	G.P.	Julia / Bianca Resteghini	TV series, 3 episodes
1991	Boys from the Bush	Joyce	TV series, 1 episode
1992	Embassy	Gillian	TV series, 1 episode
1993	Seven Deadly Sins		TV anthology series, 1 episode
	A Country Practice	Dr. Simone Fox	TV series, 2 episodes
	Clowning Around	Sarah Gunner	TV series, season 2
1994	The Ferals	Crystal	TV series, 1 episode
	Cody: A Family Affair	Inspector Genevieve Simmonds	TV film
	Cody: The Tipof
	Cody: Bad Love
1995	Spellbinder	Ashka	TV series, 24 episodes
1996	Mercury	Erica Boyer	Miniseries, 1 episode
1997	Spellbinder: Land of the Dragon Lord	Ashka	TV series
1998	The Day of the Roses	Margaret Shuttler	Miniseries
2002	All Saints	Louise Malloy	TV series, 1 episode
2003	Snobs	Mary	TV series, 1 episode
2004	Jessica	Ada Thomas	Miniseries
2007	Rain Shadow	Sarah Balfour	TV series - main role
2008	Blue Water High	Heather	TV series, 1 episode
2009	Rogue Nation	Elizabeth Macarthur	TV series, 1 episode
	Chandon Pictures	Agent	TV series, 1 episode
	All Saints	Gemma McKenzie	TV series, 1 episode
2010	Satisfaction	Georgia	TV series, 1 episode
	The Pacific	Mrs. Keller	Miniseries, 1 episode
	Rake	Jan Chandler	TV series, 1 episode
2011	Killing Time	Judge Hale	TV series, 2 episodes
	Crownies	Judge Walker	TV series, 8 episodes
	Spirited	Helen Payne	TV series, 8 episodes
2012	Dance Academy	Robyn	TV series, 1 episode
2013–18	A Place to Call Home	Prudence Swanson	TV series, 22 episodes
2013	Power Games: The Packer-Murdoch War	Gretel Packer	Miniseries
	Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries	Madame Fleuri	TV series, 1 episode
2014–2017	Janet King	Justice Victoria Walker	TV series, 4 episodes
2014–2017	Starting From... Now!	Elizabeth Peters	TV series, 2 episodes
2015	Pypo		Web series, 1 episode
	Shit Creek	Helen	Web series, 2 episodes
2016	Molly	Pat Hatcher	Miniseries, 1 episode
2017	Newton's Law	Caroline Gale	TV series, 1 episode
2018	Away	Gwen	TV play
2019	Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries	Edwina Maddox	TV series, 1 episode
	Harrow	Louise Whitehall	TV series. 3 episodes
	Reef Break	Maeve Devlin	TV series, 4 episodes
	The Strange Chores	Inspector (voice)	TV series, 1 episode
2019, 2021	Upright	Jen Flynn	TV series
2020	Grey Nomads	Ingrid	Web series
	The Secrets She Keeps	Jenny	Miniseries, 3 episodes
	Operation Buffalo	Caroline Syddell	TV series, 2 episodes
2021	Wakefield	Belle Knight	TV series, 2 episodes
	Homespun	Pamela Monterra	Miniseries
	The Unusual Suspects	Birdie	Miniseries, 4 episodes
2022	Darby and Joan	Rosemary	TV series, 3 episodes
2022-23	Love Me	Anita	Miniseries
2023	Gold Diggers	Colleen	TV series, 3 episodes
2024	Pleasant Avenue	Carolyn	5 episodes
2024	Fake	Margeaux	TV series: 8 episodes
	The Narrow Road to the Deep North	Ella	TV series

Self appearances / interviews

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2023	Luxury Escapes	Herself	TV series, 1 episode
	News Breakfast		2 episodes
	Today Extra		TV series, 1 episode
	Australian Story		TV series, 1 episode
2012	Agony Aunts	Herself	TV series, 3 episodes
1998	Good Morning Australia	Guest	TV series, 1 episode
	FCTV	Guest	TV series, 1 episode

