Kate Kendall

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Kate Kendall
Kate Kendall.jpg
Kendall at a rehearsal for An Officer and a Gentleman in 2012
Born
England, United Kingdom
Occupation(s)Actress, director
Years active1997–present
Known forAngie Piper in Stingers
Lauren Turner in Neighbours
Spouse Wayne Johnston (divorce)
Children1

Kate Kendall is a British-born Australian actress and director. She played Angie Piper in the long-running Nine Network Australian drama Stingers from 1998 to 2004. Kendall has appeared in television series The Librarians (2007), Rush (2010) and Conspiracy 365 . She joined the cast of television soap opera Neighbours in 2013 as Lauren Turner. After leaving the role in 2017, Kendall became a director, and later producer, on the serial.

Contents

Early life and education

Kendall was born in England and moved to Australia with her family when she was six months old. [1] Her father, David Kendall, was prominent in the Pram Factory and La Mama Theatres in Melbourne, [2] and, after moving to Adelaide, with the State Theatre Company of South Australia (STCSA) in the 1980s. [3] In Adelaide, he also headed the new acting course at the Centre for Performing Arts (CPA) (now the Adelaide College of the Arts) in 1987. [4]

Kate studied at the CPA in Adelaide. [2]

Career

Stage

On the stage, Kendall played Rebecca in Solstice for STCSA in Adelaide, Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Cinderella in Into the Woods in Melbourne Botanic Gardens. [2]

Other theatre work includes at the Adelaide Festival Centre, the Carlton Courthouse and Budinski's Theatre in Melbourne. With the Aboriginal youth company, Jumpback Theatre, worked with female prisoners. [2]

Screen

Kendall had small parts in television shows such as Home and Away and Neighbours [5] led to a guest role as Rosie Burgess in Blue Heelers in 1997. [6] Her breakthrough television role was as Angie Piper in Stingers , which role she played for 192 episodes from 1998 to 2004. [7]

Kendall played a minor role as Lisa in the American mini-series The Starter Wife (2007) [8] and also appeared in three episodes of the Australian produced comedy The Librarians (2007), as Jacinta McSweeney. [9] Kendall appeared on the Australian drama Rush in 2010. In 2011 Kendall played the lead role of Diana in MTC's production of Next to Normal and appeared in the Australian musical premiere of An Officer and a Gentleman. She also played Emily Ormond in the twelve-part drama series Conspiracy 365 , which was based on the book of the same name. [10] Kendall took over the role of Lauren Turner on Neighbours in 2013. [11]

As she was wrapping up the role of Lauren in 2017, Kendall began directing small scenes. She has since directed numerous episodes of the series. [12] In June 2020, it was announced that Kendall would become a producer. She covered for series producer Natalie Lynch, while she was on maternity leave. David Knox of TV Tonight believed Kendall was the show's first actor, director, producer. [12]

Kendall directed the 2023 four-part series Heat , created by Jason Herbison. [13] [14] On 21 July 2025, it was announced that Kendall would be a director for a new co-commission alongside Herbison titled Imposter. [15]

Personal life

Kendall married former Carlton Football Club AFL player Wayne Johnston and as of 2-14 has a son and four stepchildren. [16]

She enjoys horse-riding and is a fan of country music and cricket. She was a supporter of Greenpeace. [2]

Filmography

Television appearances

YearTitleRoleNotes
2013–2018, 2022 Neighbours Lauren Carpenter 457 episodes
2012 Conspiracy 365 Emily Osmond12 episodes
2010 Rush Nicolette1 episode
2010The PacificBetty Leckie1 episode
2009 City Homicide Jacinta Hansard1 episode
2007The LibrariansJacinta McSweeney3 episodes
The Starter WifeLisa3 episodes
1998–2004 Stingers (TV series) Angie Piper192 episodes
1999 Farscape Sergeant1 episodes
1997 Blue Heelers Rosie Burgess1 episodes

Film appearances

YearTitleRoleNotes
201210TerroristsJune Connors
2010Matching JackRegistrar
2008Night TrainShort
BelladonnaKaterine
2007St. GeorgeShort
2000On The BeachJenny
1999DeadendFantasy couple
Director
YearTitleNotes
TBA Imposter
TBASix Months
2019 Playing for Keeps (TV series) 2 episodes
2017–present Neighbours 95 episodes
2023 Heat 4 episodes
Producer
YearTitleNotes
2019–2022Neighbours

References

  1. "Actor Kate Kendall's passion for Port Fairy". The Standard. 16 January 2018. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Australian Television: Stingers: profiles: Kate Kendall". Australian Television Information Archive. 30 October 1998. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  3. "State Theatre Company of South Australia : programs and related material collected by the National Library of Australia". Trove. 14 March 1973. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  4. "History". TAFE SA website. 5 December 2007. Archived from the original on 21 July 2008. Retrieved 24 July 2008.
  5. Falconer, Daniel (4 June 2014). "Neighbours exclusive interview - Kate Kendall talks THAT big reveal". Female First. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  6. "Blue Heelers – Containing the Rage". IMDb website. Retrieved 24 July 2008.
  7. "Stingers". IMDb website. Retrieved 24 July 2008.
  8. "The Starter Wife – full credits". IMDb website. Retrieved 24 July 2008.
  9. "The Librarians". IMDb website. Retrieved 24 July 2008.
  10. Knox, David (20 June 2011). "Big-Budget Family Drama Conspiracy 365 Begins Filming". TV Tonight . Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  11. "New faces and big-name returns for Ramsay Street in 2013". Channel 5 . Northern & Shell. 4 November 2012. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  12. 1 2 Knox, David (2 June 2020). "Kate Kendall steps up as Neighbours producer". TV Tonight . Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  13. Knox, David (7 November 2022). "10 Heats up new drama co-production". TV Tonight . Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  14. 10 Heats up new drama co-production | TV Tonight
  15. Laidlaw, Kyle (21 July 2025). "Neighbours' Jackie Woodburne joins new drama mini-series IMPOSTER". TV Blackbox. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  16. "Neighbours star Kate Kendall tells of her baby bombshell". news.com.au . 5 January 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2014.