Madeleine Sami | |
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![]() Sami in 2018 | |
Born | Madeleine Nalini Sami 10 May 1980 Auckland, New Zealand |
Occupation | Actress |
Spouse | |
Children | 1 |
Madeleine Nalini Sami is a New Zealand actress, director, comedian and musician. [1] She started her acting career in theatre before moving to television, where she created, co-wrote, and starred in Super City. She co-wrote, co-directed, and starred in the 2018 film The Breaker Upperers , along with Jackie van Beek, which was a New Zealand box office success. Sami co-hosted The Great Kiwi Bake Off .
Sami is one of four children. Her parents are Christine Southee, who has Irish ancestry, and Naren Sami, a Fijian-Indian who settled in New Zealand. [2] Her parents separated when she was twelve. [2] She attended Onehunga High School. [3]
Sami rose to prominence starring in Toa Fraser's play Bare, winning best actress at the 1999 Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards. [2] She then was part of Fraser's next play, No. 2., which won Perrier Comedy Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. [2]
In 2011, Sami created, co-wrote alongside Tom Sainsbury, and starred in her own comedy series, Super City , which was directed by Taika Waititi. [4] Sami played five different characters in the show and won Best Performance by an Actress at the 2011 AFTA awards. [5] [6] She later co-hosted The Great Kiwi Bake Off and starred in the television series Golden Boy and The Bad Seed . [7] [8] She made her TV directorial debut when she directed an episode of the second season of Funny Girls , eventually directing eleven episodes of the series. [9]
Sami is a part of The Sami Sisters, a musical group consisting of herself and her two sisters. They released an album Happy Heartbreak in 2011. [10]
She co-wrote, co-directed, and starred in the 2018 film The Breaker Upperers , along with Jackie van Beek. [11] The film received positive reviews and was a box office hit in New Zealand, becoming the best selling New Zealand film of 2018 and is one of the top 20 grossing New Zealand films ever. [12] [13] [14] The pair will reunite to direct the Netflix film Hope, starring Aubrey Plaza. [15] Sami also appeared in the 2019 film, Come to Daddy, directed by Ant Timpson. [16]
On 17 May 2021, Sami appeared on The Masked Singer NZ as the "Monarch (Butterfly)", getting eliminated in the fourth episode. The same year she was on the panel show Patriot Brains .
Sami starred in the 2023 Australian television series Deadloch . On July 9, 2024, Deadloch would be renewed for a second season and Sami would reprise the role of Eddie Redcliffe. [17]
In January 2015, Sami married Pip Brown, known as the singer-songwriter Ladyhawke. [18] Brown gave birth to their daughter on 20 October 2017. [19] Sami and Brown announced the end of the relationship in 2023. [20]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | Ice As: Ice House | Various | |
2000 | Fish Skin Suit | Libby | TV movie |
2000 | Teach You a Lesson | Narrator | Short film |
2003 | Perfect Strangers | Andrea | |
2006 | Sione's Wedding | Tania | |
2007 | Eagle vs Shark | Burger Girl Customer | |
2009 | Under the Mountain | Constable Green | |
2012 | Sione's 2: Unfinished Business | Tania | |
2014 | What We Do in the Shadows | Morana | |
2015 | Slow West | Marimacho | |
2018 | The Breaker Upperers | Mel | Also writer; director |
2019 | Come to Daddy | Gladys | |
2020 | Baby Done | Hospital Midwife |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1998 | Pio! | Various | |
1999 | Shortland Street | Dr. Shivani 'Vani' Naran | |
2000 | Fish Skin Suit | Libby | |
2001 | Xena: Warrior Princess | Tyro | Episode: "To Helicon and Back" |
2004 | Talent | Chemist | |
2004 | The Insiders Guide to Happiness | Tess | |
2007 | Rude Awakenings | Francesca Hoyle | |
2007 | Outrageous Fortune | Linda | |
2006–2007 | Bro'Town | Additional Voices/Bianca | 5 episodes |
2009 | Diplomatic Immunity | Agent Amy Bickler | |
2008–2009 | The Jaquie Brown Diaries | Serita Singh | 13 episodes |
2009–2013 | Buzzy Bee and Friends | Buzzy Bee | 14 episodes |
2009–2024 | 7 Days | Herself | 21 episodes |
2010 | Radiradirah | Various | |
2011 | 3 News | Self | |
2011–2013 | Super City | Pasha/Georgie/Azeem | Creator/Writer/Executive Director |
2013 | Top of the Lake | Zena | |
2013 | Aroha Bridge | Mum/Aunty Winny/Angeline Hook | |
2016 | All Talk with Anika Moa | Self | |
2016–2018 | Funny Girls | Director | |
2014 | Flat3 | Madeline | |
2018–2021 | The Great Kiwi Bake Off | Host | |
2019 | Get Krack!n | Amy Bryan | 1 episode |
2019 | The Bad Seed | Marie Da Silva | 5 episodes |
2019 | Golden Boy | Claire | 8 episodes |
2019 | What's Your Problem? | Self | 1 episode |
2019– | Have You Been Paying Attention? | Guest | |
2020, 2024 | Taskmaster NZ | Self | 10 episodes (season contestant) 2 episodes (guest) |
2021 | The Masked Singer NZ | Monarch/Self | 2 episodes |
2023-present | Deadloch | Eddie Redcliffe | 8 episodes |
2023-present | Double Parked | Nat | 9 episodes |
2023 | Our Flag Means Death | Archie | 8 episodes |
Year | Title | Role | Theatre |
---|---|---|---|
1998 | Three People in a Cinema | Various | Silo Theatre |
1999 | Legacy | Ensemble | Aotearoa Young People's Theatre |
2000 | No. 2 | Various | Edinburgh Festival |
2001 | NZ Tour | ||
2001 | Bare | Various | Wellington Fringe Festival |
2002 | The Vagina Monologues | Various | Auckland Theatre Company |
2005- 2006 | Bad Jelly the Witch | Bad Jelly | Silo Theatre |
2007 | Some Girl(s) | Tyler | Silo Theatre |
2008 | Rabbit | Emily | Silo Theatre |
2008 | Whero's New Net | Various | Massive Company |
2008 | The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee | Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre | Auckland Theatre Company [21] |
2009 | No. 2 | Various | Silo Theatre |
2010 | Dance Troupe Supreme | Kellyanna | Maidment Theatre |
2014 | Jesus Christ Superstar | King Herod | Auckland Theatre Company |
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