Sarah Roberts (actress)

Last updated

Sarah Roberts
Born (1984-12-04) 4 December 1984 (age 39) [1]
Melbourne, Australia
OccupationActress
Years active2010–present
Spouse
​
​
(m. 2019;div. 2024)​

Sarah Roberts (born 4 December 1984) is an Australian television and film actress. After training at the 16th Street Actors Studio, Roberts took part in the 2012 reality television series Bollywood Star, in which Australians compete for a chance to work with Bollywood director Mahesh Bhatt. She has made guest appearances in various Australian television shows, including Jack Irish and INXS: Never Tear Us Apart . After appearing in the 2014 Neighbours spin-off series Brennan on the Run as Sienna Matthews, Roberts joined the cast of the main show in a recurring capacity. From 2017 to 2021, she played Willow Harris in Home and Away . Roberts has also starred in the feature films Felony and UnIndian .

Contents

Early life

Roberts is of Sri Lankan heritage. [2] After graduating from high school, Roberts moved to China to teach English. [2] She then moved to Tokyo when she was 18 and secured the role of Princess Jasmine at the Tokyo Disneyland production of Aladdin . Three years later, Roberts returned to Australia. [3] She trained at the 16th Street Actors Studio in Melbourne. [4]

Career

Roberts was a contestant on the 2012 SBS reality television series Bollywood Star, in which Australians competed for the chance to appear in a Bollywood film by director Mahesh Bhatt. [3] She made it to the top four. [5] Shortly after the show finished, Roberts auditioned for Matthew Saville's crime thriller Felony . Roberts attended three auditions in total, and after the final one in Sydney, she was convinced that she would not receive the role. Two weeks later, Roberts was informed that she had been cast as Ankhila, the mother of a young boy who is killed in a hit and run. [3] Felony was written by Joel Edgerton, who also stars in the lead role, and it premiered at the 2013 Toronto Film Festival. [6]

Roberts was also cast in a production of Alan Ball's play All That I Will Ever Be by director Robert Chuter in 2012. She portrayed the two female roles of Cynthia and Beth. [2] Roberts has had guest stints in several Australian television shows and films, including It's a Date , Angry Boys and Wolf Creek 2 . [7] She also appears in the Jack Irish television film series, and the INXS: Never Tear Us Apart miniseries. [3]

In 2014, Roberts appeared in the Neighbours web series Brennan on the Run as Sienna Matthews, the girlfriend of Mark Brennan (Scott McGregor), a former police detective in witness protection. [8] Later that year, Roberts reprised her role of Sienna and joined the cast of Neighbours in a recurring capacity. [9] Roberts received hate mail during her time in the show, as viewers did not like her character. [3] She had previously made one off guest appearances in Neighbours during 2010 and 2011. [7]

In late 2014, Roberts was cast in the romantic comedy UnIndian . It was the first feature film from the Australia India Film Fund established the previous year. Roberts stars alongside Tannishtha Chatterjee and former cricketer Brett Lee. [10] Roberts joined the cast of Home and Away in 2017 as Willow Harris. [11] She flew up from Melbourne to Sydney for the audition, where she had a chemistry reading with actor James Stewart, who plays Justin Morgan. [12] She had originally auditioned for the roles of Kat Chapman and Scarlett Snow. [12] Roberts described Willow as "a tough, dynamic and powerful character". [5] In March 2021, Roberts confirmed that she had quit Home and Away and was auditioning for new roles. [13] Her final scenes aired on 14 April 2021. [14] In 2022, Roberts appeared in the comedy film Wog Boys Forever , written by Nick Giannopoulos. [15]

Personal life

In addition to her acting career, Roberts is also a DJ and plays with singer Kate Greer in a duo called VAMP. [3] [15] Their first single "Neon Lights" features rapper Eve. [2] [16]

Roberts began a relationship with her Home and Away co-star James Stewart since October 2017. [17] They announced their engagement in December 2018, [1] and married at Luttrellstown Castle in Ireland in July 2019. [18] Roberts is stepmother to Stewart's daughter Scout from his relationship with Jessica Marais. [19] On 20 April 2024, Roberts announced that she and Stewart had divorced five weeks prior after an amicable break-up. [20]

