Rebekah Sarah Robertson OAM (born 4 July 1967 in Surrey, England) is an Australian actress, author and activist who has appeared on television and on stage. In 2012, Robertson founded the first parent led peer support group and information hub for transgender kids and their families in Australia, Transcend. She now advocates for transgender kids and has won numerous awards for her work.
Rebekah Robertson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 4 July 1967 |
| Alma mater | University of Tasmania John Bolton Theatre School |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Website | transcend |
Early life
editRobertson was born in Surrey, England, but grew up in Hobart, Tasmania with her four sisters.
Career
editActing
editRebekah Robertson began her career with an appearance in the television show, Problem Creek as Min, in 1988. Robertson began appearing in multiple Zootango Theatre Company shows, including Alice in Wonderland as the Queen of Hearts, As You Like It as Phoebe, The Comedy of Errors as Adrianna and A Midsummer Night's Dream as Hermia, amongst others.[1] In 1995, Robertson played Greer in the play Wilful Blue at the Victorian Arts Centre. In 1992, she appeared in theatre shows such as The Legend of the Muse and Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell. Robertson also appeared on television shows Fridge Door and Elvis Was Greek in 1994 and 1995 respectively.
After a move to Melbourne in 1995, Robertson began performing in MTC shows, such as Lady Windermere's Fan and Private Lives. She also made an appearance in the show Queen Kat. In 2003, Robertson was nominated for a Green Room Award for her performance in Humble Boy. She continued appearing in MTC productions, like Boy Gets Girl as Madeleine Beck, All My Sons as Sue Bayliss, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof as Mae and August: Osage County as Ivy Weston.[2] She won a Green Room Award for her performance in August: Osage County in the Best Supporting Actress category. Rebekah Robertson also made guest appearances in multiple television shows throughout the 2000s, including Neighbours, The Librarians, City Homicide, Tangle and Conspiracy 365.
Activism
editIn 2012, Robertson founded the first parent led peer support group and information hub for transgender kids and their families in Australia, Transcend.[3] In 2014, she appeared on Four Corners[4] in disguise (due to a legal requirement) with her daughter, Georgie (also in disguise), talking about their experiences in court and changing the law. From then on, Robertson and Stone have appeared on The Project to talk about the importance of the Safe Schools Coalition[5] and Australian Story, telling their story.[6] Robertson continues to advocate for transgender children and their families.[7] In February 2016, Robertson travelled to Canberra to meet with politicians, urging them to change the law surrounding the requirement that transgender kids should have to go to court to access cross-sex hormones.[8] Robertson was nominated for Straight Ally of the Year at the GLOBE Community Awards in 2016,[9] but lost to Matt Finnis from St Kilda Football Club.[10]
In September 2019, Penguin published her first book, About a Girl.[11]
Personal life
edit"Because of the stress, anxiety and the time limit of puberty and court together... transgender people and their families are pushed to the limit,"[12]
—Robertson on the court process
Robertson lives in Victoria and has two children, Georgie and Harry Stone.
Robertson had to apply to the Family Court of Australia so to help her daughter access puberty blockers, a process she described as being "extremely stressful and a very pathologising experience."[13] After appealing to the Family Court, the law requiring that transgender children and their families should apply to the Family Court to access treatment was eradicated in 2013.[14]
Filmography and theatre
editShort film
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Children in Focus | Karina | La Trobe University Short Film | [15][16] |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Problem Creek | Min | [15][16] | |
| 1994 | Fridge Door | Presenter | ||
| 1995 | Elvis Was Greek | Rock-a-billy Girl | ||
| 1998 | Queen Kat | Lecturer | ||
| 2004, 2021-2024 | Neighbours | Rhonda del Rubio | Guest role | |
| 2009 | The Librarians | Lauren | Guest role; Season 2, Episode 1: Just Returned | |
| 2009 | City Homicide | Sharnie Pullman | Guest role; Season 4, Episode 2: Good Cop, Bad Cop | |
| 2010 | Tangle | Therapist's Receptionist | Guest role; Season 2, Episode 5 | |
| 2011 | Conspiracy 365 | Janet Spencer | Recurring role; Season 1, Episodes 9 & 11: September & November | |
