Kestie Morassi (born 9 August 1978)[1][2] is an Australian film and television actress. She played Natalie in the TV series Satisfaction (2007–2010) and Maggie Astoni in Home and Away (2017–2020). Morassi has also appeared in the films Dirty Deeds (2002), Wolf Creek (2005), The Illustrated Family Doctor (2005), and has made television appearances on Underbelly (2008), Wilfred (2010) and Black Snow (2022)
Kestie Morassi | |
|---|---|
| Born | 9 August 1978 Adelaide, South Australia, Australia |
| Alma mater | National Theatre, Melbourne |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1995–present |
Early life
editMorassi was born in Adelaide, South Australia.[2] She lived in Adelaide until she was thirteen years old. She studied at the National Theatre, Melbourne Drama School, graduating in 1994, and another five years at Drama with a Difference where she later became a full time teacher for the school.[3]
Career
editMorassi first appeared on the television series Neighbours in 1996. She would later appear in BeastMaster, Stingers and The Secret Life of Us in the early 2000s before making the transition to films in 2002 alongside an all-star cast including Bryan Brown, Toni Collette, Sam Neill, Sam Worthington, and John Goodman in Dirty Deeds which saw her nominated for a Best Supporting Actor award by the Film Critics Circle of Australia.[4]
Morassi has also appeared in Darkness Falls, Travelling Light, Strange Bedfellows, Thunderstruck, The Illustrated Family Doctor, and Josh Jarman before getting her international break in the Australian box-office success Wolf Creek, which screened at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival.[5] She played backpacker Kristy Earl, for which she was nominated for an Australian Film Institute award for Best Supporting Actress 2005.[6] She also starred in the Patrick Hughes short film Signs for Schweppes opposite Nick Russell.
In recent work, Morassi played whip-cracking brothel manager Natalie in Foxtel's groundbreaking drama Satisfaction and portrays sultry and infatuated criminal defence lawyer Zarah Garde-Wilson in the Nine Network TV drama series Underbelly.[4] In 2010, she had a guest appearance on Wilfred, playing "Kat".[7][8]
Morassi joined the cast of Seven Network soap opera Home and Away in 2017 as Maggie Astoni.[9][10] She departed in July 2020, along with Rohan Nichol who plays her on-screen husband Ben Astoni.[11]
In 2020 Morassi returned to the big screen in paranormal horror Surrogate alongside Jane Badler. Morassi plays Natalie Paxton, a nurse and single mother, who falls mysteriously ill and struggles to save her family from being destroyed. Surrogate premiered April 6th 2022 at Sun Theatre, Yarraville, Australia for a limited 4 week theatrical run where it was number 1, 2 weeks running. Surrogate was released internationally in September 2022 on TubiTV and Amazon Prime.
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Dirty Deeds | Margaret | Feature film, Nominated – FCCA Award for Best Supporting Actor (Female)[4] |
| 2002 | The Merchant of Fairness | Katrina | |
| 2002 | Travelling Light | Rhonda | |
| 2003 | Darkness Falls | Nurse Lauren | Feature film |
| 2003 | Strange Bedfellows | Carla | Feature film |
| 2003 | Thunderstruck | Amy | Feature film |
| 2004 | Josh Jarman | Sasha | Feature film |
| 2005 | Wolf Creek | Kristy Earl | Feature film, Nominated – AFI Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| 2005 | The Illustrated Family Doctor | Jennifer | Feature film |
| 2008 | Signs | Stacey | Short film |
| 2009 | Piñata | Wendy | Short film |
| 2009 | Birthday | Lily | Melbourne Underground Film Festival Award for Best Supporting Actress[12] |
| 2010 | The Wedding Party | Jacqui | Feature film |
| 2010 | Blame | Cate | Feature film |
| 2012 | Fearless | Rachel Lepinsky | Short film |
| 2012 | Real Meal Deal | Activist | Short film |
| 2014 | Fractions | Peta | Short film |
| 2020 | Surrogate | Natalie Paxton | Feature film |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Neighbours | Charnelle Edwards | TV series |
| 2001 | The Saddle Club | Mrs. Sharlow | TV series |
| 2002 | The Secret Life of Us | Larissa | TV series |
| 2003 | Stingers | Simone | TV series |
| 2006 | Two Twisted | Rose | TV series |
| 2007–10 | Satisfaction | Natalie (main role) | TV series |
| 2008 | Underbelly | Zarah Garde-Wilson (recurring role) | TV miniseries |
| 2010 | Wilfred | Kat | TV series |
| 2010 | Offspring | Ivy (recurring role) | TV series |
| 2017–20 | Home and Away | Maggie Astoni (main role) | TV series, seasons 30–33 |
| 2023 | Almost Paradise | Janice | TV series |
References
edit- ^ "User @kestimorassi". Instagram. 8 August 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
- ^ a b "MORASSI, Kestie". Genealogy SA. Archived from the original on 17 January 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018. (Newspaper birth notice search)
- ^ Author unknown (date unknown). "Dirty Deeds". Drama With A Difference. Retrieved on 5 April 2010 from http://www.dramawithadifference.com.au/about/articles.html.
- ^ a b c STV (20 November 2009) "Kestie Morassi – Zarah". Underbelly cast guide. STV, 20 November 2009. Retrieved on 5 April 2010 from [1].
- ^ Dunkley, Cathy; Harris, Dana (3 January 2005). "Dimension up a scary 'Creek'". Variety. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
- ^ Soares, Andre (26 November 2005). "Australian Film Institute Awards – 2005". Alt Film Guide, 26 November 2005. Retrieved on 5 April 2010 from "» Australian Film Institute Awards - 2005 - Alternative Film Guide". Archived from the original on 8 August 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2010..
- ^ Siemienowicz, Rochelle (7 July 2011). "AFI Quick Quiz: Kestie Morassi". Australian Film Institute Blog. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
- ^ Idato, Michael (13 May 2010). "Wilfred goes to Hollywood". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- ^ Groome, Imogen (8 June 2017). "Home and Away spoilers: There's a new family heading to Summer Bay". Metro. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- ^ "Kestie Morassi - Seven". Yahoo! TV Australia. 14 June 2017. Archived from the original on 17 January 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
- ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (8 July 2020). "Home and Away's Ben and Maggie Astoni make a life-changing decision". Digital Spy. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
- ^ Everleth, Mike (31 August 2011). "2011 Melbourne Underground Film Festival: Award Winners". Underground Film Journal. Retrieved 17 April 2018.