Background

Essie Davis was born on 7th January 1970 in Tasmania, Australia to a local artist, George Davis. She was the youngest kid in a huge family of 9 people, including the parents. The family survived in very humble conditions and her father, being a painter, could only adhere to the basic needs of 7 of his kids. Her brothers also worked along with the studies to earn money.

Essie received her early training in arts and crafts from her father. She looked up to him as an inspiration and still maintains that he was the biggest pillar of support while she was growing up.

Education

The beauty of surroundings in her hometown, Hobart, kept her feeling alive and Essie Davis showed all the signs of a creative kid. She was a silent kid and mostly remained engrossed in nature.

She got enrolled in the Clarence High School, then went to the University of Tasmania for her higher studies and started her tryst with performing arts with the Old Nick Company and later, she got serious about her career in arts and hence joined the National Institute of Dramatic Art, Sydney, graduating in 1992.

Career

Being continuously involved with theatricals through her high school days and later in college, Essie Davis started doing plays once she was out of college. She joined Bell Shakespeare, a theatre company, which true to its name, was into doing Shakespearean plays. She got the lead role in 1993s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and played Juliet with such warmth and affection, that she subsequently went on to star in theatre company’s other Shakespearean retellings ‘Hamlet,’ ‘Richard 3,’ and ‘Macbeth.’ She kept auditioning for roles in films and TV and it wasn’t late before she caught the eyes of several talent agents and casting directors through her plays. She was signed on for the film ‘Dad and Dave: On Our Selection,’ where she acted opposite established actors such as Geoffrey Rush, Leo McKern, and John Sutherland.

Once ‘Dad and Dave: On Our Selection’ released, more people saw the glimpse of how good an actor she was, more offers rained in on her, and she made appearances in films like ‘River Street’ and ‘Blackrock,’ which were somehow less known but provided her with a solid platform to exhibit her talent. Her 1998 Tasmanian film ‘The Sound of One Hand Clapping’ got her noticed in the United States, and then there was a long wait for a call from Hollywood, and meanwhile, she kept appearing in TV shows like ‘Corridors of Power’ and ‘Young Lion.’

Her first Hollywood film came her way in 2003 in form of the second installment in the highly regarded science fiction action franchise, ‘The Matrix Reloaded,’ where she played the role of Maggie. Starring in Matrix opened her ways for further roles in Hollywood and Australian films and in the same year as Matrix, she appeared in four other films ‘The Pact,’ ‘Code 46,’ ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ along with the third and final installment in The Matrix series, ‘The Matrix Revolution.’ Another big role came her way in Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Australia,’ where she appeared with fellow Australian Hollywood stars, Hugh Jackman, and Nicole Kidman.

For the next few years, she kept appearing in many big and small roles in American and Australian films, never quite finding her footing, until 2011, when her show ‘Miss Fischer’s Murder Mysteries’ went on air. The ABC network’s costume drama was a big-budget show and Essie Davis got to play the title role in it. Her acting prowess was widely appreciated, and she became a popular television face in Australia. The period show, set in the 1920s Melbourne, told the story of Phryne Fischer, a private investigator. Her character in ‘Miss Fischer’s Murder Mysteries’ got immensely popular among the masses and critics alike. She received countless awards and nominations for her character in the series which ran for 34 episodes and finally culminated in 2015.

Davis starred in Jennifer Kent's 2014 debut feature The Babadook. For her work in the film, Davis was nominated for an AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, an AACTA International Award for Best Actress, and a Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Leading Actress. In 2016, Essie got signed up to play a key recurring role in the sixth season of ‘Game of Thrones.’ There were reports that she would also be appearing in the seventh season of the show, but the producers denied the news. Essie received praise for the show and said that just being a part of the most successful TV series of all times is an honor. There were talks of a film trilogy on her character from the show ‘Miss Fischer’s Murder Mysteries,’ to which Essie said that plans are being made and when they will find something to work upon, she would definitely love to be a part of the film as portraying Phryne Fischer was one of the most memorable experiences of her life. The producers have said that Essie’s busy schedule is a big roadblock in the film’s production, and they hope that it will soon get over and Essie will be free to get the cameras for the film rolling. In June 2016, she was confirmed as a part of the show ‘The White Princess,’ which will soon go on-air.

Apart from films, she continued her stints with theatre even after becoming a fairly successful film actress. In 2000, she participated in Gwendolen Fairfax’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest,’ where she was part of their national tour. For the Sydney Theatre Company, she did ‘The School for Scandal’ and as usual, received accolades and a Lawrence Olivier Award for the best-supporting actress award for the play ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ at the National Theatres in London. A Tony Award nomination came for her in 2004, for the play ‘Jumpers,’ a Broadway musical.

Achievements

• 

  Essie Davis received universal acclaim for her role in the 2014 feature film ‘The Babadook.’ The film, along with Essie, rocked the award seasons and ended up winning severe critical and commercial acclaim.
  
  She won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Stella Kowalski opposite Glenn Close in Trevor Nunn's production of Tennessee Williams play A Streetcar Named Desire at the National Theatre in London. In 2004, she starred in a Broadway production of Tom Stoppard's Jumpers at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, for which she earned a Tony Award nomination. In 2011, she received a Logie Award nomination for her role as Anouk in the Australian miniseries The Slap. For her work in The Babadook Davis was nominated for an AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, an AACTA International Award for Best Actress and a Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Leading Actress.

