Deborah Mailman

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Deborah Mailman (born July 14, 1972 in Mount Isa, Queensland), Australian actress, was the first Aboriginal actor to win the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. She is well known for having played the character "Kelly" on successful Australian television series, The Secret Life Of Us.

Mailman grew up in Mount Isa in far north Queensland and is the youngest of five children born to Wally, an accomplished rodeo rider, and Jane Mailman. She has both Australian Aborigine and Māori heritage. She graduated from Queensland University of Technology's Academy of the Arts in 1992.

She played the role of Kate in a La Boite Theatre production of Shakespeare's 'The Taming of the Shrew' in 1994. [1]

Her AFI win was for playing the character "Nona" in the Australian independent film Radiance in 1998, from here she has since become one of Australia's most prominent local actors especially through her lead role on The Secret Life Of Us.

She recently took part in a four-part television documentary series with Cathy Freeman called Going Bush where the pair set off on a journey from Broome to Arnhem Land spending time with Indigenous communities along the way. She was featured prominently in the Leah Purcell documentary Black Chicks Talking (2001), where she candidly discussed her thoughts about her Aboriginal heritage.

She also appeared in the film Rabbit-Proof Fence.

Mailman's partner is advertising executive Matthew Coonan. They have one son, Henry Walter Mailman Coonan, born in January 2007.[2]

[edit] External links

• Deborah Mailman Fansite [3]
• Deborah Mailman is represented by Robin Gardiner Management
• IMdb entry