Anna McGahan
McGahan in 2011
Born (1988-05-02) 2 May 1988
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Alma materQUT and AFTRS
Occupations
  • Actress
  • playwright
Years active2009–present
Notable workUnderbelly: Razor
Anzac Girls
Spouse
Jonathan Weir
​
​
(m. 2017; div. 2021)​
Children2

Anna McGahan (born 2 May 1988) is an Australian actress and playwright. She is best known for playing the roles of Nellie Cameron on the television series, Underbelly: Razor (2011), Lucy in House Husbands (2012–2014), and Rose Anderson in The Doctor Blake Mysteries (2015–2018).

She received the Queensland Young Playwright's Award in 2008 and 2009, and was shortlisted for the Queensland Premier's Drama Award in 2010, for her play 'He's Seeing Other People Now'. She co-wrote the immersive theatre piece 'The People of the Sun' with Joel McKerrow, which toured Melbourne and Sydney in 2016 and 2017. In 2016 she was shortlisted for The Saturday Paper's national essay award, the Horne Prize,[1] while in 2023 she won The Australian/Vogel Literary Award.[2]

Career

McGahan has appeared in Australian film, television and theatre. Her most notable appearance to date is starring as Nellie Cameron in the hit Australian TV series Underbelly: Razor, in which she plays a 16-year-old 1920s prostitute from a wealthy background who influenced some of the era's most powerful men, for which she won the Inside Film 'Out of the Box' Award and was nominated for two Logies.

In 2012 she received a 'Best Emerging Artist' Matilda Award for her performance in La Boite Theatre Company's Julius Caesar.

McGahan appeared in the 2012 film 100 Bloody Acres and Australian TV series "House Husbands" on the Nine Network in the same year.

On 27 June 2012, McGahan was awarded the Heath Ledger scholarship at the Australians in Film benefit in Los Angeles.

In 2014 she played Sister Olive Haynes in the six-part miniseries for ABC Television ANZAC Girls. Based closely on real characters, she plays opposite Brandon McClelland as the Australian soldier Norval 'Pat' Dooley, who married Haynes in 1917.

In May 2021, McGahan played Katharina in William Shakespeare's The taming of the shrew with Queensland Theatre (in the Bille Brown Theatre, Brisbane), directed by Damien Ryan.[3] Petruchio was played by Nicholas Brown.

Personal life

McGahan grew up in Coorparoo, Queensland she went to Brisbane Girls Grammar School located in Brisbane City and studied for a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting) at QUT, graduating in 2010. She subsequently relocated to Sydney. Growing up she was a dedicated ballet dancer and then began studying psychology upon finishing high school. She studied screenwriting at AFTRS in 2015.[4]

In 2012 McGahan converted to Christianity while reading a Gideon's Bible in a hotel room, where she had a "series of spiritual encounters".[5] In 2019 her memoir of her spiritual journey was published by Acorn Press, and was nominated for the global ECPA Christian Book Awards.[6] She is no longer heavily involved in the church as an institution, and in 2021 stated that she creates work that ‘prioritises a defiant female gaze to explore experiences of embodiment, motherhood, sexuality and spirituality’.[7]

McGahan is also a playwright. She won the Queensland Theatre Company Young Playwright's Award in 2009 and 2010, and was shortlisted for the Queensland Premier's Drama Award in 2011. In 2012 she produced her full-length play He's Seeing Other People Now through the Metro Arts Independents Season in Brisbane.

McGahan married Jonathan Weir in April 2017.[8] They welcomed their first child, Mercy Weir, in February 2018, born prematurely at 33 weeks.[9] They separated in 2021, and she now lives in Brisbane with her two daughters.[10]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2009 Bipolar Mopsy Short
2009 Maligayang Pasko Short
2010 Lance Johnson in Person Abby Short
2011 A Little Bit Behind Jen Short
2012 100 Bloody Acres Sophie
2012 Scratch Lola Short
2012 Reef 'n' Beef Daisy
2012 Gingers Ginge Short
2016 Spirit of the Game Elspeth
2016 Trolley Anna Short
2017 Project Eden: Vol. I Alice Lawson
2018 Fur Baby Colette Short

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2011 Rescue: Special Ops Tegan Reid Episode: "It's Not the Fall That Kills You"
2011 Spirited Penelope Guest role (series 2)
2011 Underbelly: Razor Nellie Cameron Main role
2011 The Boys' Place Jane Alexander TV series
2012 Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries Miss Prout Episode: "Away with the Fairies"
2012 Undertow Newlywed TV film
2012 The Mystery of a Hansom Cab Rosanna Moore / The Queen TV film
2012–2014 House Husbands Lucy Crabb Main role (series 1–3)
2014 ANZAC Girls Olive Haynes TV miniseries
2016 The Kettering Incident Gillian Baxter / Dr. Colleen McKay Episode: "The Homecoming"
2016 Fancy Boy Karen / Rachel Episodes: "1.2", "1.3"
2016–17 The Doctor Blake Mysteries Rose Anderson Main role (series 4–5)
2017 The Doctor Blake Mysteries: Family Portrait Rose Anderson TV film
2018 Picnic at Hanging Rock Greta McCraw TV miniseries

Awards and nominations

Year Title of Work Award Category Result
2012 Underbelly: Razor TV Week Logie Awards Most Popular New Female Talent Nominated
2012 Underbelly: Razor TV Week Logie Awards Graham Kennedy Award for Most Outstanding New Talent Nominated
2012 Various Heath Ledger Scholarship Won

References

  1. ↑ "Inaugural Horne Prize shortlist announced". Books+Publishing. 2 December 2016. Archived from the original on 17 May 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  2. ↑ "'Immaculate' wins 2023 Vogel". Books+Publishing. 16 June 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  3. ↑ "Taming of the shrew, 8 May – 5 Jun". Queensland Theatre. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  4. ↑ "47 AFTRS Student and Alumni Productions Set For Flickerfest 2021 | Australian Film Television and Radio School". www.aftrs.edu.au. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  5. ↑ Morris, Jessica (4 March 2017). "Anna McGahan: Bold, brave and blessed". Warcry. Salvos Warcry. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  6. ↑ April 7th, Anne Lim |; Comment, 2020 04:07 PM | Add a (7 April 2020). "McGahan thrilled her 'radical story' has been honoured in global book award - Eternity News". www.eternitynews.com.au. Retrieved 18 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ↑ McGahan, Anna. "Anna McGahan". Anna McGahan. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  8. ↑ McGahan, Anna (11 June 2017). "Verdant". A forbidden room. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  9. ↑ McGahan, Anna (19 March 2018). "Mercy". A forbidden room. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  10. ↑ McGahan, Anna. "Anna McGahan". Anna McGahan. Retrieved 18 January 2022.

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