Celia Ireland (born 16 May 1966) is an Australian actress. She is best known for her role as Regina Butcher on the television series All Saints and her Logie award winning role as Liz Birdsworth on the prison drama series Wentworth.
Celia Ireland | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 16 May 1966 Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Notable work | Television: All Saints Wentworth Film: My Mother Frank Australian Rules |
| Spouse | Tim[1] |
| Children | 2[1] |
Early life
editCelia Ireland was born in Newcastle, New South Wales on 16 May 1966. She lived in Haig Street, Belmont, City of Lake Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia with a large cast of older sisters and a brother. Celia attended Saint Mary's Catholic High School, Gateshead, City of Lake Macquarie, New South Wales and later Saint Anne's/Saint Pius X College, Adamstown (Newcastle), New South Wales, Australia. Currently, she often visits Canberra, ACT and enjoys shopping and eating out.
Career
editIreland made her television debut in 1992 when she made a guest appearance on the Australian television series Police Rescue. What followed was a number of guesting roles on television series such as A Country Practice, Water Rats and Murder Call, to name but a few and the feature films Dallas Dolls in 1994, which was her film debut; Dad and Dave: On Our Selection, Floating Life, Idiot Box and Thank God He Met Lizzie, with Cate Blanchett; all of which she appeared in throughout the nineties.
In 1997, Ireland played Rosy's mother Filameena in the Australian children's television series Swinging for ABC TV.
In 1998, Ireland went on to voice Boronia in the Australian children's animated television series Petals for ABC TV and Mrs. Simms in the Australian children's animated television series Seaside Hotel for Seven Network and Yoram Gross EM TV in 2003.
In 1999, Ireland was cast as Regina Butcher on the Seven Network drama series All Saints,[2] first appearing during the series' second season. She left the series in 2005 during season eight after the character of Regina was written out.
While appearing on All Saints, Ireland continued to receive guest roles in several series and films; the Australian feature films After the Rain, My Mother Frank, Angst and Australian Rules, in which she received a Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Supporting Actress and was nominated for an Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role; the popular Nine Network drama series McLeod's Daughters and Don't Blame Me. In 2006, Ireland played a recurring role in the second season of Supernova. Her other television credits include Monster House, Laid, Me and My Monsters, the television comedy-drama series Packed to the Rafters, and a recurring role as Connie Callahan in the Seven Network soap opera Home and Away; the films Rogue, Cactus, Being Venice and Goddess.
Wentworth
editIn 2012, it was announced that Ireland had received the regular role of Liz Birdsworth on Australian prison drama series Wentworth,[3] a reimagining of the cult classic series Prisoner (Prisoner: Cell Block H) which aired on Network Ten from 1979 to 1986. Wentworth went to air on SoHo in mid-2013. Ireland had appeared as a regular in all three seasons, as a prisoner who gives peer support to her fellow inmates. Her character name is that of the original Prisoner character Lizzie Birdsworth, although Ireland plays a completely different character role to that of Sheila Florance's character, they do however share a similarity as Liz is a functioning alcoholic, Liz in season six of Wentworth would be diagnosed with Dementia.
Ireland would later exit the series in season 7 [4] alongside costar Tammy Macintosh,[5] Liz would pass away after suffering a stroke after the devastating Siege of Wentworth. Ireland and Milosevic who were filming that scene at the time were not told that a costume sale that was being organized was suddenly cancelled as the show had secured funding for its final 20 episodes.[6]
Post Wentworth
editAfter leaving Wentworth Celia joined the filming of both the first seasons of Five Bedrooms and Total Control.[7]
In 2022, Ireland joined several members of the Wentworth (TV series) cast at the Wentworth Con fan convention that was held in Melbourne.,[8] Celia also appeared at Wentworth Con Florida.
