Leverne McDonnell

Leverne McDonnell
Born
Leverne Ann McDonnell

(1963-06-27)27 June 1963
Australia
Died15 March 2013(2013-03-15) (aged 49)
NationalityAustralian
OccupationActress

Leverne Ann McDonnell (27 June 1963 – 15 March 2013) was an Australian actress.

Early life

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McDonnell spent three years as a member of "Energy Connection", a youth dance theatre company in Adelaide, South Australia, until she was admitted to the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney. She graduated from NIDA in 1985.[1]

Career

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In 1992, McDonnell played the role of Kelly in the 1992 ABC police drama series Phoenix—a role for which she was nominated for an AFI Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Television Drama.[2] She played a different role, Detective Sergeant Jan Murray, in Janus, a spin-off of Phoenix.

Other television credits include the television series Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left, Chances, The Secret Life of Us, Horace & Tina and The Saddle Club; and the mini-series The Dirtwater Dynasty, Come In Spinner and Simone de Beauvoir's Babies.

Her film appearances included roles in Oscar and Lucinda (1997) and The Interview (1998).[3]

In 2008, McDonnell played the leading role of Detective Inspector Gina Sturrock in the feature film Four of a Kind, a film on she was also the Associate Producer.[4]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Type
1988 Belinda Auditioning Girl Feature film
1992 The Distant Home Senior Nursing Sister TV movie
1993 Gross Misconduct Miriam McMahon Feature film
1993 Mr Electric Short film
1997 Oscar and Lucinda Miss Malcolm Feature film
1998 The Interview Solicitor Feature film
2007 The King Graham's Mum TV movie
2008 Four of a Kind Detective Inspector Gina Sturrock Feature film
(also Associate Producer)
2014 All in Her Stride Herself Video
(also Co-producer)

Television

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Year Title Role Type
1987 Sons and Daughters Sherry Devine TV series, 2 episodes
1988 The Dirtwater Dynasty Christine Candy TV miniseries, 2 episodes
1998 Captain James Cook Mary Burnett TV miniseries, 1 episode
1990 Come In Spinner Ursula Cronin TV miniseries, 4 episodes
1991 Rafferty’s Rules Bernadine Nelson TV series, 1 episode
1991 Chances Phillipa Taylor TV series, 61 episodes
1992 Phoenix Kelly TV series, 1 episode
1992 Acropolis Now Whitney TV series, 1 episode
1994 Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left Jady 2 TV series, 6 episodes
1995 Halifax f.p. Gillian Moffatt TV series, 1 episode
1994–95 Janus Detective Sergeant Jan Murray TV series, 13 episodes
1996 Naked: Stories of Men Joan TV series, 1 episode
1997 Water Rats Stella Morgan TV series, 1 episode
1997 Blue Heelers Deanna Delbridge TV series, 2 episodes
1997 State Coroner Vicky Bennett TV series, 1 episode
1997 Simone de Beauvoir's Babies Dianne TV miniseries, 4 episodes
2001 The Secret Life of Us Kelly's Boss TV series, 6 episodes
2001 Horace & Tina Miss Blood TV series, 5 episodes
2002–03 Stingers Dr Holt / Dr Scarff TV series, 2 episodes
2008 Bed of Roses Robyn TV series, 2 episodes
2008–09 The Saddle Club Dr. Judith 'Judy' Barker TV series, season 3, 3 episodes

Theatre

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Year Title Role Type
1984 Holidaymakers Sonya NIDA Theatre, Sydney
1984 Three French Farces: Legacy Lisette NIDA Theatre, Sydney
1984 Richard III Buckingham NIDA Theatre, Sydney
1985 A Dream Play NIDA Parade Theatre, Sydney
1985 Chamber Music Circus Style Performer NIDA Theatre, Sydney
1985 The Greeks Play 1 The War NIDA Parade Theatre, Sydney
1985 Once in a Lifetime Circus Style Performer NIDA Parade Theatre, Sydney
1986 Hamlet Phillip Street Theatre, Sydney
1987 Emerald City The New England Theatre Company
1988 Cowgirls and Indians NIDA Parade Theatre, Sydney
1990 Operation Holy Mountain Q Theatre, Penrith
1990 The Government Investigator Q Theatre, Penrith
1995 Aftershocks Elaine / Marg / Julie Fairfax Studio with MTC
1997 Jungfrau Dr Eve Blakemore Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne with Playbox Theatre Company

[5]

Personal life and death

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McDonnell died on 15 March 2013, aged 49, after a year-long battle with cancer.[3]

A documentary about her life and death, called All In Her Stride, was completed in 2014, with McDonnell as a co-producer.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "Chances: cast and characters". Australian Television Information Archive. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  2. ^ "1992 Winners & Nominees". Past Winners 1990–1999. AACTA. 1992. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  3. ^ a b Knox, David, Vale: Leverne McDonnell, TV Tonight, 25 March 2013.
  4. ^ Pomeranz, Margaret (17 June 2009). "Four of a Kind". At the Movies. ABC1. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  5. ^ https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/contributor/3754
  6. ^ "All In Her Stride (2014)". The Screen Guide. Screen Australia. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
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