# Kim Krejus

Kim Krejus is an Australian stage, film, and television actress and acting coach. She is best known for her role in the 1978 film Mouth to Mouth, when she was just 19. She is the founder and artistic director of 16th Street Actors Studio in Melbourne, Australia.

## Early life and education

Kim Krejus grew up in a Catholic household with an abusive alcoholic stepfather.
She studied her craft under international acting teachers at National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney, HB Studio (training under Uta Hagen) and the Atlantic Theatre School in New York City, and Drama Centre London (where Colin Firth was a fellow student).

## Career

In 1978, at the age of 19, Krejus was nominated for an AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in the film Mouth to Mouth. written and directed by John Duigan.
She also featured on the small screen, including in the lead role in TV miniseries Joe Wilson.
She has appeared on stage in productions such as The Heidi Chronicles at the Cremorne Theatre in South Brisbane and the Northside Theatre Company's production of A Small Family Business. She has also featured in Broadway productions in the United States, and in theatre across the UK.

## Teaching

Krejus has taught acting various Australian tertiary institutions, including Victorian College of the Arts, NIDA, Bond University, Central Queensland University. She has also been a private coach for many successful Australian actors including Kestie Morassi and Luke Mitchell.

### 16th Street Actors Studio

Krejus is the founder and artistic director of 16th Street Actors Studio, a training school for actors, in Melbourne, Australia. As of 2024, Iain Sinclair is head of acting at the school, and Deborra-Lee Furness is patron.
In 2012, actress Zoe Naylor, who had graduated from drama school ten years earlier, attended a four-day workshop at 16th Street by visiting American acting coach and former stand-up comic Ivana Chubbuck (who had coached Charlize Theron and Halle Berry), and praised the mentors at the school.

## Personal life

Krejus turned to Buddhism to helped her deal with losing her sister to cancer when she was in her fifties.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Type |
| 1978 | Mouth to Mouth | Carrie | Feature film |
| 1988 | Alterations | Eleanor | TV movie |
| 1988 | Barracuda | Bonnie | TV movie |
| 1991 | Academy | Doctor #2 | TV movie |
| 1993 | The Flood: Who Will Save Our Children? | Mrs Chapman | TV movie |
| 1993 | Official Denial | Dr Clark | TV movie |
| 2008 | Push Up | Pam (Mother) | Short film |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Type |
| 1977 | Bluey | Mary Fellows | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1978 | The Young Doctors | Sally Brown | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 1978–79 | Cop Shop | Sharon Hamilton / Lenice Moses / Shirley Morton | TV series, 5 episodes |
| 1983 | Patrol Boat | Judy | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1983 | Kings | Donna King | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 1986 | Alice to Nowhere | Eve Scott | Miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 1988 | The Alien Years | Martha | Miniseries |
| 1988 | Joe Wilson | Mary Brand | Miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 1989 | The Flying Doctors | Sandra Garvey | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1990 | A Country Practice | Kerrie McLeod | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1991 | Police Rescue | Bernadette Kelly | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1996–98 | Flipper | Doctor | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 1997 | The Wayne Manifesto | Aunt Irene | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1999 | Blue Heelers | Sonia Brookner | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 2001 | The Saddle Club | Mrs. Chambers | TV series, season 1, episode 7: "School Horse" |
| 2001 | Stingers | Rhonda Ellington | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1996–97 | City Homicide | Dr Margaret Manson | TV series, 2 episodes |

## Theatre

| Year | Title | Role | Venue / Co. |
| 1973 | Man Alive! | Sales Girl | Loreto Convent, Toorak |
| 1982 | The Boy Friend | | Churchill Theatre, Bromley |
| 1982 | Variations | Alice | Belvoir Street Theatre with Nimrod Theatre Company |
| 1983 | Three Sisters | Irina | Melbourne Athenaeum with MTC |
| 1983 | The Winter’s Tale | | Melbourne Athenaeum with MTC |
| 1988 | A Small Family Business | | Northside Theatre Company |
| 1992 | The Heidi Chronicles | Susan | Cremorne Theatre, Brisbane with Queensland Theatre |
| 1992 | Hotel Sorrento | Pippa | Cremorne Theatre, Brisbane with Queensland Theatre |
| 1995 | She of the Electrolux (Or a Vacuum in a Room of One's Own) | | La Boite Theatre, Brisbane |
| 1995 | The Last Yankee | | Cremorne Theatre, Brisbane with Queensland Theatre |
| 1996 | Sex Diary of an Infidel | Jean | La Boite Theatre, Brisbane |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Title | Awards | Category | Result |
| 1978 | Mouth to Mouth | AACTA Awards | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Nominated |