Marta Dusseldorp is an Australian stage, film and theatre actress. Her television credits include BlackJack, Crownies (and its spin-off Janet King), Jack Irish and A Place to Call Home.
She is also a producer, as co-founder and co-owner with her husband Ben Winspear of Archipelago Productions in Hobart, Tasmania.
Early life and education Dusseldorp is the granddaughter of Dutch-born engineer Dick Dusseldorp, the founder of Lendlease."Rise and shine" by Catherine Keenan, Sydney Morning Herald, 16 October 2004. Her maternal grandfather was Sandy Robertson, a Sydney paediatrician,RACP Roll: Robertson, Sandy Edwin John Retrieved 15 May 2019. whose forebears were also medical doctors. Her great-grandfather was one of seven brothers in a family from Dumbarton, on the west coast of Scotland, in which eight of ten sons studied medicine at the University of Glasgow. Dusseldorp was the subject of an episode of the television genealogical documentary series Who Do You Think You Are? that first screened on SBS on 14 May 2019.
She attended Ascham School and then Geelong Grammar School, graduating in 1990, and the University of New South Wales, where she majored in theatre and film for two years. She then went on to study at the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne.Marta Dusseldorp: Before Janet King, I always felt I was there to serve a man's story Sydney Morning Herald 22 June 2017
Career Stage Dusseldorp started her career on the stage, performing in productions of The Lost Echo, The War of the Roses (Shakespeare), and The Bourgeois Gentleman. She has worked with Sydney Theatre Company, Belvoir, Griffin, The Ensemble, Bell Shakespeare, and Melbourne Theatre Company.
She returned to the stage in 2016 in the premiere of Benedict Andrews' play Gloria with the Griffin Theatre Company."Crownies Marta Dusseldorp on stage and screen" by Steve Dow, The Saturday Paper, 27 August 2016 In November 2017, Dusseldorp and her husband Ben Winspear played the couple in Joanna Murray-Smith's stage adaptation of Scenes from a Marriage for the Queensland Theatre Company.
In 2020, Dusseldorp played the role of Mum in Angus Cerini's The Bleeding Tree at Hobart's Theatre Royal, directed by Ben Winspear.
In 2021, Dusseldorp and Essie Davis played sisters as Solange and Claire, with Stephanie Jack as Mistress, in The Maids by Jean Genet as translated by Martin Crimp. It was directed by Ben Winspear and performed at The Playhouse Theatre in Hobart, opening on 30 October 2021.
In a new production of Euripides’ timeless play Women of Troy, Dusseldorp played Andromache, Wife of Hector in March 2023. It was staged at Tasmania's Ten Days on the Island arts festival, at Hobart's Theatre Royal, directed by Ben Winspear. The production, by Dusseldorp and Winspear's company Archipelago Productions, was based on Tom Wright’s adaptation. The production included an original score by composer Katie Noonan, who set to music poems by Kurdish-Iranian journalist Behrouz Boochani performed by a community chorus of women and children.
Television and Film Dusseldorp played Sam Lawson in the telemovie series BlackJack (2003–2007). In 2011 she played the character of Janet King in the ABC1 drama series Crownies, her breakout role, which she regarded as "a gift". She reprised the role in the 2014 spin-off Janet King. She played Linda Hillier opposite Guy Pearce in all of the Jack Irish TV series, which ran from 2012 to 2021.
She played Sarah Adams in the series A Place to Call Home, which was the most-watched drama series in 2013, and ran until 2018.
In 2020, Dusseldorp was announced to appear in Foxtel drama Wentworth in the role of Shelia Bausch.
In 2020, she played the role of Erica Bowden in the film version of the romantic comedy Ellie & Abbie (& Ellie's Dead Aunt), which the author, Monica Zanetti, wrote based on her own stage play.
Dusseldorp is co-creator and producer of the 2023 comedy series Bay of Fires, after she pitched the idea to writers and co-creators Andrew Knight and Max Dann. Dusseldorp's company (with her husband) Archipelago Productions, partnered with Fremantle Australia to produce Bay of Fires. Dusseldorp plays a lead role as a wealthy businesswoman, along with a number of other prominent actresses, such as Kerry Fox, Pamela Rabe, and Yael Stone. Bay of Fires was renewed for a second series in 2024. Season 2 debuted on 15 June 2025 in Australia on ABC iview and ABC TV.
Dusseldorp plays Sharon in and executive produced the film With or Without You, directed by Kelly Schilling and also starring Melina Vidler and Albert Mwangi, which premiered at the 2024 Adelaide Film Festival. The film, which was made in South Australia, was released in Australian cinemas in May 2025.
