Deborah Mailman

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Deborah Mailman (born 14th July 1972), Australian actress, was the first Aboriginal actor to win the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role and 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 and 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 also appeared in the film Rabbit-Proof Fence.

Deborah is expecting her first child with her partner Matthew Coonan.