Natalie Louise Blair (born 16 April 1984) is an Australian actress, best known for her role as Carmella Cammeniti on the Australian television soap opera drama series Neighbours.

Natalie Blair
Born
Natalie Louise Blair

(1984-04-16) 16 April 1984 (age 40)
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Other namesNatalie Hoflin
OccupationActress
Years active1995–present
Height1.66 m (5 ft 5+12 in)
Spouse
(m. 2013)
Children1
AwardsLogie for 'Most Popular New Female Talent' (2005)

Early life

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Blair was born to professional soccer player John Blair in Brisbane, Queensland on 16 April 1984. She attended Lourdes Hill College in Hawthorne.

Career

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Back in early 2003, Blair auditioned for Neighbours and impressed casting director Jan Russ, but she was not cast.[1] Russ contacted Blair six months later and asked her to audition for the role of Carmella Cammeniti. She was cast on the spot as producers needed to fill the gap left by Delta Goodrem's sudden departure.[1] Blair started filming just after she graduated from school.[2]

In 2005, Blair won "Most Popular New Female Talent" at the 47th Annual Logie Awards.[3] Blair was also nominated in 2007 for both the Silver Logie and Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television.[4] She was again nominated for both awards in 2008.[5] Blair was crowned "Queen of Teen" at the Dolly Teen Choice Awards at Sydney's Luna Park in 2007.[6]

In December 2007, Blair starred in the Spillers Ltd Production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs as Snow White at the Music Hall in Shrewsbury.[7] Blair also sang solo and a cappella the first verse of "Once in Royal David's City" at the annual BBC Shropshire "Carols in the Square" event in Shrewsbury on 19 December 2007.[8]

Blair left Neighbours after five years in 2008. She then moved to Los Angeles, but returned home later that year to play chief villain Connie Burns in the feature film Stage Fright.[9] Upon completion of the film, also starring Clare Bowen and Jason Smith, Natalie left Queensland and returned to Los Angeles.[10]

Blair returned to Neighbours in March 2011 for two episodes.[11] Also in March 2011, Natalie began shooting the feature film The Sleeping Warrior, portraying the character of Safia. The film was set for release in 2012.[12] and is a story that connects Hindu spirituality and Australian aboriginal spirituality.[13]

In 2012, Blair returned to Melbourne, Australia to play the lead in the romantic comedy The Groomless Bride.[14] The film also stars underworld figure Chopper Reid.

Personal life

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In 2006, after meeting on the set of Voodoo Lagoon, Hoflin was engaged to actor Beau Brady for a year.[15][16][17] They quietly separated in January 2007, with their split being confirmed by a Neighbours spokeswoman.[18] The pair reportedly split due to Brady's decision to move to Los Angeles to pursue his career.[18]

Blair began a relationship with her Neighbours co-star David Hoflin in 2008.[19] The pair currently live together in Los Angeles.[20] On 10 March 2012, Fiona Byrne of the Herald Sun reported the couple were engaged. They were married on 4 January 2013 in Warburton, Victoria.[21] Blair and Hoflin welcomed their first child, a son, on 29 July 2016.[citation needed]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2002 Hey Sista! Roberta Russo TV short film
2006 When Darkness Falls Laura Feature film
2006 Voodoo Lagoon (aka Hunt) Kate Feature film
2009 I.C.U. The Mystery Woman Feature film
2010 Stage Fright (aka 10 Days to Die) Connie Burns Feature film
2011 Like Crazy Natalie Feature film
2012 The Sleeping Warrior Safia Feature film
2012 Groomless Bride Sandra Unreleased film

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1995 Flipper Cuban Girl Episode: "Kidnapped: Part 1"
1997 Medivac (aka Adrenalin Junkies) Ghost Train Victim Season 2, episode: "2.10"
2002 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World Keeran Warrior #2 Season 3, episode 10: "Brothers in Arms"
2003 Fat Cow Motel Food Poison Girl Episode: "1.8"
2003–08; 2011 Neighbours Carmella Cammeniti 342 episodes
2010 Outsourced Sexy Witch Season 1, episode 6: "Bolloween"
2014 Crossbones Rose Dryden 7 episodes
2018 The Fo-Fo Figgily Show Vivala Wee 25 episodes

Stage

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Year Title Role Notes
2007 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Snow White Music Hall, Shrewsbury[22]
2007 Carols in the Square Singer BBC Shropshire in Shrewsbury[23]

Awards & nominations

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Year Nominated work Award Category Result
2005 Neighbours 47th Annual Logie Awards Most Popular New Female Talent Won
2007 Neighbours 49th Annual Logie Awards Most Popular Actress Nominated
2007 Neighbours 49th Annual Logie Awards Most Popular Personality on Australian Television Nominated
2007 Natalie Blair Dolly Teen Choice Awards Queen of Teen Award Won
2008 Neighbours 50th Annual Logie Awards Most Popular Actress Nominated
2008 Neighbours 50th Annual Logie Awards Most Popular Personality on Australian Television Nominated

References

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  1. ^ a b Blair, Natalie. Soapstars in Panto (MP3) (Internet broadcast). United Kingdom: The Soap Show. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
  2. ^ Byrne, Fiona (29 June 2008). "Natalie Blair's bound for Europe". Herald Sun. Australia. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  3. ^ "Logie Awards 2005". Australian Television Information Archive. Retrieved 19 April 2008.
  4. ^ "Logie Awards 2007". Australian Television Information Archive. Retrieved 19 April 2008.
  5. ^ "Logie Awards 2008". Australian Television Information Archive. Retrieved 19 April 2008.
  6. ^ "Teen Queen". News.com.au. 6 September 2007.
  7. ^ "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". BBC. 4 October 2007. Retrieved 19 April 2008.
  8. ^ "Carols in the Square 2007". BBC. 19 December 2007. Retrieved 19 April 2008.
  9. ^ Pierce, Jeremy (27 August 2009). "Natalie Blair Project Bewitches Town". News.com.au.
  10. ^ "It's tattle time". Herald Sun. Australia. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  11. ^ "Homecoming for Neighbours faves". Holy Soap. Channel Five. Archived from the original on 27 September 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
  12. ^ "The Sleeping Warrior (2012) - IMDb". IMDb.
  13. ^ "Cinando".
  14. ^ Natalie Blair Back From La For Movie Herald Sun [dead link]
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference nowtolove was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Maley, Jacqueline; McKenny, Leesha (5 October 2010). "Bec's Beau tells why they split". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  17. ^ "Beau splits with Nat". Perth Now. 1 April 2007. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  18. ^ a b "Beau splits with Nat". The Daily Telegraph. UK. 2 April 2007.
  19. ^ Blairs Bound For Europe Herald Sun [dead link]
  20. ^ "Neighbours".
  21. ^ Byrne, Fiona (10 March 2012). "Old castmates are more than just good Neighbours". Herald Sun. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  22. ^ "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". BBC. 4 October 2007. Retrieved 19 April 2008.
  23. ^ "Carols in the Square 2007". BBC. 19 December 2007. Retrieved 19 April 2008.
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