Asher Keddie


Asher Keddie is an Australian actress. Beginning her career in the television series Five Mile Creek in the mid 1980s, Keddie received wide recognition for her role in the critically acclaimed series Offspring. Her significant repertoire in television has led to her being dubbed as the 'Golden Girl of Australian Television'. Keddie also had a small role in the film, as Dr. Carol Frost. Aside from television and film work, she has several theatre credits, including in the Melbourne Theatre Company production of Les Liaisons dangereuses as Madame de Tourvel.
She won the Logie Award for Most Popular Actress five times in a row between 2011 and 2015. Keddie won the 2013 Gold Logie award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television, for her role as Dr Nina Proudman in the Network Ten drama Offspring. She had previously been nominated twice for the award. Keddie has a total of seven Logie Awards.

Early life

Keddie was born to Robi and James Keddie, both school teachers. As a child, she took dancing lessons for nine years and at age fourteen, she dislocated her knee prior to an audition at the Australian Ballet School. Despite her initial misfortune, she landed an acting gig in a dance wear ad while at ballet school and subsequently landed an agent. Keddie completed her secondary education at St Michael's Grammar School, St Kilda.

Entertainment career

Television and film career

Keddie had guest roles early in her career in various television dramas, including her first roles in Five Mile Creek, Fortress and Janus. She played the role of Marriane Sheridan in Blue Heelers airing on 18 June 1996 and Good Guys, Bad Guys. From 1997 to 1998, she came to the attention of senior network television producers, appearing in State Coroner. Following this, she had a recurring role in Stingers from 2000 to 2004.
Keddie's big break came in 2004, where she had a leading role in Love My Way, a drama series airing on Foxtel. The series ended in late 2007. This role led to Keddie being nominated for various awards for playing the part of Julia Jackson, a woman who struggles to cope with her own identity in the midst of family tragedy. Keddie's award win came at the end of Love My Way third series in 2006.
In 2009, Keddie appeared in three different roles. She portrayed police officer Liz Cruickshank in the television drama ' and journalist Jacinta Burns, in the TV series Rush, as well as Dr Carol Frost in '.
In 2010, Keddie depicted author Blanche d'Alpuget in Hawke, a telemovie about the premiership of Bob Hawke. She also became the star of the drama series Offspring, which began airing in August 2010. In April 2011, she had the leading role of Ita Buttrose in ABC1's telemovie , the story of Buttrose's rise to success as the editor of Cleo magazine.
In 2014, Keddie starred in Party Tricks as Premier Kate Ballard. Ballard faces an election campaign alongside newly announced Opposition candidate David McLeod, with whom she once had a tumultuous affair.
In 2019, Keddie starred in the ABC1 acclaimed series "The Cry". In March 2020, she will star in a 6 part series to also air on ABC1, "Stateless". The series will also star and be produced by Australian actress, Cate Blanchett and is set in a detention centre in the middle of the Australian outback.

Stage

Making her theatre debut for the Melbourne Theatre Company in 1998 in Patrick Marber's Closer, Keddie went on to appear in Cyrano de Bergerac, Les Liaisons dangereuses, Birthrights, Great Expectations, The Seagull and Hannie Rayson's Life After George. Her performances in the 2005 Melbourne Theatre Company production of Les Liaisons dangereuses, and the Playbox's The Ishmael Club, both earned her Green Room Award nominations.
In 2007 Keddie starred alongside Jay Bowen in the Melbourne Theatre Company's play The Glass Soldier written by Hannie Rayson.

Personal life

Keddie married actor and musician Jay Bowen in January 2007. The pair separated in December 2011. In April 2014, she married artist Vincent Fantauzzo. On 19 November 2014 she announced at the GQ Men's Award that she was pregnant. On 1 March 2015, the couple welcomed their first child, a boy named Valentino Fantauzzo.

Selected filmography

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryResultWork
2005Logie AwardMost Outstanding ActressLove My Way
2005ASTRA AwardMost Outstanding Performance by an Actor – FemaleLove My Way
2006Australian Film Institute AwardsBest Lead Actress in Television DramaLove My Way
2006Logie AwardMost Outstanding ActressLove My Way
2006ASTRA AwardMost Outstanding Performance by an Actor – FemaleLove My Way
2007ASTRA AwardMost Outstanding Performance by an Actor – FemaleLove My Way
2007Logie AwardMost Outstanding ActressLove My Way
2008Logie AwardMost Outstanding ActressLove My Way
2008ASTRA AwardMost Outstanding Performance by an Actor – FemaleLove My Way
2009Australian Film Institute AwardsBest Lead Actress in Television Drama'
2010Logie AwardMost Outstanding Actress'
2010Australian Film Institute AwardsBest Supporting Actress in Television DramaHawke
2011Gold LogieOffspring and Hawke
2011Logie AwardMost Popular ActressOffspring
2011Logie AwardMost Outstanding ActressOffspring
2011Equity AwardsOutstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Offspring
2012Equity AwardsOutstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Offspring
2012Equity AwardsOutstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Mini Series or Telemovie '
2012AACTA AwardsAudience Award for Best Performance'
2012AACTA AwardsBest Lead Actress in Television Drama'
2012Logie AwardMost Outstanding Actress'
2012Gold LogieMost Popular Personality on Australian TelevisionOffspring and '
2012Logie AwardMost Popular ActressOffspring and '
2013Gold LogieOffspring
2013Logie AwardMost Popular ActressOffspring
2013Equity AwardsOutstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Offspring
2014Logie AwardMost Popular ActressOffspring
2014Logie AwardMost Outstanding ActressOffspring
2015Gold LogieMost Popular Personality on Australian TVOffspring and Party Tricks
2015Logie AwardMost Popular ActressOffspring and Party Tricks