Madeleine Nalini Sami is a New Zealand actress, director, comedian, and musician. She started her acting career in theatre before moving to television, where she created, co-wrote, and starred in Super City. She co-wrote, co-directed, and starred in the 2018 film The Breaker Upperers along with Jackie van Beek. Sami co-hosted The Great Kiwi Bake Off.
Madeleine Sami | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Sami in 2018 | |
| Born | Madeleine Nalini Sami Auckland, New Zealand |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, director, comedian, musician |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
Early life and education
editMadeleine Nalini Sami[citation needed] is one of four children. Her parents are Christine Southee, who has Irish ancestry, and Naren Sami, a Fijian-Indian who settled in New Zealand.[1] Her parents separated when she was twelve.[1]
She attended Onehunga High School.[2]
Career
edit
Sami rose to prominence starring in Toa Fraser's play Bare, directed by Michael Robinson,[3] winning Best Actress at the 1999 Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards.[1] She then was part of Fraser's next play, No. 2., which won Perrier Comedy Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.[1]
In 2011, Sami created, co-wrote alongside Tom Sainsbury, and starred in her own comedy series, Super City, which was directed by Taika Waititi.[4] Sami played five different characters in the show and won Best Performance by an Actress at the 2011 Aotearoa Film & Television Awards.[5][6] She later co-hosted The Great Kiwi Bake Off and starred in the television series Golden Boy and The Bad Seed.[7][8] She made her TV directorial debut with an episode of the second season of Funny Girls, eventually directing eleven episodes of the series.[9]
Sami is a part of The Sami Sisters, a musical group consisting of herself and her two sisters. They released an album called Happy Heartbreak in 2011.[10]
She co-wrote, co-directed, and starred in the 2018 film The Breaker Upperers, along with Jackie van Beek.[11] The film received positive reviews and was a box office hit in New Zealand, becoming the best selling New Zealand film of 2018 and is one of the top 20 grossing New Zealand films ever.[12][13][14] The pair are set to direct the Netflix film Hope, starring Aubrey Plaza.[15] Sami also appeared in the 2019 film Come to Daddy, directed by Ant Timpson.[16]
On 17 May 2021, Sami appeared on The Masked Singer NZ as the "Monarch (Butterfly)", getting eliminated in the fourth episode. The same year, she was on the panel show Patriot Brains.
Sami starred in the 2023 Australian television series Deadloch. On July 9, 2024, Deadloch was be renewed for a second season, with Sami reprising the role of Eddie Redcliffe.[17]
She was a voice actor in the Australian comedy sci-fi film Lesbian Space Princess, which premiered at the Adelaide Film Festival in October 2024.[18]
Personal life
editIn January 2015, Sami married Phillippa "Pip" Brown, more commonly known by her stage name Ladyhawke.[19] Brown gave birth to their daughter in 2017.[20] Sami and Brown announced the end of their relationship in 2023.[21]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Ice As: Ice House | Various | |
| 2000 | Fish Skin Suit | Libby | TV movie |
| 2000 | Teach You a Lesson | Narrator | Short film |
| 2003 | Perfect Strangers | Andrea | |
| 2006 | Sione's Wedding | Tania | |
| 2007 | Eagle vs Shark | Burger Girl Customer | |
| 2009 | Under the Mountain | Constable Green | |
| 2012 | Sione's 2: Unfinished Business | Tania | |
| 2014 | What We Do in the Shadows | Morana | |
| 2015 | Slow West | Marimacho | |
| 2018 | The Breaker Upperers | Mel | Also writer & director |
| 2019 | Come to Daddy | Gladys | |
| 2020 | Baby Done | Hospital Midwife | |
| 2024 | Lesbian Space Princess | Voice actor |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Pio! | Various | |
| 1999 | Shortland Street | Dr. Shivani 'Vani' Naran | |
| 2000 | Fish Skin Suit | Libby | |
| 2001 | Xena: Warrior Princess | Tyro | Episode: "To Helicon and Back" |
| 2004 | Talent | Chemist | |
| 2004 | The Insiders Guide to Happiness | Tess | |
| 2007 | Rude Awakenings | Francesca Hoyle | |
| 2007 | Outrageous Fortune | Linda | |
| 2006–2007 | Bro'Town | Additional Voices/Bianca | 5 episodes |
| 2009 | Diplomatic Immunity | Agent Amy Bickler | |
| 2008–2009 | The Jaquie Brown Diaries | Serita Singh | 13 episodes |
| 2009–2013 | Buzzy Bee and Friends | Buzzy Bee | 14 episodes |
| 2009–2024 | 7 Days | Herself | 21 episodes |
| 2010 | Radiradirah | Various | |
| 2011 | 3 News | Self | |
| 2011–2013 | Super City | Pasha/Georgie/Azeem | Creator/writer/executive director |
| 2013 | Top of the Lake | Zena | |
| 2013 | Aroha Bridge | Mum/Aunty Winny/Angeline Hook | |
