Essie Davis Biography

Esther "Essie" Davis (born November 30, 1970 in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia) is an Australian actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Phryne Fisher in Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries and Amelia Vanek in The Babadook.

Early life

Davis was raised on the outskirts of Hobart, the daughter of local artist George Davis. She was educated at Clarence High School; Rosny College; the University of Tasmania, where she was a member of the Old Nick Company; and the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney, where she graduated in 1992.

Career

Her acting career began with the Bell Shakespeare company when, straight out of NIDA, she was cast as Juliet in its 1993 production of Romeo and Juliet. She following this with performances for the company in Hamlet and Richard III in 1993, and Macbeth and The Taming of the Shrew in 1994.

Davis' film career started with her role in the Australian 1995 movie Dad and Dave: On Our Selection, which starred Geoffrey Rush, Leo McKern, and Joan Sutherland. Film roles continued in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, director Richard Flanagan's 1998 Tasmanian film The Sound of One Hand Clapping, and Girl with a Pearl Earring.

After further stage performances in Australia including Gwendolen Fairfax in a national tour of The Importance of Being Earnest in 2000 and The School for Scandal for the Sydney Theatre Company in 2001, in 2003 she won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress for her UK performance in the Tennessee Williams play A Streetcar Named Desire. In 2004 she starred in a Broadway production of Tom Stoppard's Jumpers, for which she earned a Tony Award nomination. In 2005 she appeared as Mrs. Nellie Lovett in the BBC production of Sweeney Todd with Ray Winstone.

In the 2008 film Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger she plays Esther's controlling mother. Also in 2008, she appeared in the film Australia with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, directed by Baz Luhrmann. The same year, Davis played Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof for the Melbourne Theatre Company.

Davis returned to Tasmania to launch the Tasmanian Theatre Company in 2008 and help support local theatre while encouraging youth to continue participating in the arts. In 2011, she received a Logie Award nomination for her role as Anouk in the Australian miniseries The Slap. In 2012, 2013 and 2015, Davis played Phryne Fisher, the central character in ABC Television's high-rating costume drama, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries.

Davis starred in Jennifer Kent's 2014 debut feature The Babadook. For her work in the film Davis was nominated for an AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, an AACTA International Award for Best Actress and a Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Leading Actress.

In 2016 she joined the HBO series Game of Thrones in Season 6 as Lady Crane. In June 2016 she started filming The White Princess, where she will be playing Dowager Queen Elizabeth (Elizabeth Woodville).

Personal life

Davis married Justin Kurzel in 2002; the couple have two children, twin daughters, Stella and Ruby.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	'	Jilly
1995	Dad and Dave: On Our Selection	Kate Rudd
1996	Lilian's Story	Zara
1996	River Street	Wendy Davis
1997	Blackrock	Det. Gilhooley
1997	'	Young Alice	Short film
1998	'	Jean
2003	'	Maggie
2003	'	Helene Davis
2003	Girl with a Pearl Earring	Catharina
2003	Code 46	Doctor
2003	'	Maggie
2005	Isolation	Orla
2006	Charlotte's Web	Mrs. Arable
2008	Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger	Grace Blueburger
2008	Australia	Catherine "Cath" Carney Fletcher
2010	South Solitary	Alma Stanley
2010	'	Jane
2010	Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole	Marella (voice)
2011	'	Lottie	Video
2011	Burning Man	Karen
2014	'	Amelia Vanek
TBA	Mindhorn	Patricia Deville	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997	Water Rats	Senior Det. Nicola Bourke	"Blood Trail" "Dead or Alive"
1997	'	Evelyn Bookman	TV film
1998	Kings in Grass Castles	Mary Costello	TV miniseries
1998	Murder Call	Judy St. John	"Deadfall"
2000	Halifax f.p.	Alison Blount	"The Spider and the Fly"
2001	Corridors of Power	Sophie	"1.4"
2002	Young Lions	Julie Morgan	"1.2", "Mardi Gras"
2003	Enter the Matrix	Maggie (voice)	Video game
2003	After the Deluge	Beth	TV film
2003	Temptation	Julie	TV film
2006	Sweeney Todd	Mrs. Lovett	TV film
2006	'	Juliet Moore	TV film
2011	Cloudstreet	Dolly Pickles	TV miniseries
2011	'	Anouk	Main role
2012-15	Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries	Phryne Fisher	Lead role
2014	'	Caitlin Thomas	TV film
2014	Funny or Die	Amelia	"The Babadooks of Hazzard"
2016	Game of Thrones	Lady Crane	"The Door" "Blood of My Blood" "No One"

Awards and nominations

Film and television

Year	Ceremony	Category	Title	Work
1995	Australian Film Institute Awards	Best Actress in a Supporting Role	Dad and Dave: On Our Selection
2000		Best Actress in a Telefeature or Mini-Series	Halifax f.p.: The Spider and The Fly
2003		Best Actress in a Supporting or Guest Role in a Television Drama or Comedy	After The Deluge
2006	Screamfest Horror Film Festival	Festival Trophy	Isolation
2011	Film Critics Circle of Australia	Best Supporting Actor- Female	South Solitary
2012	AACTA Awards	Best Lead Actress in a Television Drama	Cloudstreet
	ASTRA Awards	Most Outstanding Performance by an Actor - Female
	Logie Awards	Most Outstanding Actress	The Slap
	Film Critics Circle of Australia	Best Actress - Supporting Role	Burning Man
2013	AACTA Awards	Best Supporting Actress
		Best Lead Actress in a Television Drama	Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
2014	Logie Awards	Most Popular Actress
	Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival	Best Actress	The Babadook
	Sitges Film Festival	Best Actress
	Toronto After Dark Film Festival	Best Actress
	AACTA Awards	Best Lead Actress
	Detroit Film Critics Society	Best Actress
	Houston Film Critics Society	Best Actress
	Online Film Critics Society	Best Actress
	San Francisco Film Critics Circle	Best Actress
	Alliance of Women Film Journalists	Best Breakthrough Performance
	Village Voice Film Poll	Best Actress
2015	Saturn Awards	Best Actress
	Empire Awards	Best Newcomer- Female
	Fangoria Chainsaw Awards	Best Leading Actress
	AACTA International Awards	Best Actress
	Dorian Awards	Film Performance of The Year- Female
2016	Logie Awards	Gold Logie	Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
		Best Actress
		Most Outstanding Actress

Stage

Year	Ceremony	Category	Title	Work
2002	Helpmann Awards	Best Female Actor in a Play	The School for Scandal
2003	Olivier Awards	Best Performance in a Supporting Role	A Streetcar Named Desire
2004	Tony Awards	Best Featured Actress in a Play	Jumpers