 |
Anna Volska | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1 December 1944 Milanówek, Poland |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1965–present |
| Spouse | John Bell AO OBE |
| Children | Lucy Bell, Hilary Bell |
| Awards | 1 (naacp image) |
Anna Volska (born 1 December 1944 in Milanówek, Poland) is an Australian stage and television actress. She arrived in Australia when she was young and has acted from a young age.
Anna Volska moved from Poland to Australia with her mother when she was seven. She graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA)in 1962. [1]
Volska has acted extensively in theatre as an actor, director and teacher. While performing in The Cherry Orchard at the Old Tote Theatre Company, Volska met fellow cast member John Bell. She followed his career to the UK, where they married in 1965, and she subsequenfly spent three seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company. [2] They returned to Australia in 1970 and founded the Nimrod Theatre Company at Stables Theatre (which later became the Belvoir Theatre Company). In 1990 Bell and Volska then founded Bell Shakespeare Company. She has also directed at Flinders, Theatre Nepean, QUT, Nimrod. [3]
Volska has appeared in many Australian television drama series, mostly in a guest role. Her first role was in 1965, where she had a small role in The Recruiting Officer . In 1973, Volska had a leading role in Behind the Legend , where she played Helena Rubenstein. She then appeared on A Country Practice from 1987 until 1991. In 2009, she had a recurring role in the final season of All Saints as Katerina Ajanovic. In 2010, Volska appeared in the telemovie Sisters of War playing the role of Sister Cordula.
| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Attendant | Feature film |
| 1974 | The Hotline | TV film | |
| 1977 | Say You Want Me | Magazine Journalist | TV film |
| 1977 | Cass | TV film | |
| 1978 | The Magic Arts | Herself | Documentary film short |
| 1980 | The Girl Who Met Simone de Beauvoir In Paris | Film short | |
| 1980 | Players in the Gallery | TV film series, 1 episode | |
| 1982 | A Most Attractive Man | Vija | TV film |
| 1986 | The Three Musketeers | Voice | Animated TV film |
| 1987 | The Everlasting Secret Family | Wife's Friend | Feature film |
| 1992 | Six Pack: Death Duties | Elsa | TV film series |
| 1996 | Fistful of Flies | Nanna | Feature film |
| 2010 | Sisters of War | Sister Cordula | TV film |
| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | My Three Friends | Marie-Louise | Teleplay |
| 1963 | The Right Thing | Emma | Teleplay |
| 1965 | The Recruiting Officer | Sylvia | Teleplay |
| 1971 | Spyforce | The Countess | TV series, episode 11: "The Countess" |
| 1971-72 | The Godfathers | Maria Varga | TV series, 72 episodes |
| 1972 | Behind the Legend | Helena Rubenstein | TV series, episode "Helena Rubenstein" |
| 1973 | The 15th Annual TV Week Logie Awards | Herself | TV special |
| 1973 | Division 4 | Viv Jackson | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1973 | Ryan | Melina Jaconelli | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1973 | Matlock Police | Helen | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1974 | Hamlet | Teleplay | |
| 1979 | The Restless Years | Recurring role | TV series |
| 1980 | The Timeless Land | Sara | TV miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 1980 | A Toast to Melba | Nellie Melba | Teleplay |
| 1981 | A Town Like Alice | Sally Wilson-Hayes | TV miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 1982 | Sara Dane | Madam Balvet | TV miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 1987; 1991 | A Country Practice | Olivia Harrison | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1988 | Rafferty's Rules | Frieda | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1991 | Boys from the Bush | Joan | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1991 | Embassy | Madame Lamotte | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1991 | A Country Practice | Annette Muir | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1994 | Good Morning Australia | Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1994 | Midday | Guest (with John Bell) | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1994 | Ernie and Denise | Guest (with John Bell) | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1994 | Sale of the Century: The Arts | Contestant | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1995 | G.P. | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1996 | Midday | Guest (with John Bell) | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1997 | Heartbreak High | Aunty Magda | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1997 | Water Rats | Kath Lambert | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1998 | The Search For Treasure Island | Frau Keller | TV series, 9 episodes |
| 2000 | Murder Call | Gillian Pitman | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2001 | Burke's Backyard | Celebrity gardener (with John Bell & Lucy Bell) | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2009 | All Saints | Katerina Ajanovic | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2013 | Dance Academy | Lady Charlton | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2014 | A Place to Call Home | Leah | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2016 | John Bell: One Man Show | Herself | TV special |
| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | We Can't Pay? We Won't Pay! | Director | Troupe Theatre, Adelaide with STCSA |
| 1981 | Liquids | Director | Troupe Theatre, Adelaide with STCSA |
| 1982 | Demolition Job | Director | Nimrod Downstairs |
| 1982 | Burn Victim | Writer | Nimrod Downstairs |
| 1982 | Flash Jim | Director | Nimrod Upstairs |
| 1983 | As You Like It | Director | Nimrod Theatre Company |
| 2001 | Don's Party | Director | Western Sydney University, Seymour Centre |
| 2004 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Director | Riverside Theatres Parramatta, Monash University, Whitehorse Centre, Frankston Arts Centre with Bell Shakespeare |
| 2006 | The Merchant of Venice | Director | Australian national tour with Bell Shakespeare |
| 2019 | Diplomacy | Director, Assistant | Ensemble Theatre |
Volska won a Best Single Performance by an Actress award at the 1973 Logie Awards for her role in Behind the Legend . [6]
Volska has been married to fellow Thespian John Bell since 1965. Their daughters are playwright Hilary Bell and actor Lucy Bell, who were both born in Stratford-upon-Avon.
John Anthony Bell FRSN is an Australian actor, theatre director and theatre manager. He has been a major influence on the development of Australian theatre in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Esther "Essie" Davis is an Australian actress and singer, best known for her roles as Phryne Fisher in Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries and its film adaptation, Miss Fisher & the Crypt of Tears, and as Amelia Vanek in The Babadook. Other major works include a recurring role as Lady Crane in season six of the television series Game of Thrones, Sister Iphigenia in Lambs of God, and the role of Ellen Kelly in Justin Kurzel's True History of the Kelly Gang.
Sheila Mary Florance was an Australian theatre, television and film actress. She played numerous roles in the Crawford Productions before playing Dossie Rumsay in the rural series Bellbird but became best known internationally for her performance as elderly, alcoholic convict Lizzie Birdsworth in the television series Prisoner.
Deborah Jane Mailman is an Australian television and film actress, and singer. Mailman is known for her characters: Kelly Lewis on the Australian drama series The Secret Life of Us, Cherie Butterfield in the Australian comedy-drama series Offspring, Lorraine in the Australian drama series Redfern Now and Aunt Linda in the Australian dystopian science fiction series Cleverman. Mailman portrayed the lead role of MP Alexandra "Alex" Irving on the Australian political drama series Total Control.
Lisa Irene Chappell is a New Zealand actress and musician. She is known for her roles as Chelsea Redfern in Gloss (1987–1990), and as Claire McLeod in McLeod's Daughters (2001–2003), a performance which earned her two Logie Awards, for Most Popular New Female Talent and Most Popular Actress.
Leeanna Walsman is an Australian actress. She is best known for her role as Zam Wesell in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002), and for her roles in the 2000 film Looking for Alibrandi and the television series Wentworth. She was nominated for both AACTA and Logie awards for her role in Emmy Award-winning series Safe Harbour.
Lisa McCune is an Australian actress, known for her role in TV series Blue Heelers as Senior Constable Maggie Doyle, and in Sea Patrol as Lieutenant Kate McGregor RAN. She has won four Gold Logie Awards.
Caroline Goodall is a British/Australian actress and screenwriter and producer. Awards and nominations include Best Actress nominations AFI Awards for her roles in the 1989 miniseries Cassidy and the 1995 film Hotel Sorrento, a Logie Awards Nomination for the mini series A Difficult Woman, and a Best Actress award. Her film appearances include Hook (1991), Cliffhanger (1993), Schindler's List (1993), Disclosure (1994), White Squall (1996), The Princess Diaries (2001) and The Best of Me (2014).
Amy Mathews is an Australian television, film and theatre actress. She is best known for her role as Rachel Armstrong in Australian soap opera Home and Away.
Monica Cresswell Maughan was an Australian actor with roles in theatre, radio, television, film and ballet over a career spanning 52 years.
Jessica Tovey is an Australian actress. Tovey graduated from the Newtown High School of the Performing Arts and has made appearances for various drama companies. She is best known for her role of Belle Taylor on the long-running Australian soap opera Home and Away. Tovey joined the show in 2006 and was nominated for two Logie Awards during her time there. In 2009, she announced she had quit Home and Away and her character was killed off. Tovey became the face of American shoe company, Skechers. She appeared in Underbelly: The Golden Mile in 2010 and Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo in 2011.
Catherine McClements is an Australian stage, film and television actress and television presenter. She is known for her TV roles in Water Rats and Tangle, for which she won Logie Awards, and has performed in stage productions for theatre companies such as Belvoir St Theatre, the Melbourne Theatre Company, the Sydney Theatre Company and the State Theatre Company of South Australia.
Lyndel Rowe is an Australian actress of stage, television and film, who is best known for her work with the Melbourne Theatre Company, the Sydney Theatre Company and the State Theatre Company of South Australia, and for her role as Karen Fox/Hamilton in the television soap opera Sons and Daughters.
Elizabeth Alexander is an Australian actress, director and teacher.
Inga Sofia Tidblad was a Swedish actress. She was one of the most praised actresses in Swedish theatre.
Bojana Novakovic is an Australian actress. She is known for starring in the police procedural television series Instinct (2018–2019).
Anna Torv is an Australian actress. Her performance as Olivia Dunham in the Fox science fiction series Fringe (2008–2013) earned her four consecutive Saturn Awards for Best Actress on Television, a record for any performer, and a nomination for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series. She also portrayed psychologist Wendy Carr in the Netflix period crime drama Mindhunter (2017–2019). For her performance as Tess in the HBO post-apocalyptic drama series The Last of Us (2023), she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series.
Ronald Norman Haddrick was an Australian actor, narrator and South Australian cricketer. In 2012, he received the Actors Equity Lifetime Achievement Award for his long and distinguished career in media, spanning some seventy years both locally and also in Britain. He appeared in many Shakespearean roles and often performed with theatre actress Ruth Cracknell.
Rebecca Massey is an Australian film, television, and theatre actress. She is best known for her comic roles as Beverley in Utopia, and as Lucy Canon in Chandon Pictures. She has worked in leading roles with major theatre companies nationwide such as The Sydney Theatre Company, Belvoir St Theatre, Bell Shakespeare Company, State Theatre Company of South Australia, and Griffin Theatre Company. She has performed alongside many Australian actors and actresses including Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, and Barry Otto.
Hilary Bell is an Australian writer of stage, fiction, radio, screen, and theatre.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
