Leah Maree Purcell (born 14 August 1970) is an Aboriginal Australian stage and film actress, playwright, film director, and novelist. She made her film debut in 1999, appearing in Paul Fenech's Somewhere in the Darkness, which led to roles in films, such as Lantana (2001), Somersault (2004), The Proposition (2005) and Jindabyne (2006).
In 2014, Purcell wrote and starred in the play, The Drover's Wife, based on the original story by Henry Lawson. In 2019, she went on to write the bestselling novel, The Drover's Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson, which was adapted for the screen when Purcell made her directorial debut in the acclaimed film of the same name in 2022, for which she had also written, produced and starred as the titular character. For her work, she has won several awards, including a Helpmann Award, two AACTA Awards, and Asia Pacific Screen Awards Jury Grand Prize.
Purcell is notable for her roles in several television drama series, including Police Rescue (1996), Fallen Angels (1997), Redfern Now (2012–2013), which earned her an AACTA Award, Janet King (2016), and perhaps her most recognisable television role being that of her AACTA and Logie Award-nominated performance as Rita Connors in the Foxtel prison drama series, Wentworth (2018–2021), the Amazon miniseries The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (2023), and currently the Binge series, High Country (2024).
2024
as Andrea 'Andie' Whitford
2023
as Joyce
2023
as Twig
2022
as Self
2022
as Molly Johnson
2021
as Justice Janelle Ray AO
2017
as Self
2015
as Toni Klan
2015
as Sonya
2015
as Hilda Kickett
2014
as Audrey
2014
as Heather O'Connor
2014
as Daisy
2013
as Rita Connors
2012
as Grace
2009
as Laura
2006
as Carmel
2005
as Queenie
2004
as Diane
2003
as Doctor
2002
as Herself
2001
as Claudia Wiss
1999
1999
as Witch Doctor
1999
as Lulu
1997
as Sharon Walker
1996
1991
as Const. Tracey Davis