Catherine McClements is an Australian stage, film, and television actress, and television presenter. She is known for her TV roles in Water Rats and Tangle, for which she won Logie Awards, and has performed in stage productions for theatre companies such as Belvoir St Theatre, the Melbourne Theatre Company, the Sydney Theatre Company and the State Theatre Company of South Australia.
Early life and education Catherine McClements is the daughter of Frank, a high school principal, and Pamela.
She attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), graduating in 1985, alongside Baz Luhrmann, Sonia Todd, and Justin Monjo.Alumni National Institute of Dramatic Art In 1988, McClements, along with a number of other people including Baz Luhrmann, set up an experimental theatre ensemble called Six Years Old and worked on expanding the play Strictly Ballroom, which was first produced in their second year of NIDA in 1984.
Personal life McClements' husband is actor Jacek Koman, who also guest-starred in The Secret Life of Us as Dominic, though they were not on the show at the same time. They have two children.
McClements' brother is Brendan McClements, who, , was the CEO of Victorian Major Events Company. He is 18 months older than her and her "best friend growing up".
McClements is good friends with fellow actress Claudia Karvan, whom she met at the AFI Awards in 1990 and starred with in the film Redheads in 1992.Cool Cat The Age, 31 October 2008
Career Screen In 1993, McClements had a role in The Girl from Tomorrow Part II: Tomorrow's End. She is best known, however, for her starring role as Rachel Goldstein in the Australian police drama Water Rats from 1996 to 1999. She followed this up with a recurring guest role on The Secret Life of Us in 2001, for which she won the AFI Award for Best Actress in a Guest Role in a Television Drama.
She starred as Rosie in the 2003 drama series CrashBurn and appeared in the Network Ten telemovie Mary Bryant in 2005.
From 2008 she played Inspector/Superintendent Kerry Vincent in the Australian police drama Rush, and psychologist Christine Williams in the Showcase drama Tangle. A second and third season of Tangle and Rush respectively were announced in 2009 and both aired in 2010.Second season for Tangle TV TonightRush wins third season on Ten TV Tonight Tangle and Rush were commissioned for new seasons, both to start filming in mid-2011.Renewed: Tangle TV TonightRenewed: Rush TV Tonight In 2010, McClements won an AFI Award for her role in Tangle. She has also won ASTRA Awards for her role in Tangle in 2011 and 2013. Astra awards
In 2011, McClements guest starred in a YouTube and Facebook-only show called Queer as F**k, playing Mel, a friend of main character Aaron (Gary Abrahams).
In 2012, McClements was cast as Meg Jackson in Wentworth, a contemporary reimagining of the Australian classic Prisoner. She was cast in a leading role for Season One of Wentworth, but her character did not appear beyond episode one.
Earlier in 2013, McClements was cast in new ABC telemovie The Broken Shore, alongside Don Hany, Dan Wyllie and Claudia Karvan. It premiered at the Adelaide Film Festival in October 2013 and aired on the ABC in early 2014.ABC announced the top cast for The Broken Shore TV Tonight, 2 April 2013
In September 2013, McClements was cast in the film The Menkoff Method, directed by David Parker.Cast is set for The Menkoff Method Inside Film
In 2019 she starred in Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries as Birdie Birnside.
In August 2022 she played the part of a teacher in the State Theatre Company South Australia and Sydney Theatre Company co-production Chalkface, written by Angela Betzien. The play opened at the Dunstan Playhouse in Adelaide.
In 2023, McClements was announced as part of the cast for SBS series Erotic Stories. She was also announced as part of the cast of the third and final season of ABC drama Total Control, as well as ABC drama Return to Paradise. On 21 November 2024, it was announced that McClements was a part of the cast for ABC drama The Family Next Door. McClements was also named for Netflix series Apple Cider Vinegar. On 31 January 2025, McClements was announced as part of the cast for the Netflix series The Survivors. On 17 April 2025, McClements would return for the second series of Return to Paradise as the show would enter production again.
On 23 April 2026. McClements was announced as part of the extended cast for Paramount+ series Dalliance. On 22 June 2026, McClements was nominated for a Logie Award for her work in The Survivors.
Stage McClements has also appeared in stage productions for many theatre companies, including Belvoir St Theatre, the Melbourne Theatre Company, the Sydney Theatre Company, Bell Shakespeare, State Theatre Company of South Australia, and the Malthouse Theatre.