Works

More photos

• movie

  • Code 46

    (In a dystopian future, insurance fraud investigator Willi...)

    2003
  • Dad and Dave: On Our Selection

    (The Mark Twain of Australia, Steele Rudd made his name in...)

    1995
  • The Babadook

    (A single mother, plagued by the violent death of her husb...)

    2014
  • Lilian's Story

    (Based very loosely on a true story, this Australian film ...)

    1996
  • Mindhorn

    (A has-been actor, known for playing British detective Min...)

    2017
  • Miss Fisher & The Crypt of Tears

    (After freeing a young girl in Jerusalem, Phryne Fisher be...)

    2020
  • The Pact

    (Four teenagers get their thrills by riding on top of trai...)

    2003
  • River Street

    (A disgraced real estate agent (Aden Young) eyes a youth c...)

    1996
  • The Matrix Reloaded

    (At the Oracle's behest, Neo attempts to rescue the Keymak...)

    2003
  • Burning Man

    (After the death of his wife (Bojana Novakovic), a father ...)

    2011
  • The Matrix Revolutions

    (Neo, humanity's only hope of stopping the war and saving ...)

    2003
  • The Custodian

    (An honest policeman goes on the take and tips off a TV ne...)

    1993
  • Isolation

    (Horror film about people on a remote farm who discover th...)

    2005
  • Charlotte's Web

    (When Wilbur, a pig adopted by young Fern, grows up, she s...)

    2006
  • Blackrock

    (A teen (Laurence Breuls) agonizes over what to tell polic...)

    1997
  • Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

    (Soren, a young owl, is kidnapped by the evil owls of St A...)

    2010
  • Assassin's Creed

    (With the help of technology, Callum learns that he is a d...)

    2016
  • Australia

    (An English aristocrat travels to Australia in order to sa...)

    2008
  • Babyteeth

    (When a seriously ill teenager falls for a small-time drug...)

    2019
  • Girl with a Pearl Earring

    (While working as a maid in painter Johannes Vermeer's hou...)

    2003
  • Hey Hey It's Esther Blueburger

    (A teenage misfit tries to start a new life by swapping pl...)

    2008

• TV series

  • The White Princess

    (In a tale of power, family, love, and betrayal, "The Whit...)

    2017
  • Game of Thrones

    (Nine noble families wage war against each other in order ...)

    2011

• Other Work

  • True History of the Kelly Gang

    (An exploration of Australian bushranger Ned Kelly and his...)

    2019

Views

Quotations: "I've had really a great choice of roles that have been very different from one another. And I think I kind of set out to do that when I began my career - to aim to never play the same thing twice."

"Sometimes it's easy to do brave things in front of a thousand people, but it's hard to do them in front of a handful. It feels so much more exposing."

"I honestly do think that every character - you pick up the things, little things that you like about them in your life. Especially if you play a character for a long time."

"I used to buy things for every hotel room or every place I lived in to make it feel like home."

"One of the things I have loved so much about the career that I have had is that pretty much every character I have played is diametrically opposite to the one before it."

"Parenting is meant to be just a natural part of life. You just think you know how to do it but, of course, it's much more complicated than that."

"I don't know if I want to walk down the street and have everyone staring. I think that would be awful. I'm a pretty shy person, really. I personally don't resent having my children."

"I'm incredibly ambitious, but I feel I've got a fantastic career, and I love the anonymity. I love that no one knows who I am."

"Most mothers think they are bad mothers. We all make terrible mistakes, often, and always think we're getting it wrong."

"I feel lucky that I've managed to get the roles I've wanted."

"Trying to get over to the 'on camera' side of things has been hard work."

"Getting fan mail from Brazil is kind of funny."

Personality

Essie is in love with her hometown, Hobart, and visits the place whenever she finds even a little time away from her busy schedule.

A huge ‘Game of Thrones’ fan, Essie has said that she never misses any episode and being a part of the show is an unforgettable honor in itself.

Physical Characteristics: Height: 5 feet 9 inches

Weight: 53 kg

Bra size: 32A

Waist size: 23 inches

Hip size: 34 inches

Body measurement: 33-23-34 inches

Body shape: hourglass

Dress size: 4 US

Shoes size: 7.5 US

Hair color: brown

Eye color: blue

Connections

Essie Davis met Justin Kurzel in 1996, during a street play, and they started dating. However, due to their respective busy schedules, the couple remained in a long-distance relationship for most of the time and eventually got married in 2002. The couple is parents to twin daughters - Ruby and Stella.

Father:

George Davies

Mother:

Mary Davis

Spouse:

Justin Kurzel

(born 3 August 1974)

Justin Kurzel is an Australian film director and screenwriter.

Daughter:

Stella Kurzel

Daughter:

Ruby Kurzel

colleague:

Leigh Gill

Leigh Gill is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in Joker and Game of Thrones.

colleague:

Maisie Williams

Margaret Constance "Maisie" Williams is an English actress.

References

• Essie Davis Fanpage - Instagram