Nationality Australian Height 1.78 m Role Actress | Name Essie Davis Occupation Actress, singer | |
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Awards AACTA Award for Best Guest or Supporting Actress in a Television Drama Children Ruby Kurzel, Stella Kurzel Movies and TV shows The Babadook, Miss Fisher's Murder M, Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Matrix Revolutions, The Matrix Reloaded Similar People Jennifer Kent, Nathan Page, Justin Kurzel, Noah Wiseman, Ashleigh Cummings | ||
Essie davis bringing back styles of the 1920 s
Esther "Essie" Davis (born January 7, 1970) is an Australian actress. She is best known for her roles as Phryne Fisher in Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries and Amelia Vanek in The Babadook. Other major work has included a recurring role in season six of the TV series Game of Thrones, and a role as Elizabeth Woodville in the TV series The White Princess, an adaptation of Philippa Gregory's historical novel.
Contents
- Essie davis bringing back styles of the 1920 s
- Essie davis on playing miss fisher
- Early life
- Career
- Personal life
- Filmography
- References
Essie davis on playing miss fisher
Early life
Davis was brought up on the outskirts of Hobart, the daughter of local artist George Davis. She was educated at Clarence High School; Rosny College; the University of Tasmania, where she was a member of the Old Nick Company; and the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney, where she graduated in 1992.
Career
Her acting career began with the Bell Shakespeare company when, straight out of NIDA, she was cast as Juliet in its 1993 production of Romeo and Juliet. She followed this with performances for the company in Hamlet and Richard III in 1993, and Macbeth and The Taming of the Shrew in 1994.
Davis' film career started with her role in the Australian 1995 film Dad and Dave: On Our Selection, which starred Geoffrey Rush, Leo McKern and Joan Sutherland. Film roles continued in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, director Richard Flanagan's 1998 Tasmanian film The Sound of One Hand Clapping, and Girl with a Pearl Earring.
After further stage performances in Australia including Gwendolen Fairfax in a national tour of The Importance of Being Earnest in 2000 and The School for Scandal for the Sydney Theatre Company in 2001, in 2003 she won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Stella Kowalski opposite Glenn Close in Trevor Nunn's production of Tennessee Williams play A Streetcar Named Desire at the National Theatre in London. In 2004 she starred in a Broadway production of Tom Stoppard's Jumpers at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, for which she earned a Tony Award nomination. In 2005 she appeared as Mrs. Nellie Lovett in the BBC production of Sweeney Todd with Ray Winstone.
In the 2008 film Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger she plays Esther's controlling mother. Also in 2008, she appeared in the film Australia with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, directed by Baz Luhrmann. The same year, Davis played Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof for the Melbourne Theatre Company.
Davis returned to Tasmania to launch the Tasmanian Theatre Company in 2008 and help support local theatre while encouraging youth to continue participating in the arts. In 2011, she received a Logie Award nomination for her role as Anouk in the Australian miniseries The Slap. In 2012, 2013 and 2015, Davis played Phryne Fisher, the central character in ABC Television's high-rating costume drama, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries.
Davis starred in Jennifer Kent's 2014 debut feature The Babadook. For her work in the film Davis was nominated for an AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, an AACTA International Award for Best Actress and a Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Leading Actress.
In 2016, she joined the HBO series Game of Thrones in Season 6 as Lady Crane; this role did not continue into Season 7. In June 2016 she started filming The White Princess, playing Dowager Queen Elizabeth (Elizabeth Woodville). In early January 2017, the producers released a video clip from the series as a brief trailer (teaser).
In late 2016, there were some plans for a movie, possibly a full trilogy, featuring the character Phryne Fisher. In May 2016, the actress said she would certainly consider appearing in a Miss Fisher film. "[We’re] just working out the ideas of how to make it bigger and better and more fabulous than the TV show." If the project proceeds, the producers would need to wait until the actress has completed filming The White Princess TV series in England.
Personal life
Davis married Justin Kurzel in 2002; the couple have two children, twin daughters, Stella and Ruby.