| 2016 | All Talk with Anika Moa | Self | |
| 2016–2018 | Funny Girls | Director | |
| 2014 | Flat3 | Madeline | |
| 2018–2021 | The Great Kiwi Bake Off | Host | |
| 2019 | Get Krack!n | Amy Bryan | 1 episode |
| 2019 | The Bad Seed | Marie Da Silva | 5 episodes |
| 2019 | Golden Boy | Claire | 8 episodes |
| 2019 | What's Your Problem? | Self | 1 episode |
| 2019– | Have You Been Paying Attention? | Guest | |
| 2020, 2024 | Taskmaster NZ | Self | 10 episodes (contestant) 2 episodes (guest) |
| 2021 | The Masked Singer NZ | Monarch/Self | 2 episodes |
| 2023-present | Deadloch | Eddie Redcliffe | 8 episodes |
| 2023-present | Double Parked | Nat | 9 episodes |
| 2023 | Our Flag Means Death | Archie | 8 episodes |
Theatre
edit| Year | Title | Role | Theatre |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Three People in a Cinema | Various | Silo Theatre |
| 1999 | Legacy | Ensemble | Aotearoa Young People's Theatre |
| 2000 | No. 2 | Various | Edinburgh Festival |
| 2001 | NZ Tour | ||
| 2001 | Bare | Various | Wellington Fringe Festival |
| 2002 | The Vagina Monologues | Various | Auckland Theatre Company |
| 2005- 2006 | Bad Jelly the Witch | Bad Jelly | Silo Theatre |
| 2007 | Some Girl(s) | Tyler | Silo Theatre |
| 2008 | Rabbit | Emily | Silo Theatre |
| 2008 | Whero's New Net | Various | Massive Company |
| 2008 | The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee | Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre | Auckland Theatre Company[22] |
| 2009 | No. 2 | Various | Silo Theatre |
| 2010 | Dance Troupe Supreme | Kellyanna | Maidment Theatre |
| 2014 | Jesus Christ Superstar | King Herod | Auckland Theatre Company |
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Madeleine Sami, chameleon at the crossroads". NZ Herald. 24 September 2001. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- ^ Husband, Dale (8 September 2018). "Madeleine Sami: No holding her back". E-Tangata. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
- ^ "Toa Fraser". TV Seans. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
- ^ "Super City - Shows". TV3. Archived from the original on 31 October 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
- ^ "Welcome to the Aotearoa Film and Television Awards". Aotearoa Film and Television Awards. Archived from the original on 13 November 2011.
- ^ "Sami's 'Super City' satirises the stereotypes of Auckland". Otago Daily Times Online News. 15 February 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
- ^ Nealon, Sarah (23 October 2019). "Madeleine Sami and Hayley Sproull back for more Great Kiwi Bake Off". Stuff. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ^ Fenwick, George (3 April 2019). "The Bad Seed: Madeleine Sami on how the crime show was a 'relief' from The Breaker Upperers". NZ Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ^ Walker, Susannah (21 September 2016). "Boots and all: Madeleine Sami steps behind the camera on Funny Girls". Metro. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
- ^ "Musical Siblings - The Sami Sisters". RNZ. 2 January 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
- ^ "The Breaker Upperers (2018)", IMDb, retrieved 6 November 2024
- ^ Robertson, Kate (23 January 2019). "Disney dominated the New Zealand box office in 2018". Stuff. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
- ^ "The Breaker Upperers (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
- ^ Fenwick, George (12 December 2018). "The Breaker Upperers grosses more than $1 million at Kiwi box office in first two weeks". New Zealand Herald.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony; Fleming Jr., Mike (15 August 2019). "Aubrey Plaza Feature Comedy 'Hope' Set At Netflix With Jackie van Beek & Madeleine Sami Directing". Deadline. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ^ Newall, Steve (19 February 2020). "Madeleine Sami on the attractions of acting in Come to Daddy". Flicks. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
- ^ Whittock, Jesse; Clarke, Stewart (8 July 2024). "Madeleine Sami & Kate Box Return For 'Deadloch' Season 2 On Prime Video". Deadline. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ "Lesbian Space Princess". Adelaide Film Festival. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
- ^ Tapaleao, Vaimoana (9 January 2015). "Ladyhawke and Madeleine Sami to wed". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
- ^ "A Babyhawke lands: Comedian Madeleine Sami and rocker Ladyhawke welcome a baby". Stuff. 27 October 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
- ^ Mahon-Heap, Jonny (8 June 2023). "Madeleine Sami says she has 'consciously uncoupleth' from wife Ladyhawke". Stuff.
- ^ "The New Zealand Post Season of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee". atc.co.nz. Retrieved 17 December 2020.