Noni Hazlehurst

**Leonie Elva Hazlehurst AM**, commonly known as **Noni Hazlehurst** (born 17 August 1953 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) is an actress, director, writer, presenter and broadcaster who has appeared on television and radio, on stage and in film since the early 1970s.

## **Biography**

### **Early life**

Hazlehurst was born in Melbourne in 1953. After attending St Leonard's College in Brighton East, Victoria, Hazlehurst completed a Bachelor of Arts in 1973 at Flinders University in Adelaide. She has studied ballet, singing, piano, speech and drama. In the 1980s and 1990s, much of her work had concentrated on children's television.

### **Personal life**

Hazlehurst has two sons, Charlie and William Jarratt. Charlie is a singer and plays keyboard and William has gone to be a vocalist in Melbourne metal-core band Storm the Sky.

## **Filmography**

Hazlehurst has had starring roles in Australian films since the 1980s (including roles in *Fatty Finn*, *Monkey Grip*, *Fran* and *Australian Dream*). She starred in *Little Fish* in 2005, *Candy* in 2006, and Bitter & Twisted in 2008. Recent roles include The Mule, Truce and The Broken Shore.

Along with roles at the ABC, her first television work was in guest lead roles in television serials produced by Crawford Productions. She played the regular role of Sharon Lewis in *The Box* in 1975 before joining the original cast of *The Sullivans* as Lil Duggan in late 1976. She was a *Play School* presenter from 1978 to 2002, and has been a National Ambassador or Patron for many children's charities, including Barnardos. She has worked extensively for children. Hazlehurst has recorded several music and spoken word albums.

Noni played the lead in miniseries Nancy Wake, The Shiralee, Ride On Stranger and Waterfront in the eighties

From 1995-2005 Noni hosted the Seven Networks *Better Homes and Gardens*, a lifestyle show which is affiliated with the monthly magazine of the same name.

In 2006, she starred in ABC's telemovie *Stepfather of the Bride*. From 2007-2011, she played Detective Superintendent Bernice Waverley on Channel Seven crime drama *City Homicide*. In 2010, she was a guest on The 7PM Project on Network Ten. In July 2011, as part of a rapidly growing internet meme, she read the book *Go the Fuck to Sleep* to camera in the style she formerly used on *Play School*. She immediately offered to record a reading of the book after being sent a copy by the publisher.,. Sydney Morning Herald. 13 July 2011.  In 2013, she appears as Elizabeth Bligh in the 1950s-set Australian melodrama *A Place to Call Home* on the Seven Network, playing the wealthy matriarch of the family.

### **Radio work**

Hazlehurst is a regular fill in presenter on 774 ABC Melbourne.

### **Theatre**

Credits include The Man from Mukinupin, On Our Selection, Traitors, Hamlet, Cut and Thrust, Frankie & Johnny in the Claire De Lune, for the STC: Navigating, The Breath of Life, Woman in Mind, for the MTC: Grace, Madagascar, The Heretic. In 2014 she appeared in a critically acclaimed production of The Beauty Queen of Leenane for the Kin Collective at 45 Downstairs and in 2015-2016 she will perform in a one woman play, Mother, written for her by Daniel Keene on an Australia-wide tour.

## **Awards and nominations**

### **Australian Film Institute Awards**

* 1981: Nominated — Best Actress in a Lead Role (for *Fatty Finn*)
* 1982: Won — Best Actress in a Lead Role (for *Monkey Grip*)
* 1985: Won — Best Actress in a Lead Role (for *Fran*)
* 2000: Won — Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Telefeature or Mini-Series (for *Waiting at the Royal*)
* 2005: Won — Best Supporting Actress (for *Little Fish*)
* 2006: Nominated — Best Supporting Actress (for *Candy*)
* 2008: Nominated — Best Actress (for *Bitter & Twisted*)

### **Logie Awards**

* She won the Best Supporting Actress in a Single Series in the Logie Awards of 1985.

### **National Honours**

* 1996, Member of the Order of Australia for her services to children and the performing arts.. Flinders University. Retrieved 21 July 2007.

Hazlehurst has also been an ambassador for Barnardo's Mother of the Year.

## **Cultural references**

In 1994 a painting of Hazlehurst by artist Rosemary Valadon titled *Noni Hazlehurst — Summer '94 Waiting Again* was a finalist in the Archibald Prize.

## **Select Credits**

* *The Weekly's War* (1983) (miniseries)
* *The Fish Are Safe* (1986) (TV movie) - director

## **References**

1. ↑ "Noni Hazlehurst reads expletive-ridden 'children's' book"
2. ↑ "New, events and notices"
3. ↑ VIP mum Noni Hazlehurst