# Melissa Jaffer

Melissa Jaffer (born 1 December 1936) is an Australian actress. She is best known for her stage and television roles, but has also appeared in many films.

## Career

Jaffer started her career in theatre productions in the mid 1950s, and has made many appearances in television series, including Kings, Mother and Son, G. P., Brides of Christ, Grass Roots and All Saints. Jaffer is probably best known to international audiences for her role as ageing mystic Utu-Noranti Pralatong in the science fiction series Farscape. In 1976, Jaffer tied for the first AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role opposite Jacki Weaver for her performance in Caddie. In 1980 she played the part of Cousin Edie in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's children's television series The Nargun and the Stars.
In the 2015 film Mad Max: Fury Road she played the role of "Keeper of the Seeds".

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Type |
| 1970 | 3 to Go | Lady on phone (uncredited) | Short film (Segment: “Toula”) |
| 1973 | Gretel | | Short film |
| 1974 | Between Wars | Matron | Feature film |
| 1974 | The Cars That Ate Paris | Beth | Feature film |
| 1975 | Ride a Wild Pony (aka Born to Run) | Mrs. Pirie | Feature film |
| 1976 | Caddie | Leslie | Feature film |
| 1978 | Weekend of Shadows | Vi | Feature film |
| 1982 | Starstruck | Mrs. Booth | Feature film |
| 1983 | Molly | Aunt Jenny | Feature film |
| 1983 | Kindred | Shirley | Film short |
| 1984 | The Coolangatta Gold | Ballet Teacher | Feature film |
| 1989 | The Delinquents | Aunt Westbury | Feature film |
| 1992 | El Besodel Sueno | Role unknown | Feature film |
| 1993 | You and Me and Uncle Bob | Sylvie | Feature film |
| 1999 | Sally Marshall Is Not an Alien | Granny Marshall | Feature film |
| 1999 | Komodo | Patrick's Grandmother | Feature film |
| 2000 | My Mother Frank | Sister Sebastian | Feature film |
| 2000 | Cheek to Cheek | Beryl | Short film |
| 2012 | Dear Life | Barbara Larkin | Short film |
| 2015 | Mad Max: Fury Road | Keeper of the Seeds | Feature film |
| 2019 | Strangers | Lillian | Short film |
| 2022 | Three Thousand Years of Longing | Clementine | Feature film |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Type |
| 1956 | Barry Humphries Revues | | TV series |
| 1959 | Trip-Tease and High C's | Herself | TV special |
| 1960 | You, Too, Can Have a Body | | Teleplay |
| 1961 | Consider Your Verdict | | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1967 | Bellbird | | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1968; 1969 | Homicide | Lorna Stacy | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1970 | A Summer Storm | | Teleplay |
| 1970 | Beauty and the Beast | Panellist | TV series |
| 1973 | How Could You Believe Me When I Said I'd Be Your Valet When You Know I've Been a Liar All My Life? | | Teleplay |
| 1973 | The Taming of the Shrew | Widow | Teleplay |
| 1973 | Division 4 | June Ross | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1974 | Matlock Police | Linda Davis | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1974 | Out of Love | | TV series, episode 2: "I Don't Want To Know" |
| 1974 | Silent Number | Thelma | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1974 | Essington | | TV film |
| 1975 | Behind the Legend | | TV series, episode 10: "Christopher Brennan" |
| 1975 | The Seven Ages of Man | | TV series, episode 2: "The Schoolboy" |
| 1975 | Certain Women | | TV series |
| 1975 | Ben Hall | Mrs. Daley | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 1975 | Games for Parents and Other Children | | Teleplay |
| 1975 | The Tichborne Affair | | TV film |
| 1976 | The Outsiders | Betty Kurts | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1976 | Stories from Around the World | Mrs. Hoddel | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1976 | Do I Have to Kill My Child? | Mrs. Hammond | TV film |
| 1979 | The Wonderful World of Disney | Angus' Wife | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1980 | The Nargun and the Stars | Cousin Edie | TV miniseries, 4 episodes |
| 1981 | Cop Shop | | TV series |
| 1983 | Learned Friends | | TV series |
| 1983-84 | Kings | Rosie King | TV series, 19 episodes |
| 1984 | Five Mile Creek | Mrs. O'Bannion | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1984 | Singles | Gloria | TV series, 5 episodes |
| 1984; 1986; 1991 | A Country Practice | Barbara Kennedy | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1985; 1994 | Mother And Son | Lorna | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1986 | Shout! The Story of Johnny O'Keefe | Thelma O'Keefe | TV miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 1986; 1991 | A Country Practice | Agatha Muldoon | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1986 | Land of Hope | Old Nesta Quinn | TV miniseries |
| 1986 | Studio 86 | | TV series, episode 5: "What We Did In The Past" |
| 1987 | The Harp in the South | Miss Sheily | TV miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 1987 | The Butcher's Son | | TV film |
| 1987 | Poor Man's Orange | Miss Sheily | TV miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 1987 | Willing and Abel | | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1988 | Swap Shop | Aunt Mimi | TV series |
| 1989 | E Street | Queenie | TV series, 4 episodes |
| 1990; 1996 | G.P. | | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1991 | A Country Practice | Anthea Garrick | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1991 | Brides of Christ | Sister Attracta | TV miniseries, 1 episode |
| 1991 | Good Vibrations | ,Annie | TV miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 1992 | The Distant Home | Mrs. Webster | TV film |
| 1994 | Mother And Son | Lorna | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1994 | Heartland | Meredith Lovell | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1995 | On the Dead Side | | TV film |
| 1995 | Police Rescue | Gwen | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1995 | The New Adventures of Flipper | Shopkeeper | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1996 | Monday to Friday | Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1996 | G.P. | Dr. Maureen Riordan | TV series, 18 episodes |
| 1997 | Big Sky | Lily Bateman | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1997 | Fallen Angels | Marion | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1999-2000 | All Saints | Eileen Sullivan | TV series, 8 episodes |
| 2000 | Grass Roots | Fran Smith | TV series, 8 episodes |
| 2000-03 | Farscape | Utu-Noranti Pralatong / Dominar Rygel XVI / Female Pilot / Nilaam | TV series, 24 episodes |
| 2000 | The Lost World | Crazy Old Woman | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2001 | People Who Still Use Milk Bottles | Narrator | Film documentary |
| 2001 | The Farm | Helen Cooper | TV miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 2001 | Head Start | Amanda Villiers | TV series, 9 episodes |
| 2003 | BlackJack | Helen Kirsten | TV film series, 1 episode: "Murder Archive" |
| 2003 | Snobs | Gwen Walston | TV series, 16 episodes |
| 2004 | Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars | Utu-Noranti Pralatong | TV miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 2012 | Packed To The Rafters | Mrs. Montague | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2017 | Glitch | Adeline Fitzgerald | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 2018 | True Story with Hamish & Andy | Mrs. Rose | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2021 | The Newsreader | Ruth | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2024 | High Country | Liz Whitford | TV series, 5 episodes |