Rhoda Roberts

AO
Born
Rhoda Ann Roberts

1959 (age 64–65)
Canterbury, New South Wales, Australia
Occupations
  • Actress
  • director
  • arts executive
Years active1986–present
SpouseSteven Field
Children3

Rhoda Ann Roberts AO (born 1959) is an Australian actress, director and arts executive.

Early life and education

Born in Canterbury Hospital in Sydney in 1959,[1] Bundjalung woman Roberts grew up and completed Year 10 in Lismore, then moved back to Sydney, where she qualified as a nurse at Canterbury Hospital in 1979.[2][1]

Career

Roberts co-starred with Rachael Maza and Lydia Miller in Belvoir Street Theatre's 1993 production of Louis Nowra's play Radiance.[3]

She was employed as presenter of Vox Populi, an SBS Television program, in 1990,[4] becoming the first Indigenous Australian to present a prime time current affairs program.[5]

In 1995 she founded the Festival of Dreaming and was its director until 2009.[6]

Roberts has been Head of Indigenous Programming at the Sydney Opera House since 2012.[2][7]

Recognition

Roberts was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours for "distinguished service to the performing arts through a range of leadership and advocacy roles in the development, promotion and presentation of contemporary Indigenous culture".[8]

She was honoured with one of the 2017 Centenary Sue Nattrass Awards presented at the 18th Helpmann Awards.[9][10]

In September 2021, Roberts was named as the inaugural elder-in-residence at SBS Television. The new position, in which the office-holder is intended to be a "guide and counsel" on Indigenous content, had an initial term of one year, with the possibility of a two-year extension.[11]

Penny Tweedie's image of Roberts is held by the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra.[2]

Personal life

Was married to actor Bill Hunter from 1993 to 1999. Roberts married Steven Field, and they have three children.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 "The power of creation". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 December 2008. Archived from the original on 20 June 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "Rhoda Roberts, b. 1960". National Portrait Gallery people. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  3. ↑ "Radiance". AusStage. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  4. ↑ Ien Ang, Gay Hawkins, Lamia Dabboussy (2008). The SBS Story: The Challenge of Cultural Diversity. University of New South Wales Press. pp. 52–54. ISBN 9780868408392. Retrieved 28 January 2014.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ↑ "Sundays on ABC TV - Meet the Panellists:Rhoda Roberts". ABC Television. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2003. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  6. ↑ "Rhoda Roberts AO". Live Performance Australia. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  7. ↑ "No Aboriginal Disadvantage". Sydney Opera House. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  8. ↑ "Ms Rhoda Ann Roberts". It's An Honour. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  9. ↑ "2017 Centennary Sue Nattrass Award | Helpmann Awards". 26 April 2018. Archived from the original on 26 April 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  10. ↑ Macklin, Helen (17 July 2018). "Bluesfest congratulates Boomerang curator Rhoda Roberts on outstanding achievement award". The Music Network. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  11. ↑ Slatter, Sean (20 September 2021). "Rhoda Roberts named inaugural SBS Elder in Residence". IF Magazine. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  12. ↑ Pendergast, Kirra (2 February 2016). "People to know – Rhoda Roberts". Common Ground North Coast. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
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