Deborra-Lee Furness

Deborra-Lee Furness, (born 30 November 1955) is an Australian actress and producer. Furness was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2022.Furness as

Early life Furness was born in Annandale, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, and raised in Melbourne, Victoria. At the age of 18, Furness attended secretarial school to learn shorthand and typing after her mother advised her to have a back-up career if her acting ambitions didn't come to fruition. In 1974-1975 Furness regularly appeared as 'Debbie', an office girl at Channel 12 in the soap opera The Box. The role was minor, often uncredited and typically non-speaking and usually saw Furness in the background in cafe and bar scenes, often in the company of 'Chris - Office Boy' (Chris Hopley). She also appeared - once again as an office girl, this time unnamed - in an episode of Division 4 screened in mid-1975.

She then got a job as the assistant to John Sorell, the news director at Channel 9. Despite describing herself as "such a bog secretary", Furness has said she thoroughly enjoyed the urgency, the fast action and the high energy of the newsroom. After working in the newsroom for a year, in 1975Melbourne Age 'TV-Radio Guide' 20 March 1975 p. 14 Furness was asked to work on No Man's Land, the station's daytime current affairs program which was produced exclusively by women and hosted by Mickie de Stoop. Furness started working on the show as a researcher before becoming an on-air reporter. After her work at Channel 9, Furness then travelled through Europe for one year.

She studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, where she graduated in either 1981 or 1982. She performed on the stage in New York and played Kathleen, the Australian wife of Cole Gioberti (Billy Moses) on the television series Falcon Crest before returning to Australia to continue her acting career.

Career Furness rose to fame in 1988 when she starred in the movie Shame, for which she won Best Actor awards from the Film Critics Circle of Australia and the Golden Space Needle Award from the Seattle International Film Festival. Other roles included an episode of Halifax f.p. and The Flying Doctors. In 1993, Furness appeared as Chrissy in the television mini-series Stark starring Ben Elton and Jacqueline McKenzie. In 1995, she featured in the film Angel Baby directed by Michael Rymer and starring Jacqueline McKenzie and John Lynch. The film followed the story of two schizophrenic people who met during therapy and fell passionately in love.

Also in 1995, she starred in the title role in the television series Correlli, where she met her future husband, Hugh Jackman. From 1995 to 1996, Furness starred in television series Fire alongside Andy Anderson and Wayne Pygram. Furness played the role of Dolores Kennedy.

An adoptive mother of two, Furness is known for her work assisting orphans globally and streamlining international adoptions, especially in her native Australia where she is a patron, and one of the creators, of National Adoption Awareness Week.National Adoption Awareness Week: Key People. Accessed 2 January 2013 She has addressed the National Press Club of Australia on the subject of adoption laws in Australia. Furness is a patron of the Lighthouse Foundation for displaced children and International Adoption Families for Queensland. She is also a World Vision ambassador and serves on the Advisory Committee for Film Aid International, working with refugees throughout the world.

Personal life Furness met actor Hugh Jackman on the set of Australian TV show Correlli in 1995. Their wedding ceremony took place on 11 April 1996 at St. John's in Toorak, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne. After going through two miscarriages, she adopted two children with Jackman: a boy born in 2000 and a girl born in 2005. A portrait of Furness and Jackman by Paul Newton was a finalist in the 2022 Archibald Prize. In September 2023, the couple announced their separation. She filed for divorce in May 2025 and it was finalised in June 2025.

Honour In 2014, Deborra-Lee Furness was named as the New South Wales Australian of the Year for her work in adoption campaigning.

Filmography Film +Film Year Film Role Type1985 Crossover Dreams Statue of Liberty Jenny Kissed Me Carol Grey Cool Change Lee 1986 The Humpty Dumpty Man Carmel DeVries 1987 The Bit Part Acting Teacher 1988 Shame Asta Cadell Evil Angels Magazine Reporter Two Brothers Running Silver's Secretary Celia Miss Greenaway 1990 Blue Heat aka 'The Last of the Finest' Linda Daly 1991 Voyager aka 'Homo Faber' Ivy Waiting Diane 1992 Newsies Esther Jacobs 1995 Angel Baby Louise Goodman When Harry Coached Sally Sally Short 1998 The Real Macaw Beth Girdis 2006 Jindabyne Jude 2008 Sleepwalking Danni 2009 Beautiful Mrs. Thomson Blessed Tanya 2010 Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole Barran (Voice) Animated film 2014 Dukale's Dream Herself Documentary 2023 Force of Nature: The Dry 2 Jill Bailey

Television Year Film Role Type 1975 The Box Office Girl 6 episodes 1975 Division 4 Junior 1Episode: "The Human Factor" 1979 Prisoner Connie (uncredited) 3 episodes 1980 Cop Shop Trisha Clarke 1 episode 1983 All the Rivers Run Miniseries 1983-1984 Kings Frances Dalton Recurring role 1984 Carson's Law 1 episode 1984 Special SquadLiz Jenkins Episode: "The Long Secret"1985 Neighbours Linda Fielding 5 episodes The Flying DoctorsFranMiniseries Glass Babies Joan Simpson 1986 The Fast Lane Guest role: Stella 1 episode1987 Falcon Crest Kathleen Gioberti Episode: "The New Faces" A Matter of ConvenienceValma TV film1988 Sentiments The Flying DoctorsSapphire Episode: "Sapphire" Act of Betrayal Kathy TV film Fields of Fire IIClorisMiniseries1993 StarkChrissie Singapore Sling Annie TV film 1994 G.P. Guest role: Kate Morrison Episode: "All of Me"1995 Halifax f.p. Brigit Grant Episode: "The Feeding" Correlli Louisa Correlli Recurring role Populate or Perish Narrator Documentary 1995–1996 Fire Dolores KennedyRecurring role 1997 Roar Guest role: Agrona Episode: "The Cage" 2000 SeaChange Vicki DruryEpisode: "Hungi Jury" 2007 Raising Children: A Guide to Parenting From Birth to Five Narrator Documentary 2009 The Beautiful Vision Herself 2013 Phineas and Ferb Additional voices Episode: "Primal Perry" 2016 Hyde & Seek Claudia Rossini Miniseries 2020 Misunderstandings of Miscarriage Herself Documentary

| Jimmy Kimmel Live!| Guest

| The View| Guest Co-hostess

| Oprah's Next Chapter| Herself

Awards 1988 SIFF Award for the best actress in Seattle International Film Festival. 1988 Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for the best actress. 1991 Silver Shell for the best actress in San Sebastián International Film Festival.

References

External links

National Adoption Awareness Week World Wide Orphans Foundation

Deborra-Lee Furness

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