Carrie Schroeder

**Carrie Schroeder** is an Australian actress best known for playing Sigourney Gaines on I Am Frankie.

## About

Carrie Schroeder was born and raised in the small country town of Shepparton, two hours northeast of the major Australian city of Melbourne, Victoria. When she wasn't riding a horse, waterskiing, or camping up the Murray River, Carrie was at a piano lesson, dance class or recital. With two younger brothers who were always of more imposing stature than her, she had to establish being the "boss" from an early age to keep them in check. Quietly determined, she started dance class at age six and it quickly became her passion. Fun-loving Carrie made her family and friends sit through endless dance performances in her living room and backyard, choreographed and performed by herself and her best friend.

Carrie grew up in the world of hospitality. Since an early age, she watched her family own and operate a local pub her grandmother bought in 1941, shortly after she immigrated from Scotland. Carrie's first job was washing dishes for the pub. Then she went on to food service at the age of 12. Her father would never let her work in the main bar as he felt the "colorful language" was not appropriate for his only daughter. Though she always worked in the family business, Carrie diligently balanced work with school and her love of performing though she always felt school generally got in the way of her performing life. She had dance class at least twice a week, then rehearsals for various community productions. Her first was at age 14, and she went on to perform in at least two productions every year while in school.

Carrie always knew that she was going to pursue a career in the arts. Her love of dance continued through high school; where she studied ballet, tap and jazz and became the choreographer for the many shows and festivals at her high school. At age 16, she was cast as Mary in a local production of "The Secret Garden" and fell in love with acting. She was also the choir leader for the school festivals as well, and her first solo vocal performance was at her high school graduation.

Carrie attended Charles Sturt University in NSW Victoria and received her Bachelor of Arts in Acting for the Stage and Screen. During her time at University she starred as Hero in "Much Ado About Nothing," Jessica in "Dead White Males" and Shelby in "Steel Magnolias." During her senior year, Carrie was one of 11 students to be selected to perform in the Sydney Theatre Company's highly acclaimed production of "The White Devil" lead by Hugo Weaving and Angie Milliken as part of Sydney's Olympic Arts Festival.

Immediately following her graduation, Carrie toured in a production of "And Then They Came for Me" by American author James Still, starring in the role of Eva Schloss. To this day, one of Carrie's most humbling experiences was meeting Holocaust survivor Eva Schloss during the run of the play. Dance was still a huge part of Carrie's life until an onstage injury during a touring production in Singapore ended her dancing. Her professional focus then shifted to the screen, and she was cast in the television miniseries adaptation of Bryce Courtney's novel "Jessica." Following this, she went on to guest star in popular Australian television programs including "H2O: Just Add Water" and "Neighbours."

Carrie relocated to Los Angeles in 2012, and continues to add to her resume in film, television and webisodes. Her notable L.A. theatre credits include playing Alison in John Osborne's "Look Back in Anger" with the Los Angeles New Court Theatre and as Sophie in Joanne Mosconi's new work for the Fringe Theatre Company "You Love That I'm NOT Your Wife!" In addition to her acting career, Carrie is also an accomplished mezzo-soprano and performs regularly. She sang with Jason Alexander and the Boston Pops at Symphony Hall in 2013, and then again at Tanglewood in 2014. Carrie has sung with vocalist Robyn Spangler several times, including at The Metropolitan Room in New York City and appeared in her music video for the song, "Second Wind." She has also performed for two years as a back-up singer for the Alzheimer's Benefit - "A Night at Sardi's" at The Beverly Hilton.

## Trivia

* Her favorite job was getting dressed up as a fairy and telling stories at children's parties.
* She considers one of her most significant accomplishments owning her own café with one of her brothers.
* At her family's annual Christmas Eve party, it was mandatory to come prepared with a performance. \*Carrie's usually involved dressing up her two brothers and step brother in drag and having them perform as her back-up singers.
* She grew up with several dogs as pets; including a German Shepherd, a Border Collie, a Whippet and Jack Russell mix.
* She ran away from home when her mother wouldn't let her go to the Guns N' Roses concert on her 14th birthday.
* In high school, the one area of study in which she aced every exam and essay was Psychology.
* Once accidentally drove into what she thought was a parking space and instead drove down a flight of stairs.
* Played netball (a sport similar to basketball predominantly played by women) throughout high school.