Jad Capelja

Early life Capjelja was born to parents, Stevan and Maria, in Yugoslavia in 1965.

Career In 1981, she made her film debut in Bruce Beresford's coming-of-age film, Puberty Blues. She played Sue Knight, best friend of the protagonist, Debbie (played by Nell Schofield). Capelja and Schofield were chosen from among 490 young actresses that auditioned for the roles. The film was very successful in Australia, Schofield and Capelja became instant stars and were sent on a huge publicity tour around the country.

Capelja was later the female lead in Scott Hicks' 1982 road film Freedom set and filmed in South Australia. In the same year she also appeared in two episodes of TV drama series A Country Practice. These two performances and Puberty Blues are her only credited screen roles.

She was unsuccessful when applying to study at the National Institute of Dramatic Art to develop her acting.

She later struggled with addiction and was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

Personal life She had a son, Miles Muecke, from her marriage to Richard Muecke.

She later struggled with addiction and was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. In the time leading up to her death she was on a treatment plan and recognising her mental health difficulties.

Death Capelja committed suicide by hanging in her Sydney apartment on 10 January 2010. Her Puberty Blues co-star Nell Schofield later observed that "it was probably very hard for her to accept that she wasn't going to have a career as an actress, that she wasn't going to be as famous or as big a star as she was when she was 16."

Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1981 Puberty Blues Sue Knight FilmDir. Bruce Beresford1982 Freedom Sally FilmDir. Scott Hicks A Country Practice Nurse Cotteril 2 episodes