Davis, Judy (1955–)

Australian actress. Born April 23, 1955, in Perth, Australia; attended National Institute of Dramatic Arts (1974–77); m. Colin Friels (actor), 1984; children: Jack and Charlotte Friels.

Began career singing in jazz and pop groups; came to international prominence as Sybylla Melvyn in My Brilliant Career, picking up 2 BATFA awards (for Best Actress and Best Newcomer), and helping to kick-start new wave of Australian filmmaking; continued working in Sydney and London theater, while appearing in several modest cinematic efforts, including Winter of Our Dreams (1981) and Heatwave (1982); nominated for Academy Award for portrayal of Adela Quested in A Passage To India (1984); co-starred with husband in Kangaroo (1986) and Hightide (1987), winning Australian Film Institute's Best Actress award for 2 consecutive years; worked with Woody Allen (Husbands And Wives, 1992, and Deconstructing Harry, 1997), David Cronenberg (Naked Lunch, 1991) and Joel Coen (Barton Fink, 1991); portrayed George Sand in James Lapine's Impromptu (1991); nominated for Golden Globe for performance as WWII heroine Mary Lindell in One Against the Wind (1991); earned Australian Film Institute award for portrayal of schizophrenic in Canadian coming-of-age drama On My Own (1992); also appeared in Michael Tolkien's satirical The New Age (1994) and political comedy Children of the Revolution (1996), as well as in tv biopics about Lillian Hellman (1999) and Judy Garland (2001); won Emmy for "Serving in Silence" (1995); made directorial debut with "Barrymore" for Sydney Theatre Company; nominated for a Helpmann Award for performance in the play Victory (2004).