Stage

Year	Play	Role	Notes
1975	1 Double-D		NIDA Theatre
1976	Hay Fever	Judith Bliss	School production
1978	Gammer Gurton's Needle		NIDA Theatre
1979	The Seagull		NIDA Theatre
1979	Lower Depths		NIDA Theatre
1979	The Caucasian Chalk Circle		Sydney Opera House
1979	The Fire Raisers		NIDA Theatre
1979	Beyond Mozambique		NIDA Theatre
1979	Saved		Jane Street Theatre
1980	The Women Pirates Ann Bonney and Mary Read		NIDA Theatre, University of Newcastle, Playhouse, Canberra
1980	Strife		NIDA Theatre
1981	Henry IV, Part 1		Sydney Theatre Company workshop with Andrew Tighe
1981	Roses in Due Season		Nimrod Theatre Company
1981	Rare Words - Brave Deeds		Sydney Opera House)
1981	The Revenger's Tragedy	Court Lady	Playhouse, Adelaide with State Theatre Company of South Australia
1981	No End of Blame		Playhouse, Adelaide
1982	The Suicide		Nimrod Theatre Company
1982	You Can't Take It with You		with Geoffrey Rush; written by George S. Kaufman, Moss Hart; at Sydney Opera House
1982	Macbeth	Witch	with John Bell, Colin Friels, Hugo Weaving; directed by Richard Wherrett; at Sydney Opera House
1982	As You Desire Me [it]		with Peter Carroll, Hugo Weaving, Geoffrey Rush; written by Luigi Pirandello; at Sydney Opera House
1983	The Fields of Heaven		with Lex Marinos: written by Dorothy Hewett; at Sydney Opera House
1983	The Cherry Orchard	Vanya	with John Howard; written by Anton Chekhov
1984	The Lady from the Sea	Bolette	Playhouse, Adelaide with State Theatre Company of South Australia
1984	Private Lives	Amanda Prynne	Araluen Arts Centre & Playhouse, Adelaide with State Theatre Company of South Australia
1985	The Doll Trilogy: Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, Kid Stakes & Other Times	Nancy	with Harold Hopkins; written by Ray Lawler; at Sydney Opera House & Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne
1986	No Worries		Wriiten by David Holman; adapted into a film in 1994; at Playhouse, Adelaide
1986	She Stoops to Conquer	Kate Hardcastle	Playhouse, Melbourne
1986	Pravda	Rebecca Foley	Playbouse, Adelaide with State Theatre Company of South Australia
1987	Hamlet / Henry IV Part 1		Sydney Theatre Company
1987	No(h) Exit: No Exit, The Lady Aoi, Hanjo from Five Modern Noh Plays		Written by Jean-Paul Sartre & Yukio Mishima; at Wharf Theatre
1987	Pericles		Wharf Theatre
1987	Blood Relations	Cathy / Tessa	with John Wood; written by David Malouf; at Sydney Opera House with Sydney Theatre Company & Playhouse, Adelaide with State Theatre Company of South Australia
1988	1841		with Gillian Jones; written by Michael Gow; at Sydney Opera House & Playhouse, Adelaide
1989	A Dream Play		directed by Göran Järvefelt; written by August Strindberg; at Playhouse, Adelaide & Sydney Opera House
1989	Major Barbara		Playhouse Adelaide & Suncorp Theatre, Brisbane
1989	All My Sons		directed by Gale Edwards; written by Arthur Miller; at Wharf Theatre
1989	Ring Round the Moon		Playhouse, Adelaide
1990	The Secret Rapture	Isobel Glass	with Hugo Weaving,Pamela Rabe; written by David Hare; at Wharf Theatre
1990	Burn This		with Richard Roxburgh; directed by Wayne Harrison: written by Lanford Wilson; at Wharf Theatre
1991	Uncle Vanya	Yelena	Russell Street Theatre
1991	Morning Sacrifice	Miss Gwyn Carwithen	Russell Street Theatre
1991	Hay Fever	Myra Arundel	Playhouse, Melbourne
1992	The Homecoming		with Richard Roxburgh & Warren Mitchell; written by Harold Pinter; at The Wharf Theatre
1993	Two Weeks with the Queen		directed by Wayne Harrison; at Playhouse, Adelaide