In 2022, it was announced that Ireland would join the Sydney Theatre Companies production of Hubris and Humiliation for its 2023 season.[9]
In 2024, after a multi year absence from television, Ireland was announced as part of the cast for ABC series Return to Paradise.[10]
Filmography
editFilms
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Dallas Doll | Policewoman | Feature film |
| 1995 | Dad and Dave: On Our Selection | Sarah | Feature film |
| 1996 | Floating Life | Feature film | |
| Idiot Box | Barmaid | Feature film | |
| 1997 | Thank God He Met Lizzie | Cheryl | Feature film |
| 1999 | Oops! | Woman | Short film |
| 2000 | After the Rain | Stevie Canetti | |
| My Mother Frank | Peggy | Feature film | |
| Angst | Case Worker | Feature film | |
| 2002 | Australian Rules | Liz Black | Feature film |
| 2007 | Rogue | Gwen | Feature film |
| 2008 | Cactus | Vesna | Feature film |
| 2012 | Being Venice | Australian Woman | |
| 2013 | Goddess | Mary | Feature film |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Police Rescue | Lachlan's Mother | Season 2 (Episode: "Sugar") | |
| 1993 | The Comedy Sale | Various | Season 1 (3 episodes) | |
| A Country Practice | Judy Hallem | Season 13 (2 episodes) | ||
| 1996 | Water Rats | Sarah Fleetwood | Season 1 (2 episodes) | |
| 1997 | Swinging | Filameena Turvey | Season 1 (15 episodes) | |
| 1998 | Petals | Boronia (voice) | Seasons 1 & 2 | |
| 1999 | Murder Call | Barb Ferris | Season 3 (Episode: "Hide & Seek") | |
| Dog's Head Bay | Alice Astassio | Season 1 (4 episodes) | ||
| 2002 | Home and Away | Bernadette | Season 15; Unknown episodes | |
| McLeod's Daughters | Melanie Powers | Season 2 (Episode: "The Bore War") | ||
| Don't Blame Me (aka Don't Blame the Koalas) | Schoolteacher | Season 1 (Episode: "Fate Steps In") | ||
| 1999–2005 | All Saints | Regina Butcher | Seasons 2–8 (144 episodes) | |
| 2003 | Seaside Hotel | Mrs. Simms (voice) | Seasons 1 & 2 | |
| 2006 | Supernova | Shirl | Season 2 (5 episodes) | |
| 2008 | Monster House | Karen Webb | Season 1 (2 episodes) | |
| 2011 | Laid | Brendan's Mum | Season 1 (1 episode) | |
| Me and My Monsters | Pauline Travis | Season 2 (Episode: "The Monster-Sitter") | ||
| 2013–14 | Home and Away | Connie Callahan | Seasons 26–27 (9 episodes) | |
| 2013 | Packed to the Rafters | Colleen Bourke | Season 5 (2 episodes) | |
| 2013–2019 | Wentworth | Liz Birdsworth | Seasons 1–7 (80 episodes) | |
| 2013 | Redfern Now | Nurse Edwards | Season 2 (Episode: "Where the Heart Is") | |
| 2014 | Rake | Cop 1 | Season 3 (1 episode) | |
| 2019 | Five Bedrooms | Rhonda Hibbert | Season 1 (2 episodes) | |
| Total Control | Tracy | Season 1 (6 episodes) | ||
| 2024 | Return to Paradise | Reggie Rocco | TV series: 6 episodes | [11] |
Self Appearances / Podcasts
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Wentworth; Behind the Bars 2 | Self | Narrator TV Special | |
| 2021 | Wentworth Reunion Event | Self | Special | [12] |
| 2019 | Wentworth: Behind The Bars | Self | TV Special | |
| 2017 | Screen: Celia Ireland | Self | 1 episode | [13] |
| Wentworth: Interrogation Room | Self | Q and A Video | [14] | |
| 2016 | Thinkergirls Pod | Self | Podcast 1 episode | [15] |
| An Audience with the Cast of Wentworth (TV series) | Self | TV Special | [16] |
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | AFI Awards | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Australian Rules | Nominated | [17][a] |
| FCCA Awards | Best Actress – Supporting Role | Won | [18][b] | ||
| 2015 | ASTRA Awards | Most Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor | Wentworth | Nominated | [19][c] |
| 2016 | Logie Awards | Most Outstanding Supporting Actress | Won | [20][d] | |
| 2018 | AACTA Awards | Best Guest or Supporting Actress in a Television Drama | Nominated | [21][e] | |
| Logie Awards | Most Outstanding Supporting Actress | Nominated | [22][f] | ||
| 2019 | Most Outstanding Supporting Actress | Nominated | [23][g] |
Notes
edit- ^ The AFI Awards (now the AACTA Awards) are presented by the Australian Film Institute.
