Deborra-Lee Furness, (born 30 November 1955) is an Australian actress and producer. Furness was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2022.
Early life
Furness was born in Annandale, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, and raised in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1974-1975 Furness regularly appeared as 'Debbie', an office girl at Channel 12 in the soap opera The Box. The role was minor, often uncredited and typically non-speaking and usually saw Furness in the background in cafe and bar scenes, often in the company of 'Chris - Office Boy' (Chris Hopley). She also appeared - once again as an office girl, this time unnamed - in an episode of Division 4 screened in mid-1975.
She then got a job as the assistant to John Sorell, the news director at Channel 9. Furness was asked to work on No Man's Land, the station's daytime current affairs program which was produced exclusively by women and hosted by Mickie de Stoop. or 1982. the Australian wife of Cole Gioberti (Billy Moses) on the television series Falcon Crest before returning to Australia to continue her acting career.
Career
Furness rose to fame in 1988 when she starred in the movie Shame, for which she won Best Actor awards from the Film Critics Circle of Australia and the Golden Space Needle Award from the Seattle International Film Festival. Other roles included an episode of Halifax f.p. and The Flying Doctors. She has addressed the National Press Club of Australia on the subject of adoption laws in Australia. Furness is a patron of the Lighthouse Foundation for displaced children and International Adoption Families for Queensland. She is also a World Vision ambassador and serves on the Advisory Committee for Film Aid International, working with refugees throughout the world.
Personal life
Furness met actor Hugh Jackman on the set of Australian TV show Correlli in 1995. Their wedding ceremony took place on 11 April 1996 at St. John's in Toorak, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne. After going through two miscarriages, and a girl born in 2005. A portrait of Furness and Jackman by Paul Newton was a finalist in the 2022 Archibald Prize. In September 2023, the couple announced their separation. She filed for divorce in May 2025 and it was finalised in June 2025.
Honour
In 2014, Deborra-Lee Furness was named as the New South Wales Australian of the Year for her work in adoption campaigning.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Film
! Year
! Film
! Role
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Type
|-
| rowspan=3|1985
| Crossover Dreams
| Statue of Liberty
|
|-
| Jenny Kissed Me
| Carol Grey
|
|-
| Cool Change
| Lee
|
|-
| 1986
| The Humpty Dumpty Man
| Carmel DeVries
|
|-
| 1987
| The Bit Part
| Acting Teacher
|
|-
| rowspan=4|1988
| Shame
| Asta Cadell
|
|-
| Evil Angels
| Magazine Reporter
|
|-
| Two Brothers Running
| Silver's Secretary
|
|-
| Celia
| Miss Greenaway
|
|-
| 1990
| Blue Heat aka 'The Last of the Finest'
| Linda Daly
|
|-
| rowspan=2|1991
| Voyager aka 'Homo Faber'
| Ivy
|
|-
| Waiting
| Diane
|
|-
| 1992
| Newsies
| Esther Jacobs
|
|-
| rowspan=2|1995
| Angel Baby
| Louise Goodman
|
|-
| When Harry Coached Sally
