Catherine McClements

Catherine McClements is an Australian stage, film, and television actress, and television presenter. She is known for her TV roles in Water Rats and Tangle, for which she won Logie Awards, and has performed in stage productions for theatre companies such as Belvoir St Theatre, the Melbourne Theatre Company, the Sydney Theatre Company and the State Theatre Company of South Australia.

Early life and education Catherine McClements is the daughter of Frank, a high school principal, and Pamela.

She attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), graduating in 1985, alongside Baz Luhrmann, Sonia Todd, and Justin Monjo. In 1988, McClements, along with a number of other people including Baz Luhrmann, set up an experimental theatre ensemble called Six Years Old and worked on expanding the play Strictly Ballroom, which was first produced in their second year of NIDA in 1984.

Personal life McClements' husband is actor Jacek Koman, who also guest-starred in The Secret Life of Us as Dominic, though they were not on the show at the same time. They have two children.

Career Screen In 1993, McClements had a role in The Girl from Tomorrow Part II: Tomorrow's End. She is best known, however, for her starring role as Rachel Goldstein in the Australian police drama Water Rats from 1996 to 1999. She followed this up with a recurring guest role on The Secret Life of Us in 2001, for which she won the AFI Award for Best Actress in a Guest Role in a Television Drama.

She starred as Rosie in the 2003 drama series CrashBurn and appeared in the Network Ten telemovie Mary Bryant in 2005.

From 2008 she played Inspector/Superintendent Kerry Vincent in the Australian police drama Rush, and psychologist Christine Williams in the Showcase drama Tangle. A second and third season of Tangle and Rush respectively were announced in 2009 and both aired in 2010. Tangle and Rush were commissioned for new seasons, both to start filming in mid-2011. In 2010, McClements won an AFI Award for her role in Tangle. She has also won ASTRA Awards for her role in Tangle in 2011 and 2013.

In 2011, McClements guest starred in a YouTube and Facebook-only show called Queer as F**k, playing Mel, a friend of main character Aaron (Gary Abrahams).

In 2012, McClements was cast as Meg Jackson in Wentworth, a contemporary reimagining of the Australian classic Prisoner. She was cast in a leading role for Season One of Wentworth, but her character did not appear beyond episode one.

Earlier in 2013, McClements was cast in new ABC telemovie The Broken Shore, alongside Don Hany, Dan Wyllie and Claudia Karvan. It premiered at the Adelaide Film Festival in October 2013 and aired on the ABC in early 2014.

In September 2013, McClements was cast in the film The Menkoff Method, directed by David Parker.

In 2019 she starred in Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries as Birdie Birnside.

In August 2022 she played the part of a teacher in the State Theatre Company South Australia and Sydney Theatre Company co-production Chalkface, written by Angela Betzien. The play opened at the Dunstan Playhouse in Adelaide.

In 2023, McClements was announced as part of the cast for SBS series Erotic Stories. She was also announced as part of the cast of the third and final season of ABC drama Total Control, as well as ABC drama Return to Paradise. On 21 November 2024, it was announced that McClements was a part of the cast for ABC drama The Family Next Door. McClements was also named for Netflix series Apple Cider Vinegar. On 31 January 2025, McClements was announced as part of the cast for the Netflix series The Survivors. On 17 April 2025, McClements would return for the second series of Return to Paradise as the show would enter production again.

On 23 April 2026. McClements was announced as part of the extended cast for Paramount+ series Dalliance. On 22 June 2026, McClements was nominated for a Logie Award for her work in The Survivors.

Stage McClements has also appeared in stage productions for many theatre companies, including Belvoir St Theatre, the Melbourne Theatre Company, the Sydney Theatre Company, Bell Shakespeare, State Theatre Company of South Australia, and the Malthouse Theatre.

Awards

Filmography

Film YearTitleRoleNotes 1986 Just Us Jessica Taylor Telemovie 1987 The Right Hand Man Sarah Redbridge Feature film 1990 Struck by Lightning Jill McHugh Feature film Weekend with Kate Kate Muir Feature film 1992 Redheads Diana Ferraro Feature film (aka Desperate Prey) 2000 Waiting at the Royal Dinny Weston Telemovie Better Than Sex Sam Feature film 2003 After the Deluge Nikki Kirby Telemovie Floodhouse Ava 50 minute film 2005 Mary Bryant Marleen Telemovie 2006 Call Me Mum Kate Telemovie Sexy Thing Mum Short film 2007 Fast Lane Louise Short film 2008 Emerald Falls Rosalie Bailey Feature film 2013 The Broken Shore Erica Burgouyne Telemovie 2014 The Menkoff Method Majorie Feature film

