Judy Nunn

Last updated

Judy Nunn
AM
Judy Nunn (cropped).jpg
Nunn in 2010
Born
Judith Anne Nunn

(1945-04-13) 13 April 1945 (age 79)
Perth, Western Australia
Other namesJudy Bernard-Waite (pen name)
Occupations
  • Author
  • former actress
  • radio and television screenwriter
Years active
  • 1964–2003 (acting)
  • 1981–present (author)
Notable work
SpouseBruce Venables (m. 1988)
Website https://judynunn.com.au

Judith Anne Nunn [1] (AM) (born 13 April 1945), (also published under the pen name of Judy Bernard-Waite), is an Australian former actress, and author of both adult and children's fiction titles. She has collaborated with writers Patricia Bernard and Fiona Waite. [2]

Contents

Nunn is a former theatre and television actress and radio and television screenwriter for nearly 50 years, [3] best known for her roles as Vicki Stafford The Box , Irene Fisher on Sons and Daughters , and her 15-year tenure in TV soap opera Home and Away as original character Ailsa Hogan.

Nunn was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2015 Australia Day Honours for her service to the performing arts as a scriptwriter and actor of stage and screen, and to literature as an author. [2]

Career

Acting

Nunn worked for many years as a leading stage actress, starting in 1964. [3]

Her breakout television role was in the risque soap opera The Box , as scheming bisexual reporter Vicki Stafford. Her character became a popular cult figure in the series and Nunn continued in the role for the show's entire 1974–1977 three year run and reprised in the feature film version in 1975.

In 1979 she briefly played Joyce Martin in the Australian TV series Prisoner , followed by Dr. Irene Fisher in television serial Sons and Daughters from 1984 until 1986.

Nunn is known for her role as original character Ailsa Stewart in the soap opera Home and Away , from 1988 until the character was killed off in 2000 after deciding to leave the series to devote more time with novels. In 2002 she returned in a guest role playing the same character – it transpired this was actually an hallucination of her former on-screen husband, Alf Stewart, caused by a brain tumour.

Screenwriting

Nunn is a screenwriter of radio and television, as well as an author. She has written scripts for television series Neighbours and Possession .

Literary career

In the 1980s, Nunn decided to turn her hand to prose. The result was two adventure novels for children, Eye in the Storm and Eye in the City, which remain popular in Australia and Europe.

Embarking on adult fiction in the early 1990s, Judy's three novels, The Glitter Game, Centre Stage and Araluen, set respectively in the worlds of television, theatre and film, became bestsellers. A specialist in Australian period fiction, other books she has written include Kal, Beneath the Southern Cross, Territory, Pacific, Heritage, Floodtide, Maralinga , Tiger Men in 2011, Elianne in 2013 and Spirits of the Ghan in 2015.

Personal life

Nunn attended Presbyterian Ladies' College, Perth. She married her husband, actor and writer and former Tasmanian & Royal Hong Kong police officer Bruce Venables, the same week in which she filmed her character Ailsa's marriage to Alf (Ray Meagher) in Home and Away in 1988. Formerly long-time residents of Bondi, New South Wales, Nunn and her husband now reside on the Central Coast, New South Wales.

Filmography

Film

Acting
YearTitleRoleType
1975 The Box Vicki StaffordFeature film
1978
 Bit Part JoTV movie
1978
 The Newman Shame VeronicaTV movie
1983 Hostage: The Christine Meresch Story Mrs. LewisFeature film
1983
David CopperfieldVoiceAnimated TV film
1983
 Sherlock Holmes and the Valley of Fear VoiceAnimated film
1983
Sherlock Holmes and a Study in ScarletVoiceAnimated film
1983
 Outbreak of Hostilities Edna StarlingTV movie
1984
 Crime of the Decade Rolly's MotherTV movie
1985
 The Pickwick Papers VoiceAnimated TV film

