# Dina Panozzo

Dina Panozzo (born 1966) is an Australian-born actress of Italian descent.

## Early life

Panozzo's parents emigrated to Adelaide from northern Italy, on a ship called 'Queen Neptuna'. Her mother was 19 and a housewife, her father a labourer and later a carpenter. Growing up in Adelaide in the 1970s, Panozzo became passionate about Adelaide’s thriving amateur theatre scene, in particular, Adelaide Theatre Company.

## Career

Panozzo is best known for her regular roles in the television series Carla Cametti PD and Bed of Roses. She has also appeared in a recurring role in Packed to the Rafters and guest roles in many Australian series, including A Country Practice, Water Rats, and White Collar Blue. Panozzo also had regular roles in the short-lived comedy series Wedlocked and the soap opera Richmond Hill. Featured film roles include Black & White & Sex and Fistful of Flies.
Her theatre roles include Popular Front (Theatre Works, 1987), ABC (Belvoir Street Theatre, 1988), Sisters (Malthouse Theatre, 1991), S.O.S. Sex, Overkill and Salvation of the Soul (Belvoir Street Theatre, 1991), and A Little Like Drowning (Belvoir Street Theatre, 1992). She also wrote, co-directed and starred in Varda Che Bruta...Poretta which played in multiple venues from 1992 to 1994.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Film | Character | Type |
| 1993 | Bedevil | Voula | Feature film (segment: Lovin' the Spin I'm In) |
| 1993 | Just Desserts | Maria Stroppi | Film short |
| 1996 | Fistful of Flies | Grace Lupi | Feature film |
| 1998 | Let's Wait | Gina | Film short |
| 2001 | The Man Who Sued God | Italian Reporter | Feature film |
| 2002 | Mother of an Attitude | | Film short |
| 2004 | Love's Brother | Zia Norman | Feature film |
| 2011 | The Man with Wings | | Film short |
| 2012 | Black & White & Sex | Angie 6 | Feature film |
| 2020 | Bloodshot Heart | Catherine | Feature film |

### Television

| Year | Program | Character | Type |
| 1983 | The Sullivans | | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1983; 1984 | Cop Shop | Marti Vickers (as Dena Panozzo) | TV series, episodes 555–556 |
| 1983; 1984 | Carson's Law | Miss Refton / Anges Weston | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1984 | City West | Lead role | TV series |
| 1984 | A Country Practice | Lily | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1984 | Special Squad | Maria (as Dena Panozzo) | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1988 | Richmond Hill | Jill Warner | TV series, 59 episodes |
| 1989 | Mission: Impossible | Serena | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1990 | Acropolis Now! | Rosita | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1992 | G.P. | Rosie Tait | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1994; 1996 | Wedlocked | Susie Abruzzo | TV series, 11 episodes |
| 1998 | Wildside | Renata Cellini | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2000 | Water Rats | Antonella Luvece | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 2001 | Head Start | Vivienne | TV miniseries, 1 episode |
| 2003 | White Collar Blue | Theresa Nitti | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2008–2010 | Bed of Roses | Gemma O'Reilly | TV series, 14 episodes |
| 2009 | Carla Cametti PD | Angela Cametti | TV series, 6 episodes |
| 2009; 2012 | Packed to the Rafters | Rita Karandonis | TV series, 8 episodes |
| 2010 | Underbelly | Samira Kanaan | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 2013–2014 | A Place to Call Home | Carla Poletti | TV series, 11 episodes |
| 2024 | Last Days of the Space Age | Fran | TV series, 7 episodes |

