Biografia
A celebrated figure in Australian cinema, Sigrid Thornton has appeared in numerous films now considered classics. These include George Miller's blockbuster The Man From Snowy River (Fox Classics), Simon Wincer's The Lighthorsemen (RKO), Slate Wyn And Me (Hemdale), and The Man From Snowy River II (Disney - Touchstone). Her distinguished television career features landmark Australian series such as Seachange for ABC TV, The Boy In The Bush for the UK's Channel 4 alongside Kenneth Branagh, and the BBC-ABC co-production The Far Country opposite Michael York. Her miniseries 1915 for BBC-ABC was followed by HBO's acclaimed All The Rivers Run and Paradise (Guns Of Paradise) for CBS in the US. Successes like Little Oberon and Nine’s hit Underbelly - The Golden Mile have further solidified her prominent status in Australian film and television.
All The Rivers Run enjoyed widespread popularity across the USA, China, and Europe, earning Sigrid the title of top foreign personality in Sweden. Veteran producer David Jacobs crafted the female lead Amelia Lawson in his CBS series Paradise (Guns Of Paradise) specifically for her, marking her as the first Australian actress to star in a US network series. The show ran for multiple seasons, during which she received the prestigious Cowboy Hall of Fame award for outstanding television contribution to Western Heritage.
Sigrid has earned numerous awards, nominations, honors, and medals for her work both on screen and stage. Her theatre accolades include Best Actress for the sold-out Australian tour of The Blue Room. She toured nationally co-starring with Oscar winner Brenda Blethyn in Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads. Most recently, her portrayal of Desiree in Sondheim's A Little Night Music alongside Anthony Warlow at the Sydney Opera House received critical acclaim.
The comedy-drama Seachange, starring Sigrid as Laura, became a significant sociological phenomenon in Australia and a record-breaking ratings success for the national broadcaster. The term ‘SeaChange’ entered the cultural lexicon, with the show’s themes and characters widely discussed across the country. Sigrid garnered numerous awards and nominations for her role. She also received widespread acclaim for her portrayal of tough federal investigator Gerry Lloyd in Nine’s hit drama Underbelly - The Golden Mile. Australian audiences have recently rediscovered her pioneering work through the acclaimed biographical series Who Do You Think You Are?
From her beginnings as a child actor, Sigrid has been warmly embraced by both audiences and critics, who have supported her ventures across a broad spectrum of formats and genres, leading the national press to coin the phrase ‘The Sigrid Factor’.
Sigrid has served as MC for Australian events featuring international figures such as Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama, and was the MC for the Centenary of Federation joint sittings of the Australian Parliament. In 2003, she was named one of the top 100 Australian Entertainers of the century by the Variety Club and is commemorated in an honorary mural on Melbourne’s ‘Walk of the Stars’.
Beyond acting, Sigrid has contributed extensively behind the scenes to the film and television industry, the arts, and numerous charities. She has held several terms as a director of both the Australian Film Institute and Film Victoria and acted as patron of Women in Film and Television. In 1995, she was appointed to the Federal Government’s Commercial Television Production Fund. In 1999, invited by the Premier of Victoria, she chaired the Victorian Film & Television Taskforce, whose recommendations revitalized the local industry. She continues her charitable work with organizations such as World Vision, Reach Foundation, and Vision Australia’s Braille reading program for children, and serves as a director of Malthouse Theatre.
Recently, Sigrid completed a US publicity tour for Michael Rymer’s award-winning feature Face to Face. She is currently in post-production on the independent US feature Heads We Do, with an anticipated release in 2013.