- ^ The FCCA Awards are presented by the Film Critics Circle of Australia.
- ^ Nominated for Season 2 of Wentworth.
- ^ Won for Season 3 of Wentworth.
- ^ Nominated for Season 6 of Wentworth.
- ^ Nominated for Season 5 of Wentworth.
- ^ Nominated for Season 6 of Wentworth.
References
edit- ^ a b Brygel, Jackie (25 July 2018). "Wentworth star Celia breaks silence: 'It hasn't been easy'". New Idea. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
- ^ "Australian Television: All Saints: cast". australiantelevision.net. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ Richards, Holly (17 July 2014). "Birdsworth's fear of freedom". au.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- ^ "Wentworth star Celia breaks silence: 'It hasn't been easy'". 25 July 2018.
- ^ "The Wentworth season finale will reveal Kaz Proctor's killer". 30 July 2019.
- ^ Pobjie, Ben (22 July 2020). "Wentworth's most beloved inmate prepares for the show's last hurrah". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- ^ (Cooper, Lorna - 27 August 2013)"Wentworth: Prisoner Cell Block H's gritty update". MSN. Retrieved 14 September 2013.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Knox, David (20 September 2022). ""The Wentworth community is very strong" | TV Tonight". tvtonight.com.au. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- ^ Wild, Stephi. "Sydney Theatre Company Presents HUBRIS & HUMILIATION". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- ^ Slatter, Sean (9 April 2024). "Anna Samson to lead ABC's 'Return to Paradise' as production commences on NSW South Coast". IF Magazine. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ Knox, David (9 April 2024). "Return to Paradise filming in Illawarra | TV Tonight". tvtonight.com.au. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
- ^ Wentworth | The Reunion Special, retrieved 1 December 2023
- ^ Stage & Screen S3E5 with Celia Ireland Cut Version, retrieved 1 December 2023
- ^ Wentworth S5; Celia Ireland (Liz Birdsworth) Interviews, retrieved 1 December 2023
- ^ "OLDIE EP 159: Celia Ireland joins Thinkergirl: The Podcast".
- ^ Knox, David (27 April 2016). "Airdate: An Audience with the cast of Wentworth | TV Tonight". TV Tonight.
- ^ "AACTA Awards 2002". aacta.org. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ^ Groves, Don (31 October 2002). "'Tracker' jumps Oz 'Fence'". Variety. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ^ Knox, David (8 May 2016). "ASTRA Awards 2015: nominees". TV Tonight. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ^ Knox, David (10 February 2015). "2016 Logie Awards: winners". TV Tonight. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ^ "2018 AACTA Awards". aacta.org. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ^ Knox, David (27 May 2018). "Logie Awards 2018: nominees". TV Tonight. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
- ^ Knox, David (30 June 2019). "Logie Awards 2019: winners". TV Tonight. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
External links
edit- Celia Ireland at IMDb
- Celia Ireland on Instagram
- Celia Ireland at Sue Barnett and Associates [1]
- ^ "Celia Ireland". Sue Barnett & Associates. Retrieved 24 December 2022.