| Sally
| Short
|-
| 1998
| The Real Macaw
| Beth Girdis
|
|-
| 2006
| Jindabyne
| Jude
|
|-
| 2008
| Sleepwalking
| Danni
|
|-
| rowspan=2|2009
| Beautiful
| Mrs. Thomson
|
|-
| Blessed
| Tanya
|
|-
| 2010
| Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole
| Barran (Voice)
|
|-
| 2014
| Dukale's Dream
| Herself
| Documentary
|-
| 2023
| Force of Nature: The Dry 2
| Jill Bailey
|
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year
! Film
! Role
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Type
|-
| 1975
| The Box
| Office Girl
| 6 episodes
|-
| 1975
| Division 4
| Junior 1
|Episode: "The Human Factor"
|-
| 1979
| Prisoner
| Connie (uncredited)
| 3 episodes
|-
| 1980
| Cop Shop
| Trisha Clarke
| 1 episode
|-
| 1983
| All the Rivers Run
|
| Miniseries
|-
| 1983-1984
| Kings
| Frances Dalton
| Recurring role
|-
| 1984
| Carson's Law
|
| 1 episode
|-
| 1984
| Special Squad
|Liz Jenkins
| Episode: "The Long Secret"
|-
| rowspan=3|1985
| Neighbours
| Linda Fielding
| 5 episodes
|-
| The Flying Doctors
|Fran
| rowspan=2|Miniseries
|-
| Glass Babies
| Joan Simpson
|-
| 1986
| The Fast Lane
| Guest role: Stella
| 1 episode
|-
| rowspan=2|1987
| Falcon Crest
| Kathleen Gioberti
| Episode: "The New Faces"
|-
| A Matter of Convenience
|rowspan=2|Valma
| TV film
|-
| rowspan=4|1988
| Sentiments
|
|-
| The Flying Doctors
|Sapphire
| Episode: "Sapphire"
|-
| Act of Betrayal
| Kathy
| TV film
|-
| Fields of Fire II
|Cloris
|rowspan=2|Miniseries
|-
| rowspan=2|1993
| Stark
|Chrissie
|-
| Singapore Sling
| Annie
| TV film
|-
| 1994
| G.P.
| Guest role: Kate Morrison
| Episode: "All of Me"
|-
| rowspan=3|1995
| Halifax f.p.
| Brigit Grant
| Episode: "The Feeding"
|-
| Correlli
| Louisa Correlli
| Recurring role
|-
| Populate or Perish
| Narrator
| Documentary
|-
| 1995–1996
| Fire
| Dolores Kennedy
|Recurring role
|-
| 1997
| Roar
| Guest role: Agrona
| Episode: "The Cage"
|-
| 2000
| SeaChange
| Vicki Drury
|Episode: "Hungi Jury"
|-
| 2007
| Raising Children: A Guide to Parenting From Birth to Five
| Narrator
| rowspan=2|Documentary
|-
| 2009
| The Beautiful Vision
| Herself
|-
| 2013
| Phineas and Ferb
| Additional voices
| Episode: "Primal Perry"
|-
| 2016
| Hyde & Seek
| Claudia Rossini
| Miniseries
|-
| 2020
| Misunderstandings of Miscarriage
| Herself
| Documentary
|}
Television appearances
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year
! Film
! Role
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Type
|-
| 1974
| No Man's Land
| Herself - Reporter
|
|-
| 1989
| The Media Show
| rowspan=5|Guest
| 1 episode
|-
| 1991 & 1992
| Tonight Live with Steve Vizard
| 2 episodes
|-
| rowspan=2|1992
| The Morning Show
| rowspan=3|1 episode
|-
| In Sydney Today
|-
| rowspan=2|1994
| Level 23
|-
| Sale of the Century
| Contestant
| 2 episodes
|-
| 1994-2005
| Good Morning Australia
| rowspan=2|Guest
|
|-
| 1994; 1995 & 1998
| Hey Hey It's Saturday
| 3 episodes
|-
| 1994 & 1995
| TVTV
| Herself
| 2 episodes
|-
| 1995
| Ernie and Denise
| Guest
| 1 episode
|-
| 1995 & 1997
| Midday
| Guest (1997 episode with Hugh Jackman)
| 2 episodes
|-
| rowspan=2|1995
| The Australia Remembers Tribute Gala
| rowspan=4|Herself
| rowspan=2|TV special
|-