1993	Coriolanus		with John Howard; at Sydney Opera House
1995	Scenes from a Separation	Nina Moss	Fairfax Studio with Melbourne Theatre Company
1997	The Winter's Tale		Canberra Theatre, Sydney Opera House & Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne
1998	A Delicate Balance		directed by Simon Phillips, with Michael Craig; written by Edward Albee; at Sydney Opera House
2000	The White Devil		with Hugo Weaving, Angie Milliken; directed by Gale Edwards; written by John Webster; at Theatre Royal, Sydney
2001	Bye Bye Birdie		Music: Charles Strouse, words: Lee Adams
2003	The Real Thing		with Andrew Tighe; directed by Robyn Nevin; written by Tom Stoppard; at Wharf Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company
2007	Self Esteem		with Toby Schmitz; written & directed by Brendan Cowell; at Wharf Theatre
2008	Tender	Yvonne	The Butter Factory Theatre, Wodonga & Stables Theatre, Belvoir Street Theatre
2008	Hamlet	Gertrude	with Brendan Cowell & Barry Otto; directed by Marion Potts; at Sydney Opera House & Playhouse, Melbourne
2008	Ghosts	Helene	Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide
2010	A Midsummer Night's Dream	Titania	Sydney Symphony Orchestra[11]
2010	True West	Mom	directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman; written by Sam Shepard
2011	Neighbourhood Watch	Christina	with Robyn Nevin & Kris McQuade; directed by Simon Stone; written by Lally Katz; at Belvoir Street Theatre[12]
2012	Never Did Me Any Harm		with Marta Dusseldorp; directed by Kate Champion; devised by Force Majeure
2012	Les Liaisons Dangereuses	Madame Volanges	with Hugo Weaving, Justine Clarke & Pamela Rabe; directed by Sam Strong; written by Christopher Hampton; at Wharf Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company
2012	Signs of Life	Georgie Jutland	Sydney Opera House
2013	The History Boys	Mrs Lintott	Sydney Opera House
2013	Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead	Gertrude	written by Tom Stoppard; at Sydney Theatre
2014	Strictly Ballroom	Shirley Hastings	written by Baz Luhrmann, Craig Pearce & Terry Johnson; at Sydney Lyric Theatre, Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne & Lyric Theatre, Brisbane
2016	Hay Fever	Judith Bliss	written by Noël Coward; at Sydney Opera House
2016	The Hansard Monologues: Age of Entitlement		Seymour Centre, Bruce Gordon Theatre, Wollongong, Glen Street Theatre, Old Parliament House, Canberra
2017	Away	Gwen	directed by Matthew Lutton; written by Michael Gow; at Sydney Opera House & Malthouse Theatre
2017	Cloud Nine	Edward / Betty	directed by Kip Williams; written by Caryl Churchill; at Wharf Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company [13]
2017-18	You Animal, You	Mum	Track 12 at Carriageworks
2018	Top Girls	Pope Joan / Louise	written by Caryl Churchill; at Sydney Opera House
2018	Still Point Turning: The Catherine McGregor Story	Cate McGregor	written by Priscilla Jackman; at Wharf Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company
2018	The Harp in the South, Part One and Part Two	Eny Kilker	directed by Kip Williams; written by Ruth Park & Kate Mulvany
2019-20	The Iliad - Out Loud		Belvoir Street Theatre, Scott Theatre, Adelaide
2020	Escaped Alone		Belvoir Street Theatre
2020	Away		Online (NSW / VIC)
2021	Playing Beatie Bow	Granny	Wharf Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company
2022-25	RBG: Of Many, One	Ruth Bader Ginsburg	written by Suzie Miller; at Wharf Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company Black Swan Theatre

