Details
Alternate Names: Esther "Essie" Davis, Essie Davies
Physical Characteristics: N/A
Career
First Appearances: - The Custodian (1994) as Jilly
Most Important Roles: - The Matrix Reloaded (2003) as Maggie
- Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003) as Catharina Bolnes Vermeer
- Blackrock (1997) as Det. Gilhooley
- Australia (2008) as Katherine
- Isolation (2005) as Orla
- Charlotte's Web (2006) as Mrs. Arable
- Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010) as Marella (voice)
- Sweeney Todd (2006) as Mrs Lovett
- Hey Hey It's Esther Blueburger (2008) as Grace Blueburger
- South Solitary (2010) as Alma Stanley
Career Highlights: - The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
- Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003)
- Blackrock (1997)
- Australia (2008)
- Isolation (2005)
- Charlotte's Web (2006)
- Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010)
- Sweeney Todd (2006)
- Hey Hey It's Esther Blueburger (2008)
- South Solitary (2010)
Awards
Awards: - Nominated for 1 Saturn Award - Best Actress (2015)
- Won FCCA Award - Best Actress - Supporting Role (2022)
- Nominated for 1 FCCA Award - Best Actress (2015)
- Nominated for 1 FCCA Award - Best Actress - Supporting Role (2012)
- Won FCCA Award - Best Supporting Actor - Female (2011)
- Won AFI Award - Best Actress in a Supporting or Guest Role in a Television Drama or Comedy (2003)
- Nominated for 1 AFI Award - Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Telefeature or Mini-Series (2000)
- Nominated for 1 AFI Award - Best Actress in a Supporting Role (1995)
- Won Best Actress (2014)
- Nominated for 1 Silver Logie - Best Actress (2016)
- Nominated for 1 Gold Logie (2016)
- Nominated for 1 Silver Logie - Most Outstanding Actress (2016)
- Nominated for 1 Silver Logie - Most Popular Actress (2014)
- Nominated for 1 Gold Logie (2014)
- Nominated for 1 ALFS Award - Supporting Actress of the Year (2021)
- Nominated for 1 ALFS Award - Actress of the Year (2015)
- Nominated for 1 OFCS Award - Best Actress (2014)
- Won Best Actress (2014)
- Nominated for 1 Empire Award - Best Female Newcomer (2015)
- Nominated for 1 SFFCC Award - Best Actress (2014)
Full Biography
Essie Davis is an Australian actress. Born and raised in Hobart, Tasmania, she is the daughter of locally famed artist George Davis. She emerged from the Old Nick Company at the University of Tasmania in the late 1980s and has gone on to appear in Hollywood movies. She is a graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney. Her career started after her role in the all Australian movie Dad and Dave: On Our Selection (1995), also starring other prestigious actors such as Geoffrey Rush, Leo McKern, and Joan Sutherland. Her most famous movie roles are in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, Richard Flanagan's 1998 Tasmanian film The Sound of One Hand Clapping, and Girl with a Pearl Earring. In 2003 she won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress for her UK performance in the Tennessee Williams play A Streetcar Named Desire. In 2004 she starred in a Broadway production of Tom Stoppard's Jumpers, for which she earned a Tony nomination. In 2005 she appeared as Mrs. Nellie Lovett in the BBC production of Sweeney Todd with Ray Winstone. In the 2008 film Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger she plays Esther's controlling mother. She has recently completed filming the movie Australia with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, directed by Baz Luhrmann. In 2008 Davis played Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof for the Melbourne Theatre Company. She returned to Tasmania to launch the "The Tasmanian Theatre Company" in 2008 and help support local theatre whilst encouraging youth to continue participating in the arts.
