Deborah Mailman

Early life

Mailman grew up in Mount Isa in north-west Queensland. She is one of five children born to Wally Mailman, a famous rodeo rider and horseman, and Jane (Heeni) Mailman, the daughter of a preacher and talented musician. She has both Indigenous Australian (Bidjara) and Māori (Ngati Porou and Te Arawa) heritage. In 1992, she graduated from Queensland University of Technology Academy of the Arts with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Performing Arts. Since then she has worked extensively in Australian film, television and theater as well as many contributions overseas.

Career

Mailman played the role of Kate in a La Boite Theatre production of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew in 1994. Other early stage roles include solo show The Seven Stages of Grieving (which she co-wrote with Wesley Enoch) for Kooemba Jdarra, Queensland Theatre Company's 1997 revival of Louis Nowra's play Radiance, and Cordelia in King Lear for Bell Shakespeare in 1998.

In 1998, Mailman made her film debut as Nona in the Australian independent film Radiance (based on the play), for which she won the AFI Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. 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, a role for which she was twice awarded Most Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series at the Logies (2002 and 2004). She stayed during the shows entire duration (2001–2006).

Mailman was featured prominently in the Leah Purcell documentary Black Chicks Talking (2001), where she candidly discussed her thoughts about her Aboriginal heritage. In 2006, she 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 appeared in the Play School TV series and was part of The Actors Company for the Sydney Theatre Company (2006–2007).

She appeared in the film Rabbit-Proof Fence. She played a lead role in the 2010 musical film Bran Nue Dae. In the play The Sapphires and the subsequent film of the same name she played the role of singer Gail McCrae.

She was awarded an Inside Film Award for her short film Ralph, which starred Madeleine Madden. From 2010 to 2014, she played the role of Cherie Butterfield in Channel Ten's Offspring drama series.

In 2012, she starred in Redfern Now, an indigenous mini-series for the ABC.

On 29 January 2015, Mailman co-hosted the AACTA Awards with Cate Blanchett.

Mailman started as Maureen Prescott in Paper Planes, released 15 January 2015. She then appeared as Mayor Lake in Oddball and the voice of Blinky Bill's mother in Blinky Bill the Movie.

Personal life

Mailman's partner is advertising executive Matthew Coonan. They have two sons, Henry and Oliver. Deborah has four siblings.

Other awards

In 2012, Mailman was a recipient of the Queensland Greats Awards.