| 2014 | Four Corners | Herself (with prosthetics) | Documentary, Episode: Being Me | |
| 2016 | Australian Story | Herself | Documentary, Episode: About A Girl |
Theatre
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Blithe Spirit | Zootango Theatre Company | |
| 1988 | Soft Targets | ||
| 1988 | Les Liaisons Dangereuses | ||
| 1988 | Hallelujah Lady Jane | ||
| 1988 | Agnes of God | ||
| 1992 | And Then It Starts To Happen | Puppeteer | Terrapin Puppet Theatre |
| 1992 | The Legend of the Muse | Performer | Melbourne Fringe Festival |
| 1992 | Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell | All Female Roles | Ned Sherrin National Tour |
| 1993 | Alice in Wonderland | Queen of Hearts | Zootango Theatre Company |
| 1993 | As You Like It | Phoebe | |
| 1993 | Quartet | Merteuil | |
| 1994 | Alice in Wonderland | Queen of Hearts | |
| 1994 | The Comedy of Errors | Adrianna | |
| 1994 | Così | Ruth | |
| 1995 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Hermia | |
| 1995 | Wilful Blue | Greer | Victorian Arts Centre |
| 1995 | Lady Windermere's Fan | Lady Carlisle | Melbourne Theatre Company |
| 1997 | Private Lives | Sibyl | |
| 2003 | Humble Boy | Rosie Pye | |
| 2005 | Boy Gets Girl | Madeleine Beck | |
| 2007 | All My Sons | Sue Bayliss | |
| 2008 | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | Mae | |
| 2009 | August: Osage County | Ivy Weston |
Awards and achievements
edit| Year | Organisation | Award | Work | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Variety Club Award | Best Professional Actor | Quartet | Won | [15] |
| 2003 | Green Room Awards | Best Female Supporting Performer | Humble Boy | Nominated | [17] |
| 2009 | August: Osage County | Won | [18] | ||
| 2016 | GLOBE Community Awards | Straight Ally of the Year | Herself | Nominated | [19] |
| 2018 | Nominated | ||||
| 2019 | Australian LGBTI Awards | Ally of the Year | Herself | Nominated | [20] |
| 2019 | GLOBE Community Awards | Straight Ally of the Year | Herself | Won | [21] |
References
edit- ^ "Rebekah Robertson". www.ausstage.edu.au.
- ^ "Rebekah Stone". www.ausstage.edu.au.
- ^ "Transcend Support – Supporting Transgender Children". Transcend Support.
- ^ "Being Me". Abc.net.au. 17 November 2014.
- ^ "WATCH: Trans Teen Georgie Stone Talks About Safe Schools On 'The Project'". Pedestrian TV. 25 February 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
- ^ "Australian Story :: About A Girl". Abc.net.au. 15 August 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
- ^ "Transgender teenagers 'risking lives' buying hormones on black market – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. 15 August 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
- ^ Medhora, Shalailah (22 February 2016). "Australian transgender children closer to accessing hormones without court permission". The Guardian.
- ^ "Finalists for the 2016 GLOBE Community Awards announced". Australian Pride Network. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
- ^ "2016 GLOBE Community Awards Announced". Australian Pride Network. 24 October 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
- ^ Robertson, Rebekah; Stone, Georgie (3 September 2019). About a girl : a mother's powerful story of raising her transgender child. Random House Australia. ISBN 9780143785156. OCLC 1114321596.
- ^ Medhora, Shalailah (16 August 2016). "Government open to changing transgender teen transitioning laws – Hack – triple j". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
- ^ Donelly, Beau (21 October 2016). "Transgender teen Georgie Stone crowned GLBTI Person of the Year" – via The Age.
- ^ Luca Lavigne (10 May 2017). "Georgie Stone knew she was transgender before she could speak". Mamamia.com.au. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
- ^ a b c "Rebekah Robertson". Melissa Rose Management. 10 September 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
- ^ a b "Showcast – Rebekah Robertson". Showcast.com.au.
- ^ "GRAA". Greenroom.org.au. Archived from the original on 9 June 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
- ^ "2009 Green Room Award Nominations Announced". Australianstage.com.au. 16 February 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
- ^ "2016 Finalists". Awards.globemelbourne.com.au. 27 September 2016. Archived from the original on 15 February 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
- ^ "Galleries | Australian LGBTI Awards". Archived from the original on 13 February 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
- ^ "Congratulations to the 2019 GLOBE Community Awards winners". 12 October 2019.