Elisabeth Kirkby
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Elisabeth Kirkby (b. 26 January 1921) was an Australia-based theatre and television actor and member of the New South Wales Legislative Council.
Born in Bolton, England, Kirkby's acting career began in the UK where she spent three years working for the war effort. She then spent fifteen years living in Malaysia, writing, producing and directing for radio and the arts. Then she moved to Australia, where she wrote and produced documentaries and education programs for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and acted on television in guest starring roles. These included roles in The Rovers, in Crawford Productions' espionage drama Hunter and their police drama Homicide. Then came the role of Lucy Sutcliffe in soap opera Number 96, which made Kirkby a household name.
Kirkby was an original cast member of Number 96 which premiered March 1972. Unsure of how long the series would last, the producers offered the original cast contracts lasting just six weeks. The show became Australia's highest-rated television program in 1973 and 1974. Lucy endured a moaning layabout husband Alf (James Elliott), along with a series of dramatic health concerns in the serial: a breast-cancer scare, blindness, and an unplanned pregnancy followed by a troubled birth. The episode in which it was revealed that Lucy's tumour was benign proved to be Number 96's highest-ever rated episode. In late 1973 the show had a feature film spin-off featuring much of the show's current cast, including Kirkby, reprising their television roles.
In November 1975 Alf and Lucy were written out of Number 96 as part of a drastic remodelling of the show in the wake of declining ratings. On leaving the serial Kirkby went straight into a theatre run. She subsequently made guest appearances on Australian drama series such as Glenview High (1977), and again appeared in Homicide.
Kirkby later became a politician and was elected to the New South Wales legislative council in 1981. She was the Australian Democrats' New South Wales state leader for many years, and became the longest serving Australian Democrat Member of Parliament before retiring in June 1998.
As of 2006 she resides on a sheep and wheat farm in Temora, New South Wales.