## Theatre

| Year | Title | Role | Venue / Co. |
| 1976 | Johnny Castilhino | | Sheridan Theatre, Adelaide with Adelaide Theatre Group |
| 1976–77 | Jack the Ripper | Martha Tabram / Rosie Wunmore | Sheridan Theatre, Adelaide, Space Theatre, Adelaide with STCSA & Adelaide Theatre Group |
| 1978 | The Winter’s Tale | | Sheridan Theatre, Adelaide with Adelaide Theatre Group |
| 1980 | Sadie and Neco | Sadie | VCA |
| 1981 | Dimentos | Lydia | VCA |
| 1981 | The Three Sisters | Olga | Performance Studio One, Melbourne |
| 1982 | Tales from Land Shut | | |
| 1983 | Don't Stand on Ceremony | | |
| 1984 | Il Magnifico | | Seymour Centre, Sydney |
| 1984 | The Time of Your Life | | |
| 1985 | Exploring Shakespeare | | |
| 1985 | Richard III | | Playhouse, Adelaide with STCSA |
| 1985 | Scenes Big and Little | | Playhouse Adelaide with STCSA |
| 1985 | Beatland | | Playhouse Adelaide with STCSA |
| 1985 | Muse of Fire | | Playhouse Adelaide with STCSA |
| 1985 | On the Razzle | Christopher | Playhouse Adelaide with STCSA |
| 1985 | The Touch of Silk | Jeanne | Playhouse Adelaide with STCSA |
| 1985 | Peter Pan | Wendy Darling | Playhouse Adelaide with STCSA |
| 1986 | Dreams in an Empty City | | Playhouse Adelaide with STCSA for Adelaide Festival |
| 1987 | Popular Front | Marguerita | Theatre Works, Melbourne |
| 1987 | The Impostor | Zhou Minghua | St Martins Youth Arts Centre, Melbourne with Playbox Theatre Company for Spoleto Melbourne Festival of the Arts |
| 1988 | ABC | | Belvoir Street Theatre |
| 1990 | Spanish Cuisine | | |
| 1991 | Sisters | Sylvie | Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne, Monash University with Playbox Theatre Company |
| 1991 | S.O.S. Sex, Overkill and Salvation of the Soul | | Belvoir Street Theatre |
| 1991 | Love and Magic in Mama's Kitchen | | Belvoir Street Theatre |
| 1992 | A Little Like Drowning | | Belvoir Street Theatre with Teatar Di Migma |
| | Nicaragua | | Belvoir Street Theatre |
| 1993 | The Garden of Granddaughters | Fay | Wharf Theatre, Sydney, Monash University, Ford Theatre, Geelong, Her Majesty’s Theatre, Ballarat, Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne with Playbox Theatre Company & STC |
| 1993 | Belvoir Street Revues | | Belvoir Street Theatre |
| 1993–94 | Varda Che Bruta...Poretta (Look How Ugly She is...Poor Thing) | One-woman show | Stables Theatre, Sydney for Festival for Carnivale Sydney, Universal Theatre, Melbourne, Space Theatre, Adelaide with STCSA for International Women’s Playwright Conference with Performance Space |
| 1996 | A Progressive Dinner: Promiscuous Spaces 1: Table Talk | Speaker | Performance Space |
| 1998 | Emma | | Bridge Theatre, Sydney with Theatre South |
| 1999 | Monster Mouth | | Open City & Playworks |
| 2003 | Cantata | Dancer | Acton Street Theatre, Canberra with Stopera |
| 2004 | The Vagina Monologues | | University of Sydney |
| 2004 | Kimberly Akimbo | Patti | Ensemble Theatre, Sydney |
| 2007 | From Door to Door | Bessie | Seymour Centre, Sydney |
| 2007 | Anna in the Tropics | Ophelia | Belvoir Street Theatre with Theatron Group |
| 2015 | The Plot | Lily | Mantouridion Theatre, Sydney with Skylight Productions & Katahanas Productions |
| 2018 | The Gods of Strangers | Assunta | Northern Festival Centre, Port Pirie, Keith Michell Theatre, Adelaide, Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide with STCSA |
| 2018 | The Shifting Heart | Momma Bianchi | Seymour Centre, Sydney |
| 2022 | The Life That I Gave You | | Studio Theatre, Sydney |
| 2022 | Set Piece | | Carriageworks, Sydney for Sydney Festival & Melbourne Rising Festival |

### As writer/director

| Year | Title | Role | Venue / Co. |
| 1993–94 | Varda Che Bruta...Poretta (Look How Ugly She is...Poor Thing) | Writer / co-director | Stables Theatre, Sydney for Festival for Carnivale Sydney, Universal Theatre, Melbourne, Space Theatre, Adelaide with STCSA for International Women’s Playwright Conference with Performance Space |
| 1999 | La Voix Humaine / The Telephone | Playwright / director | Art Gallery of South Australia |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Nominated work | Award | Category | Result |
| 1992 | The Touch of Silk | Best Actress Award | South Australian Critic Awards | Won |
| 1996 | Fistful of Flies | Gijón International Film Festival | Best Actress Award | Won |
| 1997 | Fistful of Flies | Sochi International Film Festival | Best Actress Award | Won |
| 2004 | Kimberly Akimbo | Glugs Theatrical Awards | Norman Kessell Memorial Award for Best Actress for an Outstanding Performance | Won |
| 2011 | Bed of Roses | Equity Ensemble Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Nominated |

## Personal life

Panozzo is married to television producer Phillip Tanner. After all attempts to conceive ended in miscarriage, the couple adopted a two year old boy from Guatemala called Luis. In 2004, at the age of six, Luis had an award-winning Nickelodeon TV series, called Cooking for Kids with Luis, and caught the attention of Oprah Winfrey.
Dina Panozzo is the elder sister of actress Oriana Panozzo.