Deborah Mailman Movies and Career Information

Deborah Mailman (born 14 July 1972 in Mount Isa, Queensland), is an Australian television and film actress. She was the first Aboriginal actor to win the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. She is well known for having played the character "Kelly" on successful Australian television series, The Secret Life of Us. Mailman grew up in Mount Isa in north west Queensland and is the youngest of five children born to Wally, an accomplished rodeo rider, and Jane Mailman. She has both Indigenous Australian and Māori heritage. She graduated from Queensland University of Technology's Academy of the Arts in 1992. She played the role of Kate in a La Boite Theatre production of Shakespeare's 'The Taming of the Shrew' in 1994. In 1998, Mailman won her first AFI win, was for playing the character "Nona", in the Australian independent film Radiance. From here she has since become one of Australia's most prominent local actors especially through her lead role on The Secret Life of Us, a role for which she was twice awarded Most Outstanding Actress In A Drama Series at the Logies (2002 and 2004). She stayed during the shows entire duration (2001 - 2006). She then took