Judy Nunn Explained

Judy Nunn
Birth Name:Judith Anne Nunn
Birth Date:13 April 1945
Birth Place:Perth, Western Australia
Othername:Judy Bernard-Waite (pen name)
Yearsactive:Author 1981- present, Actress 1964-2003
Spouse:Bruce Venables (m. 1988)
Website:https://judynunn.com.au

Judith Anne Nunn[1] (AM) (born 13 April 1945), (also published under the pen name of Judy Bernard-Waite), is an Australian author, of both adult and children's fiction titles. she has collaborated with writers Patricia Bernard and Fiona Waite.

Nunn is a former theatre and television actress and radio and television screenwriter for nearly 50 years, best known for her 15 year tenure in TV soap opera Home and Away as original character Ailsa Hogan.

Nunn was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2015 Australia Day Honours for her service to the performing arts as a scriptwriter and actor of stage and screen, and to literature as an author.[2]

Acting career

Nunn worked for many years as a leading stage actress, starting in 1964[3]

Her breakout television role was as in the risque soap opera The Box, as scheming bisexual reporter Vicki Stafford. Her character became a popular cult figure in the series and she continued Nunn in the role for the show's entire 1974–77 three year run and reprised in the feature film version in 1975.

In 1979 she briefly played Joyce Martin in the Australian TV series Prisoner and after that as Dr. Irene Fisher in television serial Sons and Daughters from 1984 until 1986.

Best known for her role as original character Ailsa Stewart in the soap opera Home and Away, from 1988 until the character was killed off in 2000 after deciding to leave the series to devote more time with novels, is probably Nunn's most famous role. In 2002 she returned in a guest role playing the same character - it transpired this was an hallucination of her former on-screen husband, Alf Stewart, caused by a brain tumour.

Personal life

Nunn attended Presbyterian Ladies' College, Perth. She married her husband, actor and writer and former Tasmanian & Royal Hong Kong police officer Bruce Venables, the same week in which she filmed her character Ailsa's marriage to Alf (Ray Meagher) in Home and Away in 1988. Formerly long-time residents of Bondi, New South Wales, Nunn and her husband now reside on the Central Coast, New South Wales.

Screenwriting

Nunn is a screenwriter of radio and television and author. She has written scripts for programmes Neighbours and Possession.

Literary career

In the 1980s she decided to turn her hand to prose. The result was two adventure novels for children, Eye in the Storm and Eye in the City, which remain popular in Australia and Europe.

Embarking on adult fiction in the early 1990s, Judy's three novels, The Glitter Game, Centre Stage and Araluen, set respectively in the worlds of television, theatre and film, became bestsellers. A specialist in Australian period fiction, other books she has written include Kal, Beneath the Southern Cross, Territory, Pacific, Heritage, Floodtide, Maralinga, Tiger Men in 2011, Elianne in 2013 and Spirits of the Ghan in 2015.

Filmography

Film

Acting
YearTitleRoleType
1975The BoxVicki StaffordFeature film
Bit PartJoTV movie
The Newman ShameVeronicaTV movie
1983Hostage: The Christine Meresch StoryMrs. LewisFeature film
David CopperfieldVoiceAnimated TV film
Sherlock Holmes and the Valley of FearVoiceAnimated film
Sherlock Holmes and a Study in ScarletVoiceAnimated film
Outbreak of HostilitiesEdna StarlingTV movie
Crime of the DecadeRolly's MotherTV movie
The Pickwick PapersVoiceAnimated TV film

Television

Acting
YearTitleRoleType
Z-CarsTV series, 1 episode
The Onedin LineWomanTV series, Season 1, Episode 12: "Cry of the Blackbird"
The BefriendersMotherTV series, Season 1, Episode 7: "Lots of Friends in the Big City"
Matlock PoliceStella DavisTV series, Episode: "The Prowler"
The BoxVicki StaffordSeasons 1–6, 206 episodes
PrisonerJoyce MartinTV series, Season 1, 9 episodes
SkywaysBessie LanghurstTV series, 2 episode: "The Return of Bessie Langhurst"
Holiday IslandRuby PlummerTV series, 1 episode 42: "The Great Frederico"
A Country PracticeNancy BrewerTV series, Season 2, Episodes 23 & 24:"Shootin' Through" (2 episodes)
Sons and DaughtersIrene FisherSeasons 3–5, 150 episodes
Home and AwayAilsa Stewart (née Hogan)Seasons 1–13 (main), Seasons 15–16 (recurring) (1313 episodes)
Self appearances
YearTitleRoleNotes
The Mike Walsh ShowGuest - Herself with Lois RamsayTV series, 1 episode
The Mike Walsh ShowGuest - HerselfTV series, 1 episode
Good Morning AustraliaGuestTV series, 1 episode
Midday with Kerri-AnneGuestTV series, 1 episode
Monday to FridayGuestTV series, 1 episode
Burke's BackyardGuestTV series, 1 episode
Good Morning AustraliaGuestTV series, 1 episode
Surprise SurpriseGuestLight entertainment show, 1 episode
E! NewsHerselfTV series, 1 episode
DeniseGuestTV series, 1 episode
The Morning ShowGuestTV series, 1 episode
Beauty and the BeastPanellistPanel show
Ground ZeroHerselfTV series, 1 episode
This Is Your Life - Judy NunnHerselfTV series, 1 episode
The Best of Aussie DramaHerselfDocumentary
It Takes TwoContestantMusic competition show, 3 episodes
Where Are They Now?HerselfTV series, 1 episode
The Morning ShowHerselfTV series, 1 episode
First Tuesday Book ClubPanellistPanel Show, 1 episode
The Daily EditionGuestTV series, 1 episode
Studio 10GuestTV series, 3 episodes
A Current AffairGuestTV series
The Daily EditionGuestTV series, 1 episode
The Daily EditionGuestTV series, 1 episode
Endless Summer: 30 Years of Home and AwayHerselfVideo Documentary
News BreakfastGuestTV series, 1 episode
Weekend SunriseGuestTV series, 1 episode
7.30GuestTV series, 1 episode
A Current AffairGuestTV series, 1 episode
Today ExtraGuestTV series, 1 episode
This Is Your Life: Ray MeagherHerselfTV series, 1 episode
Lest We ForgetHerselfTV special
A Current AffairHerselfTV series, 1 episode
Additional credits
YearTitleAsNotes
PossessionWriter
NeighboursWriterSeason 1 (3 episodes)

Bibliography

Children’s fiction

Adult

TitleYearISBN
The Glitter Game1991
Center Stage1994
Araluen1994
Kal1996
Beneath the Southern Cross1999
Territory2002
Pacific2004
Heritage 2005
Floodtide2008
Maralinga2009
Tiger Men2011
Elianne2013
Spirits of the Ghan2015
Sanctuary2017
Khaki Town2019
Showtime!2022
A Poem for Sally2022
Black Sheep2023
The Long Weekend (short story collection)2023

Sources

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Home . itsanhonour.gov.au . 8 August 2022 . 15 May 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190515213714/http://itsanhonour.gov.au/ . dead .
  2. Web site: Australia Day honours: Judy Nunn, actress and author, awarded AM. Kylie. Northover. 23 January 2015. The Sydney Morning Herald.
  3. Web site: Judy Nunn theatre credits. AusStage . The Australian Live Performance Database.

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