Geraldine Gail Turner OAM (born 23 June 1950 in Brisbane, Australia) is an Australian actress and singer. She has been a leading performer in Australian musical theatre since the 1970s, and has also been active in plays, recordings, film and television.[1]
Geraldine Turner | |
|---|---|
| Born | 23 June 1950 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, voice actor |
| Years active | 1970–present |
Early life
editTurner was born and raised in Brisbane, attending St Margaret's Anglican Girls' School. Her career in performance began at an early age. As a child, Turner appeared in productions of Aladdin and The Sleeping Princess and as a performer on the local television variety program Cottee's Happy Hour. She trained in classical ballet for ten years and was a member of the Ballet Theatre of Queensland. She received a Diploma of Education after high school. She also studied classical singing at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music for 5 years. She began her career with the Queensland Theatre Company in the early 1970s.[2]
Theatre
editIn the early 1970s, Turner appeared with the Queensland Theatre Company in the musicals Lock Up Your Daughters, A Rum Do!, Oh, What a Lovely War! and the play She Stoops to Conquer.[3]
She played Petra in the 1973 original Australian cast of A Little Night Music (J. C. Williamson's) and the lead role of Desiree Armfeldt in a 1990 Sydney Theatre Company revival. Other roles in Stephen Sondheim musicals include Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd (Melbourne Theatre Company), The Baker's Wife in Into the Woods and Joanne in Company (Sydney Theatre Company).
Other notable musical theatre roles include Nancy in Oliver!, Velma Kelly in the original Australian cast of Chicago (Sydney Theatre Company), Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes and Katisha in The Mikado (Essgee). She has performed in Australian musicals Summer Rain (Queensland Theatre Company), Jonah Jones (Sydney Theatre Company) and Ned Kelly (Adelaide Festival Centre Trust / Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust). Turner has also featured in various plays including Inheritance (Melbourne Theatre Company), Present Laughter and Don's Party (Sydney Theatre Company). In cabaret, she has performed in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Africa.
Recordings
editTurner features in Australian cast recordings of Chicago and Anything Goes. She has several solo albums including two compilations of Sondheim songs, Old Friends (also released as The Stephen Sondheim Songbook) and Geraldine Turner Sings the Stephen Sondheim Songbook Volume 2.[4]
Film and television
editHer films roles include Vere in Careful, He Might Hear You (which won the AFI Award for Best Film in 1983), The Wog Boy and Summerfield. Turner has played a recurring role in the Australian television drama House Husbands.[5]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | The Box | Lindy Jones | Feature film |
| 1976 | Break of Day | Sandy | Feature film |
| 1977 | Summerfield | Betty Tate | Feature film |
| 1978 | The Clown and the Mind Reader | Mind Reader | Film short |
| 1983 | Careful, He Might Hear You | Vere | Feature film |
| 2000 | The Wog Boy | Raelene Beagle-Thorpe | Feature film |
| 2015 | Tempting Fate | Extra | Feature film, US |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | The Box | Regular role: Lindy Jones | TV series |
| 1975 | Homicide | Guest role: Lisa Andrews | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1976 | King's Men | Guest role | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1976 | The Sentimental Bloke | Doreen | TV movie |
| 1979 | One Day Miller | Regular role: Loretta | TV series, 7 episodes |
| 1979–1980 | The Restless Years | Recurring role: Sandy Miller | TV series, 21 episodes |
| 1983 | A Country Practice | Guest role: Mandy Marshall | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1985 | Natural Causes | Lead role: Danni | TV movie |
| 1992 | Six Pack | Lead role: Lydia | TV film series, episode 6: "That Man's Father" |
| 1993 | G.P. | Guest role: Kath | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2006 | All Saints | Guest role: 'Shrieking' Sharona McDonald | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2006 | Home and Away | Recurring role: Kitty Landsdowne / Kitty Vale | TV series, 13 episodes |
| 2013–2014 | House Husbands | Recurring guest role: Wendy Horne | TV series, 3 episodes |
Television (as self)
edit| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Cottee's Happy Hour | Dancer | TV series |
| 1973 | Jill | Herself | TV special |
| 1976 | Quest | Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1978 | Cappriccio | Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1978; 1980; 1981; 1983; 1984; 1985 | The Mike Walsh Show | Guest / guest singer | TV series, 6 episodes |
| 1981–1983 | Parkinson in Australia | Guest | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 1986 | The Two Ronnies in Australia | Guest singer (singing "I'm Just a Housewife") | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1987 | Have a Go | Guest judge | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 1988–1993 | The Midday Show | Guest singer | TV series |
| 1989 | The Bert Newton Show | Guest singer | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1989 | In Melbourne Today | Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1991 | In Sydney Today | Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1994; 1995 | At Home | Guest | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1995–2005 | Good Morning Australia | Guest singer | TV series |
| 1995 | Ernie and Denise | Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1996 | Roy and HG | Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1997 | Monday to Friday | Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1998; 2000 | Denise | Guest | TV series, 1 episodes |
| 1999 | Beauty and the Beast | Guest | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1999 | Laws | Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2000; 2012 | The Morning Show | Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2000 | 2000 Australian Film Institute Awards | Winner | TV special |
| 2004 | Mornings | Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2005 | Spicks and Specks | Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2006 | Studio A with Simon Burke | Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2007 | Susie | Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2008 | 9am with David & Kim | Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2012 | The Circle | Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2015 | The Daily Edition | Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2022 | Today Extra | Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2022 | Studio 10 | Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2024 | News Breakfast | Guest (with Gerry Connolly) | TV series, 1 episode |
Theatre
editPersonal life
editShe was married briefly at age 21.[7]
Her second husband is conductor Brian Castles-Onion.[8]
She was the federal President of Actors Equity (MEAA) in Australia. She stood in the 2008 local government election for the Wingecarribee Shire Council in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, and has advocated for the role of the arts in the community.[9][10]
Turner published an autobiography in 2022, Turner's Turn.[11]
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Nominated work | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Oliver! | Green Room Awards | Best Female Actor in a Leading Role (Music Theatre) | Won |
| 1988 | Geraldine Turner | Mo Awards | Female Musical Theatre Performer of the Year | Won |
| 1988 | Geraldine Turner | Order of Australia | Medal for Services to the Performing Arts [12] | Honoured |
| 1989 | Anything Goes | Green Room Award | Best Female Actor in a Leading Role (Music Theatre) | Won |
References
edit- ^ "My Sunday". Good Weekend. The Canberra Times. 14 April 1985. p. 54. Retrieved 7 July 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Geraldine Turner OAM - St Margaret's".
- ^ List of performances – Geraldine Turner, AusStage
- ^ "Geraldine Turner discography", castalbums.org
- ^ Geraldine Turner at IMDb[better source needed]
- ^ "Geraldine Turner OAM". ausstage.edu.au.
- ^ "Showbusiness is terrible...I love it!". The Australian Women's Weekly. 14 October 1981. p. 24. Retrieved 7 July 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Cadzow, Jane (6 May 2017). "Steel magnolia: an encounter with Geraldine Turner". The Age. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
- ^ "Geraldine Turner OAM". Archived from the original on 22 February 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
- ^ "Shire must be a centre for learning the arts" by Geraldine Turner, Southern Highlands News, 21 July 2010, updated 13 November 2012
- ^ Geraldine Turner (2022). Turner's Turn. New Holland. ISBN 9781760794439.
- ^ "Miss Geraldine Gail Turner", Australian Honours Search Facility