^[14]

Awards and nominations

Year	Work	Award	Result	Ref
2011	Afterglow (short film)	NYC International Film Festival Award for Best Lead Actress	Won	[15]
2012	The Red Valentine (short film)	NYC International Film Festival Award for Best Lead Actress	Won	[15]
2014	Power Games: The Packer-Murdoch War (for 'Part 1')	AACTA Award for Best Guest or Supporting Actress in a Television Drama	Nominated	[16]
2014	Power Games: The Packer-Murdoch War (for 'Part 1')	Equity Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Miniseries or Telemovie	Nominated
2019	Significant Service to the Performing Arts, and to the Community	Member of the Order of Australia (AM)	Won	[15]
2022	Love Me	Silver Logie Award for Most Outstanding Supporting Actress	Won
2022	Love Me	AACTA Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama	Nominated
2022	Homespun	Septimus Award for Best Oceanian Actress	Nominated
2023	RBG: Of Many, One (as Ruth Bader Ginsberg)	Sydney Theatre Award for Best Performer in a Leading Role in a Mainstage Production	Won	[17]
2024	Love Me	AACTA Award for Best Guest or Supporting Actress in a Television Drama	Won	[18]

Publications

• Heather Mitchell (2023) Everything and Nothing ISBN 9781761067303

Personal life

Mitchell met cinematographer Martin McGrath in 1989, they were engaged in the following year and married in February 1992.^[19] The couple have two adult children and reside in Sydney.^[19]

Mitchell was made a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2020 Australia Day Honours for "significant service to the performing arts, and to the community."^[20]

References

1. "Production begins on The Narrow Road to the Deep North | TV Tonight". 20 November 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
2. "2024 Upfronts: 10 / Paramount+ | TV Tonight". 24 October 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
3. "Board and Staff", Sydney Theatre Company
4. "Archive: Heather Mitchell". STC Magazine. Sydney Theatre Company. 30 October 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
5. "Heather Mitchell". The Australian Live Performance Database. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
6. Crawford, Terence (2005). Trade Secrets: Australian Actors and Their Craft. Currency Press. ISBN 9780868197630.
7. Krasnostein, Sarah (17 April 2024). "The role of RBG was written for Heather Mitchell. It's easy to understand why". The Age. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
8. "From oval to pool: Black Swan Theatre releases 2024 program". The West Australian. 12 October 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
9. Brown, Phil (19 May 2024). "All the way with RBG: a one-woman tour de force". InReview. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
10. Blake, Jason. "Sydney Theatre Company reveals 2025 Season". Limelight. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
11. "Agony Aunts - ABC TV". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
12. "Neighbourhood Watch, productions". Belvoir. July–August 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
13. John McCallum (10 July 2017). "Politics of sexual identity disturbing in Caryl Churchill's Cloud Nine". The Australian. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
14. "Heather Mitchell". Retrieved 8 February 2024.
15. "HEATHER MITCHELL AM" (PDF). Retrieved 8 February 2024.
16. "3rd AACTA Awards Ceremony Winners Announced" (PDF) (Press release). Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 August 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
17. Pitt, Helen (23 January 2023). "From Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Mary Poppins: Sydney Theatre Awards winners". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
18. https://tvtonight.com.au/2024/02/aacta-awards-2024-winners.html ^{[bare URL]}
19. Abadee, Nicole (17 September 2021). "Two of Us with Actor Heather Mitchell and Cinematographer Martin McGrath". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 17 September 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
20. Stehle, Mark (25 January 2020). "Australia Day Honours 2020: Full list of recipients". The Sydney Morning Herald. Nine Entertainment Co. Retrieved 25 January 2020.

External links

• Official website
• Heather Mitchell at IMDb
• "Heather Mitchell" by Melanie Tait, One Plus One, 3 October 2019, ABC News