Anne Phelan: “Female Truckie”

Since proudly joining Actors’ Equity in 1968, Anne has worked in all aspects of the industry and is a familiar face on our TV screens, appearing in shows from Homicide to Neighbours and almost everything in between, including four years as Kate in Bellbird.

She is the recipient of eight Best Actress Awards including an AFI for Mumma in Poor Man’s Orange. She was voted the Variety Club TV Actress of the Year for The Harp in the South and received two Television Society of Australia Awards for her role as Myra Desmond in the ever-popular Prisoner. She picked up her second AFI for Mon Taylor in Something In The Air.

On stage, Anne has appeared in over 50 shows in roles as diverse as Sally Bowles in Cabaret, Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd, Ma Joad in The Grapes of Wrath, Maria in Twelfth Night, Yente in Fiddler on the Roof and Rachael in Season’s Greetings, for which she received a Green Room Award.

She feels especially privileged to have worked on many Australian plays including Aftershocks, Diving for Pearls, A Hard God, Away, On Our Selection and the title role in Mavis Goes To Timor. Anne has completed two very successful seasons of her own show An Accidental Actress, and although her film credits are short, look out for ‘Pub Tart # 1’ in The Devil’s Playground and ‘Truck Driver’ in the upcoming Charlie & Boots.

 In 2007 Anne was awarded the Order of Australia for her services to the arts and to the community. She is the patron of Positive Women (Vic) – a support organization for women living with the HIV virus and is a member of Actors For Refugees – performers who tell the true stories of Australia’s refugees and asylum seekers. Last year Anne was inducted onto the Victorian Honour Roll of Women.