| World Vision Appeal: Vision For a Better World
|-
| rowspan=2|1996
| Witness
|rowspan=3|1 episode
|-
| This Is Your Life
|-
| 1997
| Mouthing Off
| Guest
|-
| rowspan=3|1998
| The Making of 'The Real Macaw
| rowspan=3|Herself
|rowspan=4|TV special
|-
| Saturday Night Fever
|-
| Carols in the Domain
|-
| 1999
| Fox Studios Australia: The Grand Opening
| Guest (with Hugh Jackman)
|-
| rowspan=2|2003
| Australian Story
| Herself
| rowspan=4|1 episode
|-
| Rove Live
| rowspan=2|Guest
|-
| 2004
| Enough Rope with Andrew Denton
|-
| rowspan=2|2006
| At the Movies
| rowspan=2|Herself
|-
| Jindabyne: The Process
| Documentary
|-
| rowspan=2|2006 & 2024
| Sunrise
| Guest
| rowspan=3|2 episodes
|-
| Today
| Guest (2024 episode with Eric Bana)
|-
| 2006 & 2008
| Mornings with Kerri-Anne
| Guest
|-
| rowspan=3|2007
| Dancing with the Stars
| Herself
| 1 episode
|-
| The 2007 Australian Film Institute Awards
| Presenter
| TV special
|-
| The Directors' Series
| Herself
|
|-
| 2008
| 9am with David & Kim
| Guest
| 1 episode
|-
| rowspan=2|2009
| Australia Unites: The Victorian Bushfire Appeal
| rowspan=2|Herself
| TV special
|-
| 20 to 1
| 2 episodes
|-
| 2009; 2021 & 2024
| The Project
| Guest
|3 episodes
|-
| 2009
| Artscape
| Herself - Interviewee
| 1 episode
|-
| rowspan=2|2010
| Seeds of Hope
| rowspan=2|Herself
| Documentary
|-
| This Is Your Life
| 1 episode
|-
| 2011 & 2012
| The Circle
| rowspan=2|Guest
| 2 episodes
|-
| rowspan=2|2011
| Mornings
| 1 episode
|-
| Kimchi Chronicles
| Herself
| Documentary
|-
| rowspan=4|2012
| The 66th Annual Tony Awards
| Presenter
| TV special
|-
| Can of Worms
| rowspan=2|Herself
| rowspan=3|1 episode
|-
| The Living Room
|-
| 60 Minutes
| Herself (segment "Hugh Jackman")
|-
| rowspan=4|2013
| The Tonight Show With Jay Leno
| Herself (at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party)
|
|-
| Jimmy Kimmel Live!
| Guest
|
|-
| The View
| Guest Co-hostess
|
|-
| Oprah's Next Chapter
| Herself
|
|-
| 2013; 2016; 2018 & 2019
| Global Citizen Festival
| Herself (2018 as host)
| TV special
|-
| rowspan=2|2014
| Family Confidential
| Herself
|
|-
| The Talk
| Guest Co-hostess
| rowspan=2|2 episodes
|-
| 2014 & 2018
| NBC Today Show
| Guest
|-
| 2015
| CBS This Morning
| Herself – Co-Founder, Global Citizen
| 1 episode
|-
| 2017; 2021; 2022 & 2023
| Studio 10
| Guest (2022 episode with Hugh Jackman)
| 4 episodes
|-
| rowspan=3|2018
| E Live from the Red Carpet
| rowspan=3|Herself
|
|-
| Entertainment Tonight Canada
|
|-
| Entertainment Tonight
| rowspan=2|1 episode
|-
| 2020
| Anh's Brush with Fame
| Interviewee
|-
| 2021 & 2024
| The Project
| Guest
| 2 episodes
|-
| 2022
| This Is Your Life: Rebecca Gibney
| Herself (with Hugh Jackman)
| rowspan=4|1 episode
|-
| rowspan=3|2024
| Sunrise
| Guest (with Eric Bana)
|-
| News Breakfast
| Guest (with Jacqueline McKenzie)
|-
| Weekend Today
| Guest (with Eric Bana)
|}
Awards
- 1988 SIFF Award for the best actress in Seattle International Film Festival.
- 1988 Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for the best actress.
- 1991 Silver Shell for the best actress in San Sebastián International Film Festival.
References
External links
- National Adoption Awareness Week
- World Wide Orphans Foundation