Deborra-Lee Furness

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Deborra-Lee Furness
Deborra-Lee Furness

Furness in 2009
Born Deborra-Lee Furness
1955
Sydney, Australia
Nationality Australian
Occupation Actress, director, producer
Years active 1979–present
Spouse(s) Hugh Jackman (m. 1996)
Children Oscar
Ava

Deborra-Lee Furness (born 1955)[1] is an Australian actress, director and producer.

Biography

Deborra-Lee Furness was born in Sydney, Australia, and brought up in Melbourne.[2] She studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, where she graduated in either 1981[3] or 1982.[2] She performed in the United States on the stage in New York and as Kathleen,[4] the Australian wife of Cole Gioberti (Billy Moses) on the television series Falcon Crest before returning to Australia to continue her acting career.[2]

Furness rose to fame in 1988, when she starred in the movie Shame, for which she won Best Actor awards from the Film Critics Circle of Australia and Golden Space Needle. Other roles included an episode of Halifax f.p. and The Flying Doctors.[5] In 1995, she starred in the title role in the television series Correlli, where she met her future husband, Hugh Jackman.

An adoptive mother of two, Furness is known for her work assisting orphans globally and streamlining international adoptions, especially in her native Australia where she is a patron, and one of the creators, of National Adoption Awareness Week.[5][6][7] She has addressed the National Press Club of Australia on the subject of adoption laws in Australia.[8][9] Furness is a patron of the Lighthouse Foundation for displaced children and International Adoption Families for Queensland.[10][11] She is also a World Vision ambassador and serves on the Advisory Committee for Film Aid International, working with refugees throughout the world.[12][13]

Personal life

She is married to fellow actor Hugh Jackman; the ceremony took place on 11 April 1996 at St. John's in Toorak, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne.[14] They met on the set of Australian TV show Correlli.[15] After suffering two miscarriages,[15] she adopted two children with Jackman; son Oscar Maximillian (born 15 May 2000)[16] and daughter Ava Eliot (born 10 July 2005).[17]

Filmography

Awards

References

  1. ↑ Emery, Debbie (June 11, 2011). "Daddy's girl! Hugh Jackman sweeps up daughter Ava in his arms for a cuddle". Daily Mail (UK). "Jackman was in the Big Apple celebrating his wife Deborra-Lee Furness' 56th birthday..." 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Dunning, Jennifer (July 29, 1988). "New Face: Deborra-Lee Furness; Bringing 'Shame' to the City". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 September 2013. 
  3. ↑ "Alumni Spotlight - 1980s". The Journal of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Fall/Winter 2008. p. 15 (unnumbered). Retrieved October 11, 2013. 
  4. ↑ Falcon Crest
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lee, Sandra (November 10, 2012). "Deborra-Lee Furness spills on life with Hugh Jackman". ews.com.au (NewsLifeMedia, News Corporation). Retrieved 13 September 2013. 
  6. ↑ National Adoption Awareness Week: Key People. Accessed 2 January 2013
  7. ↑ Silverman, Stephen (September 5, 2013). "Hugh Jackman's Wife Reveals Just How She Likes Him". People Magazine. Retrieved 13 September 2013. "Furness serves as a board member of the Worldwide Orphan Foundation to help create a National Adoption Awareness Week, "to shine a light on the fact that there are 153 million orphans in the world," she says. "If that were a country, it would be the ninth-largest in the world, just ahead of Russia."" 
  8. ↑ Vasek, Lanai (November 9, 2011). "Deborra-Lee Furness calls for uniform laws, stronger voice on adoption". The Australian. Retrieved 13 September 2013. 
  9. ↑ "Deborra-Lee Furness". National Press Club. November 9, 2011. Retrieved 13 September 2013. "Deborra-Lee Furness is an internationally acclaimed actress as well as a passionate supporter of children and defender of their human rights across the globe." 
  10. ↑ "Lighthouse Patrons". Lighthouse Foundation. Retrieved 14 September 2013. 
  11. ↑ "Bone Marrow Donor Institute". Bmdi.org.au. Retrieved 6 September 2010. 
  12. ↑ "Advisory Board". Film Aid International. Retrieved 14 September 2013. 
  13. ↑ "Deborra-Lee Furness spills on life with Hugh Jackman". News.com.au (NewsLifeMedia, News Corporation). 10 November 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2013. 
  14. ↑ "The Wedding of the Year 1996". Trumpet Events. Retrieved December 21, 2012. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Deborra-Lee Furness". Enough Rope with Andrew Denton / Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 29 March 2004. Retrieved 6 September 2010. 
  16. ↑ Schafer, Jenny (16 May 2010). "Hugh Jackman & His Birthday Boy". CelebrityBabyScoop.com. Retrieved 6 March 2011. "...Oscar’s 10th birthday, which was yesterday." 
  17. ↑ "Hugh Jackman & His Wife Adopt a Daughter". People. 27 July 2005. Retrieved 6 March 2011. 
  18. ↑ El Mundo

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