Television

Acting
YearTitleRoleType
 Z-Cars TV series, 1 episode
1971
 The Onedin Line WomanTV series, Season 1, Episode 12: "Cry of the Blackbird"
1972
 The Befrienders MotherTV series, Season 1, Episode 7: "Lots of Friends in the Big City"
1974
 Matlock Police Stella DavisTV series, Episode: "The Prowler"
1974–1977
 The Box Vicki StaffordSeasons 1–6, 206 episodes
1979
 Prisoner Joyce MartinTV series, Season 1, 9 episodes
1980
 Skyways Bessie LanghurstTV series, 2 episode: "The Return of Bessie Langhurst"
1981
 Holiday Island Ruby PalmerTV series, 1 episode 42: "The Great Frederico"
1982
 A Country Practice Nancy BrewerTV series, Season 2, Episodes 23 & 24:"Shootin' Through" (2 episodes)
1984–86
 Sons and Daughters Irene FisherSeasons 3–5, 150 episodes
1988–2000, 2002–03
 Home and Away Ailsa Stewart (née Hogan)Seasons 1–13 (main), Seasons 15–16 (recurring) (1313 episodes)
Self appearances
YearTitleRoleNotes
1978
 The Mike Walsh Show Guest - Herself with Lois RamsayTV series, 1 episode
1978
 The Mike Walsh Show Guest - HerselfTV series, 1 episode
1995
 Good Morning Australia GuestTV series, 1 episode
1996
 Midday with Kerri-Anne GuestTV series, 1 episode
1996
Monday to FridayGuestTV series, 1 episode
1996
 Burke's Backyard GuestTV series, 1 episode
1996
 Good Morning Australia GuestTV series, 1 episode
1997
 Surprise Surprise GuestLight entertainment show, 1 episode
1998
 E! News HerselfTV series, 1 episode
1999
 Denise GuestTV series, 1 episode
2000
 The Morning Show GuestTV series, 1 episode
2001–02
 Beauty and the Beast PanellistPanel show
2001
 Ground Zero HerselfTV series, 1 episode
2002
 This Is Your Life - Judy Nunn HerselfTV series, 1 episode
2002
The Best of Aussie DramaHerselfDocumentary
2006
 It Takes Two ContestantMusic competition show, 3 episodes
2006
 Where Are They Now? HerselfTV series, 1 episode
2011
 The Morning Show HerselfTV series, 1 episode
2012
 First Tuesday Book Club PanellistPanel Show, 1 episode
2014–15
 The Daily Edition GuestTV series, 1 episode
2015, 2016, 2022
 Studio 10 GuestTV series, 3 episodes
2015–21
 A Current Affair GuestTV series
2015
 The Daily Edition GuestTV series, 1 episode
2016
 The Daily Edition GuestTV series, 1 episode
2018
Endless Summer: 30 Years of Home and AwayHerselfVideo Documentary
2018
 News Breakfast GuestTV series, 1 episode
2018
 Weekend Sunrise GuestTV series, 1 episode
2020
 7.30 GuestTV series, 1 episode
2021,2023
 A Current Affair GuestTV series, 1 episode
2021
 Today Extra GuestTV series, 1 episode
2022
 This Is Your Life: Ray Meagher HerselfTV series, 1 episode
2023
Lest We ForgetHerselfTV special
2023
A Current AffairHerselfTV series, 1 episode
2024
 The Morning Show HerselfTV series, 1 episode
Additional credits
YearTitleAsNotes
1985
 Possession Writer
1985
 Neighbours WriterSeason 1 (3 episodes)

Bibliography

Children’s fiction

YearTitleNotes
1981The Riddle of the Trumpalar(as Judy Bernard-Waite) with Patricia Bernard and Fiona Waite)
1986Challenge of the Trumpalar(as Judy Bernard-Waite) with Patricia Bernard and Fiona Waite
1988Eye in the Storm
1991Eye in the City

Adult

YearTitleISBN
1991The Glitter Game
1994Center Stage
1994Araluen
1996Kal
1999Beneath the Southern Cross
2002Territory
2004Pacific
2005Heritage
2008Floodtide
2009 Maralinga
2011Tiger Men
2013Elianne
2015 Spirits of the Ghan
2017Sanctuary
2019Khaki Town ISBN   9780143795186
2022Showtime! ISBN   9781761042546
2022A Poem for Sally ISBN   9780143777076
2023Black Sheep ISBN   9781761340123
2023The Long Weekend (short story collection) ISBN   9781761344619

References

  1. ↑ "Home". itsanhonour.gov.au. Archived from the original on 15 May 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  2. 1 2 Northover, Kylie (23 January 2015). "Australia Day honours: Judy Nunn, actress and author, awarded AM". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  3. 1 2 "Judy Nunn theatre credits". The Australian Live Performance Database. AusStage.

Sources

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