On 23 October 2019, Roberts' brother Karl died of brain cancer. [21]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2012151 Kent AveGirlfriend
20121000 Dollar DoubtHostage 2Short
2013 Wolf Creek 2 English Girl #1
2013 Felony Ankhila Sarduka
2013Good BoyReceptionistShort
2015 UnIndian Priya
2018Your Call Is Important to UsDesdemonaShort
2018Straight Talk ExpressClaraShort
2020After the EndIsabella
2022 Wog Boys Forever Cleo

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2010 Neighbours Clare Henderson Episode 6018 (season 26)
2011 Angry Boys Baby ElephantSeason 1, episode 2
2011Neighbours Jess Walker Episode 6279 (season 27)
2012 Jack Irish: Bad Debts LornaTV film
2012Flat WhitesCourtneyEpisode: "Wingman Down"
2013 It's a Date Mexigogo WaitressEpisode: "When Should You Abandon a Date?"
2014 Brennan on the Run Sienna Matthews Episodes: "Intervene", "First Date", "Run", "The Fight"
2014 INXS: Never Tear Us Apart ShelleyTV miniseries
2014 Nowhere Boys Reporter 1Episode: "2.1"
2014NeighboursSienna MatthewsRecurring role
2015 Footballer Wants a Wife BeckyEpisode: "Pack Date"
2017MethodKatrinaEpisode: "Hungry"
2017–2021 Home and Away Willow Harris Main role
2023 Wolf Like Me TaraEpisode: "2.1"
2023 Scrublands Beth RamachandranEpisodes: "1.1", "1.2", "1.3"

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References

  1. 1 2 Cromarty, Ali (17 December 2018). "Home and Away's James Stewart and Sarah Roberts are engaged". New Idea . Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Hall, Loretta (5 July 2012). "True Colours". The Weekly Review. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Spucys-Tahar, Kira (29 September 2014). "Bitten by the acting bug". Indian Link. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  4. ↑ "Sarah Roberts". Yahoo7. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  5. 1 2 Cullen, Tamara (22 November 2017). "Meet Home And Away's new bad girl Sarah Roberts". TV Week . Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  6. ↑ Scheib, Ronnie (3 March 2014). "Film Review: 'Felony'". Variety . Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  7. 1 2 "Sarah Roberts". StarNow. Archived from the original on 20 May 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  8. ↑ "Neighbours launches interactive webisodes". Mumbrella. 7 February 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  9. ↑ Dainty, Sophie (10 March 2014). "Neighbours: Kate Ramsay confronted by Brennan's ex-girlfriend Sienna". Digital Spy . Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  10. ↑ "First Australia India Film Fund film rolls". If Magazine . 19 October 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  11. ↑ "Home And Away: Justin in shock attack". New Idea . November 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  12. 1 2 "Sarah Roberts could've been Kat and Scarlett!". Yahoo7 . Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  13. ↑ Price, Amy (19 March 2021). "Home and Away stars reveal the moment they knew their on-set chemistry was true love". The Courier-Mail . Retrieved 24 December 2021.(subscription required)
  14. ↑ Anderton, Joe (14 April 2021). "Home and Away star Sarah Roberts discusses possible return after Willow Harris's exit". Digital Spy . Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  15. 1 2 Powers, Catie (24 February 2022). "Exclusive: Sarah Roberts reflects on the memory she'll 'never forget' of her late brother". New Idea . Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  16. ↑ Prime, Toby (11 November 2014). "Eltham DJ Kate Greer performs in high places". Herald Sun . Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  17. ↑ "Home and Away star James Stewart dating co-star Sarah Roberts". The Daily Telegraph . 29 January 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  18. ↑ "Home And Away co-stars James Stewart, Sarah Roberts get married". news.com.au. 26 July 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  19. ↑ Hockey, Maddison (17 March 2021). "Home And Away star Sarah Roberts shares a candid and relatable parenting moment with step-daughter Scout". The Australian Women's Weekly . Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  20. ↑ Tam, Adrienne (20 April 2020). "'I've been really afraid of talking about this': Sarah Roberts confirms split from Home and Away star James Stewart". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  21. ↑ "Home and Away Sarah Roberts' tragic death of brother". New Idea . 24 October 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.

Sarah Roberts at IMDb

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