In August 2025, Dusseldorp appeared as guest host on ABC series Back Roads. Her episode titled “Tarkine” explored the Tarkine region of North West Tasmania, located in close proximity to the filming location of Bay of Fires.
Recognition and awards Dusseldorp won the award for Best Lead Actress in a Television Drama for Janet King in the 2015 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards.
Dusseldorp won the award for Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play in the 2009 Helpmann Awards for her performance as Queen Margaret in Benedict Andrews' The War of the Roses with the Sydney Theatre Company.
Other activities Dusseldorp and husband Ben Winspear set up their own stage and screen company, Archipelago Productions, after moving to Hobart, Tasmania, in 2018. Archipelago produces films, stage productions, art installations, and music.
In 2022 Düsseldorp was named as a member of the Screen Australia board and its campaign of 'Make It Australian'.
, Dusseldorp is an ambassador for Save the Children Australia, in which role she has visited remote Aboriginal settlements in the Northern Territory. and an advocate for refugees as Australian representative in Australia for UNHCR.
On 24 March 2026, Dusseldorp was reappointed to the Screen Australia board for a further three years.
Personal life Dusseldorp is married to fellow actor Ben Winspear, and they have two children. Winspear, a National Institute of Dramatic Art-trained actor, has had a significant career in the theatre, including a stint as resident director of Sydney Theatre Company. Winspear was born in Wagga Wagga but raised in Hobart, and the whole family relocated to Hobart, Tasmania from Sydney in 2018. Winspear was a stay-at-home parent in 2020.
Filmography Films Year Title Role NotesRef 1997 Paradise Road Helen van Praagh 1998 Praise Rachel 2000 Innocence Monique 2001 Elly Elly Short film 2002 Baggage Claim Lisa Short film 2011 Burning Man Lisa 2013 The Railway Man Memsahib (uncredited) Scenes cut 2020 Ellie & Abbie (& Ellie's Dead Aunt) Erica 2025With or Without YouSharonExecutive Producer2026Caterpillar Maxine2027Before You LeaveRoseFeature
Television Year Title RoleNotesRef 1992 G.P. Sophie "Dial the Universe" (#4.25) 1996 Mercury Lily-Ann Venables "Bad News Is Good News" (#1.13) 1997 Fable Sarah TV movie 1999 Halifax f.p. Glenys Lund "A Murder of Crows" (#1.14) 2000 All Saints Inspector Debbie Bloom 4 episodes Murder Call Marion Dreyfuss "Last Act" (#3.16) 2002 Kangaroo Creek Gang Actress Farscape Officer Yal Henta 2 episodes Young Lions Catherine McGregor "Boy School Bullies" (#1.5) 2003 After the Deluge Eva TV movie MDA Joanna Gilchrist 2 episodes 2004 BlackJack: Sweet Science Sam Lawson TV movie 2005 BlackJack: In the Money BlackJack: Ace Point Game Hell Has Harbour Views Helen 2006 BlackJack: Dead Memory Sam Lawson BlackJack: At the Gates 2007 BlackJack: Ghosts 2010 Rescue: Special Ops Lisa Hartigan "Locked In" (#2.3) 2011 Crownies Janet King 22 episodes 2012 Jack Irish: Black Tide Linda Hillier TV movie Jack Irish: Bad Debts Devil's Dust Meredith Hellicar 2 episodes 2013 Precinct 13 Anne Chalmers 1 episode 2013–18 A Place to Call Home Sarah Adams 67 episodes 2014 Jack Irish: Dead Point Linda Hillier TV movie 2014–17 Janet King Janet King 24 episodes 2014 Life on Us Narrator SBS documentary 2016 Hatch, Match & Dispatch Narrator ABC documentary 2016–21 Jack Irish Linda Hillier 3 series (14 episodes) 2020 Stateless Margot 6 episodes 2020–21 Wentworth Sheila Bausch Special guest star (4 episodes)2021Wentworth UnlockedSelfTV special 2022 The Twelve Lucy Bloom 10 episodesInside the Sydney Opera HouseNarrator/Self3 episodes2023Appetite Voicing2023, 2025 Bay of Fires Stella Heikkinen Main role, producer, co-creator 2025Back RoadsSelfGuest host for episode “Tarkine”2025My Life Is MurderLydiaTV series: 1 episode (The Top Two Inches)2026Who The Hell is Hamish?TBATV series
Production +YearTitleRoleNotes2016–17Janet KingAssociate Producer2023–25Bay of FiresProducerCo-creator, actor2024With or Without YouExecutive Producer
References
External links
company website