Television

Other appearances YearTitleRoleNotes 1999 Doing Time Narrator 10-part TV documentary 2009 Whale Patrol Narrator TV documentary 2011 Things on Sunday: Sex Panel member Malthouse Theatre 2015 Sperm Donors Anonymous Narrator TV documentary

Theatre work McClements' work on stage includes: Name Year Character Venue 1984 Holiday Makers Sasha NIDA 1984 Impromptu at Versai (part of Three French Farces) Mrs Molière NIDA 1984 All's Well That Ends Well Helena NIDA 1984; 1986 Strictly Ballroom Barbara Pierce NIDA, Bratislava 1985 Dreamplay NIDA 1985 The Unseen Hand (part of Hallucinogenics? 3 plays from the 60s) NIDA 1985 The War (from The Greeks trilogy) Iphigenia NIDA & St Martins Youth Arts Centre 1985 Once in a Lifetime NIDA 1986 And a Nightingale Sang Joyce Sydney Opera House with Gary Penny Productions 1987 Much Ado About Nothing Hero Playhouse, Adelaide with STCSA 1987 Shepherd on the Rocks Rhonda Moffat / News team member / Female whale saver Playhouse, Adelaide with STCSA 1987 The Winter's Tale Perdita; Servant Playhouse, Adelaide with STCSA 1987 Les Liaisons dangereuses Cecile de Volanges Playhouse, Adelaide with STCSA 1987 Away Meg Playhouse, Adelaide with STCSA 1988 Molière (aka The Cabal of Hypocrites) Armando Key Studios, Melbourne with Australian Nouveau Theatre for Spoleto Melbourne Festival of the Arts 1989; 1990 The Imaginary Invalid Angelique New Fortune Theatre for Perth Festival, Anthill Theatre, Melbourne, Universal Theatre, Melbourne, Armoury Lawns for Adelaide Festival with Australian Nouveau Theatre 1990 Crystal Clear Thomasina Universal Theatre 1991 The Crucible Abigail Williams Sydney Opera House with STC 1993; 1994 Angels in America Harper Amity Pitt Russell Street Theatre, Melbourne & Playhouse, Melbourne with MTC, Playhouse, Adelaide with STCSA 1994 Seeing Violet (part of Unsettled trilogy) Isabel Hope Napier Street Theatre, Melbourne with $5 Theatre Company 1994 No Family (part of Unsettled trilogy) Doris Napier Street Theatre, Melbourne with $5 Theatre Company 1994 At Dusk (part of Unsettled trilogy) Lily Napier Street Theatre, Melbourne with $5 Theatre Company 1995 The Blind Giant Is Dancing Louise Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney 2000 Suddenly Last Summer Catharine Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney 2000 Emma Celebrazione! Gasworks Arts Park, Melbourne 2003 Macbeth Lady Macbeth Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney 2005 Cruel and Tender Amelia Fairfax Studio, Melbourne with MTC 2006 It Just Stopped Beth Malthouse Theatre & Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney 2007 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Martha Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney 2008 Appetite Louise Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide, Sydney Opera House, Fairfax Studio, Melbourne 2011 Happy Ending (part of the Cybec Readings) Louise Lawler Studio, Melbourne 2012 8 – The Play Sandy Stier Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne & Sydney Town Hall 2012 Never Did Me Any Harm Southbank Theatre Force Majeure & STC for Melbourne Festival 2013 The Other Place Juliana Smithton Arts Centre Melbourne with MTC 2013 Phèdre Phèdre Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne & Sydney Opera House with Bell Shakespeare 2013 White Rabbit, Red Rabbit Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne 2016; 2018 The Events Claire Granville Town Hall, Her Majesty's Theatre, Adelaide with STCSA for Adelaide Festival, Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney for Sydney Festival, Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne, Studio Underground, Perth, IMB Theatre, Wollongong 2017 Three Little Words Tess Southbank Theatre, Melbourne with MTC 2018 Antony and Cleopatra Cleopatra Sydney Opera House, Canberra Theatre Centre, Arts Centre Melbourne with Bell Shakespeare 2022 The Sound Inside Bella Baird Fairfax Studio, Melbourne with MTC 2022 Chalkface Pat Novitsky Dunstan Playhouse with STCSA & Sydney Opera House with STC