In 2013, McClements returned to the stage in Sharr White's play The Other Place for Melbourne Theatre Company and Phèdre for Bell Shakespeare.
Awards
Year Award Category Title Result1990AFI AwardBest Actress in a Lead Role Weekend with Kate1993Asia-Pacific Film FestivalBest Supporting ActressRedheads1994Green Room AwardBest Female Actor in a Play Angels in America1998Logie AwardMost Popular ActressWater RatsMost Outstanding ActressWater RatsPeople's Choice AwardFavourite Actress in a Drama or SerialWater Rats1999AFI AwardBest Actress in a Lead RoleWater Rats (episode 4.17: I'm Home)2000Logie AwardMost Outstanding ActressWater Rats2001AFI AwardBest Actress in a Guest Role in a Television SeriesThe Secret Life of Us2007AFI AwardBest Lead Actress in a Television DramaCall Me Mum2008Helpmann AwardBest Female Actor in a PlayWho's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?2010Astra AwardMost Outstanding Performance by a Female ActorTangleAFI AwardBest Lead Actress in a Television DramaTangle2011Astra AwardMost Outstanding Performance by a Female ActorTangleLogie AwardMost Outstanding ActressRush2013Logie AwardMost Outstanding ActressTangleASTRA AwardMost Outstanding Performance by a Female ActorTangle2026Logie AwardsBest Support Actress in a DramaThe Survivors Pending
Filmography
Film YearTitleRoleNotes 1986 Just Us Jessica Taylor Telemovie 1987 The Right Hand Man Sarah Redbridge Feature film 1990 Struck by Lightning Jill McHugh Feature film Weekend with Kate Kate Muir Feature film 1992 Redheads Diana Ferraro Feature film (aka Desperate Prey) 2000 Waiting at the Royal Dinny Weston Telemovie Better Than Sex Sam Feature film 2003 After the Deluge Nikki Kirby Telemovie Floodhouse Ava 50 minute film 2005 Mary Bryant Marleen Telemovie 2006 Call Me Mum Kate Telemovie Sexy Thing Mum Short film 2007 Fast Lane Louise Short film 2008 Emerald Falls Rosalie Bailey Feature film 2013 The Broken Shore Erica Burgouyne Telemovie 2014 The Menkoff Method Majorie Feature film
Television +YearTitleRoleNotes 1986 My Brother Tom Margaret 'Peggy' McGibbon Miniseries 1993 The Girl from Tomorrow: Tomorrow's End Lorien Miniseries 1993 G.P. Heather Ryan TV series, 1 episode: "Close Encounters" 1996–99 Water Rats Rachel Goldstein TV series, 109 episodes 2001–02 The Secret Life of Us Carmen TV series, 10 episodes. Won AFI award for episode: "Love Sucks" 2003 CrashBurn Rosie Denton Harfield TV series 2006 Real Stories Jillian TV series, episode 8 2008–11 Rush Kerry Vincent TV series, all 70 episodes 2009–12 Tangle Christine Williams Foxtel series 2010 The Pacific Catherine Leckie TV series, 1 episode: "Home" 2013 Wentworth Meg Jackson Foxtel series, 4 episodes 2014 The Time of Our Lives Diana Southey TV series, season 2 2015 The Beautiful Lie Tess du Pont TV series 2016 Rake Julie TV series, season 4 2017 Sisters Genevieve TV series, 7 episodes 2019 Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries Birdie Birnside TV series 2022 Pieces of Her Grace Juno Netflix series, 6 episodes2023The Lost Flowers of Alice HartSarah TV miniseries, 2 episodesErotic Stories Sam Anthology TV series, 1 episode: "Philia" 2024 Total Control Marion Beaumont TV series, season 3, 4 episodes2024–presentReturn to Paradise Senior Sergeant Philomena Strong TV series, 12 episodes2024BumpGabyTV series: 1 episode2025Apple Cider VinegarJulie GibbsTV series: 5 episodesThe Survivors Trish BirchTV series: 5 episodesThe Family Next DoorBarbara TV series: 6 episodes2026DallianceSarahTV series
Other appearances YearTitleRoleNotes 1999 Doing Time Narrator 10-part TV documentary 2009 Whale Patrol Narrator TV documentary 2011 Things on Sunday: Sex Panel member Malthouse Theatre 2015 Sperm Donors Anonymous Narrator TV documentary
Theatre work McClements' work on stage includes: