Chelsie Preston Crayford | |
---|---|
Born | Chelsie Florence Preston Crayford 1987 (age 36–37) Wellington, New Zealand |
Nationality | New Zealander |
Education | Wellington East Girls' College Wellington High School Toi Whakaari |
Occupation | Actress |
Parent(s) | Gaylene Preston and Jonathan Crayford |
Awards | Logie Award for Most Outstanding Newcomer (2012) |
Chelsie Florence Preston Crayford (born 1987), sometimes credited as Chelsie Florence, is a New Zealand actress.
Preston Crayford was born in Wellington to film maker Gaylene Preston and musician Jonathan Crayford. Apart from appearing in a water safety commercial at the age of four, her acting debut was at the age of 13 in the New Zealand-made TV series A Twist in the Tale starring William Shatner. Several years later, her performance in a stage production was praised by Ian McKellen, encouraging her to pursue an acting career and enrol in the Toi Whakaari national drama school from 2006 to 2008. [1] She graduated in 2008 with a Bachelor of Performing Arts. [2]
Preston Crayford played a guest role in the soap opera Shortland Street in 2003, and made her feature film debut in the comedy Eagle vs Shark in 2007. In 2009, she played a major role in the TV series The Cult . In 2011, she played brothel madam Tilly Devine in the Australian crime drama Underbelly: Razor , a role for which she won the Graham Kennedy Award for Most Outstanding Newcomer at the 2012 Logie Awards. [3]
Since then she has appeared in an ABC TV adaptation of The Mystery of a Hansom Cab , in Hope and Wire (a mini-series produced by her mother about the 2010 Canterbury earthquake), government communications advisor Sophie Walsh in the Australian techno-thriller The Code , [4] and as the Sorceress Kaya in the third season of Ash vs Evil Dead .
She portrayed suffragette Annabella Maktelow (1871–1963) in Hot Words and Bold Retorts (2018), a short film directed by her mother Gaylene Preston. [5] [6] She wrote, directed, and starred in the short film Falling Up (2018). [7]
Preston Crayford also starred as Melissa Flowers in Dark City: The Cleaner , a television adaptation of crime fiction writer Paul Cleave's novel The Cleaner. [8] [9]
Preston Crawford has one child, a daughter, with her ex-partner, cinematographer Ray Edwards. [6] [10] She is currently in a relationship with comedian Guy Montgomery. [11]
Rebecca Catherine Gibney is a New Zealand actress known for her roles on Australian television in The Flying Doctors, Halifax f.p., Packed to the Rafters, Winter and Wanted. She has also featured in a number of Australian films, including Mental and The Dressmaker. She is a Gold Logie winner
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.
Dame Gaylene Mary Preston is a New Zealand filmmaker with a particular interest in documentary films.
Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School is New Zealand's national drama school. It was established in 1970 and is located in Wellington, New Zealand in the Te Whaea: National Dance & Drama Centre. Toi Whakaari offers training in acting, costume construction, set and props construction, performing arts management and design for stage and screen. Toi Whakaari has a roll of approximately 130 students annually, who study for up to three years.
Robyn Jane Malcolm is a New Zealand actress, who first gained recognition for her role as nurse Ellen Crozier on the soap opera Shortland Street. She is best known for playing Cheryl West, matriarch to a sometimes criminal working-class family, in the television series Outrageous Fortune. She has also worked in Australia, including roles in the TV series Rake and Upper Middle Bogan. She plays the lead role in the six-part 2023 NZ drama After the Party.
Show of Hands is a 2008 New Zealand romantic comedy-drama film. Written and directed by Anthony McCarten, it stars Melanie Lynskey, Craig Hall, Stephen Lovatt, and Matt Whelan. Inspired by true events, the story concerns an endurance competition where the person who can keep their hand on a brand-new car the longest gets to keep it. Hands was released theatrically in New Zealand on 13 November 2008.
Kimberley Frances Crossman is a New Zealand actress, author, presenter, producer, writer, director, dancer, stand-up comedian and cheerleader who is best known for her role as Sophie McKay on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street.
Paul Cleave is a crime fiction author from New Zealand.
Sir Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill is a New Zealand actor and vintner. Neill's career has included leading roles in both dramas and blockbusters. Considered an "international leading man", he is regarded as one of the most versatile actors of his generation.
Dame Miranda Catherine Millais Harcourt is a New Zealand actress and acting coach.
Rose Matafeo is a New Zealand comedian, actress and TV presenter. She was a writer and performer on the New Zealand late-night comedy sketch show Funny Girls. In 2018, she won the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for her show Horndog.
Ruby and Rata is a 1990 New Zealand comedy-drama film, directed and produced by Gaylene Preston.
Georgina Alice Campbell is a British actress. She won the 2015 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for Murdered by My Boyfriend (2014), making her the first non-white actress to win that award. Her other television credits include Flowers (2016), Broadchurch (2017), the Black Mirror episode "Hang the DJ" (2017), and Krypton (2018). She starred in the films Barbarian (2022), Bird Box Barcelona (2023), T.I.M. (2023), Lovely, Dark, and Deep (2023) and The Watchers (2024).
American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story is a 2017 television series by Amazon Prime Video. It stars Matt Whelan in the title role, along with Emmett Skilton and Chelsie Preston Crayford. Several African American and African British actors were linked to the program including Kelvin Taylor. The first season was released on 7 April 2017 and comprised ten episodes.
Guy Montgomery is a comedian from New Zealand. He is known for his panel game show Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee, which he began as a web series before becoming a TV series, for +HR=E in New Zealand, and later, adapted to a slightly higher budget Australian version for the ABC. He won the Fred Award in 2023.
The Bad Seed is a five-part New Zealand television crime drama series, based on the best selling novels The Night Book and Soon by Charlotte Grimshaw, that broadcast across five consecutive nights on TVNZ 1 from 14 April 2019. Starring Matt Minto and Dean O'Gorman in the leading roles, The Bad Seed follows the Lampton family, whose quiet suburban lifestyle is rocked by the murder of one of their neighbours, wealthy businessman's wife Julia Stevens. Also featured amongst the cast are Madeleine Sami, Jodie Hillock, Xavier Horan and Chelsie Preston Crayford.
Kate JasonSmith is a New Zealand actor, film producer, playwright, filmmaker, photographer, and businesswoman. Based in Wellington, she has studied and worked elsewhere, including Australia, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. A feminist, as a theatre and film practitioner, she has been most recognised throughout her career for her role in establishing and producing Hens' Teeth, a platform for dozens of Kiwi female actors, musicians, and comedians that became a staple of the New Zealand theatre and comedy scene between 1988 and 1996. Her short film, Xmas for Lou (1992), won the Best Drama – Television award in the New Zealand Film and Television Awards of 1994. From 2018 on, the one-woman show I'll Tell You This for Nothing: My Mother the War Hero has received national and international praise for both the play, which she wrote, and her performance. JasonSmith is a member of the New Zealand Society of Authors/Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa.
The Panthers is a New Zealand drama television miniseries created and executive produced by Halaifonua Finau and Tom Hern in association with Four Knights Film studio. Set during the 1970s, the series focuses on the emergence of the Polynesian Panthers against the backdrop of the controversial dawn raids. The series was released by public broadcaster TVNZ on 15 August on TVNZ 1 and TVNZ On Demand. The series starred Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi as Polynesian Panthers leader Will Ilolahia, and was written by Tom Hern and Halaifonua Finau.
Mr. Wrong is a 1985 New Zealand horror film, directed by Gaylene Preston. The film was based on an Elizabeth Jane Howard short story. It was released in the US as Dark of the Night.
Dark City: The Cleaner is a New Zealand crime fiction television series based on author Paul Cleave's 2006 novel The Cleaner. The series was co-produced by John Barnett and Chloe Smith, with Cohen Holloway and Chelsie Florence starring as the two man characters Joe Middleton and Melissa Flowers. Dark City: The Cleaner was funded by Lionsgate, the New Zealand Film Commission, NZ On Air, Sky Television and ChristchurchNZ's Screen CanterburyNZ fund. The series debuted on 4 March 2024 on Neon, Sky Go and SoHo.