Judi Farr

Early life

Farr was born in Cairns, Queensland in 1938, and was the first born child of Phyllis and Herbert 'Bert' Farr. Her father's death in Borneo during World War 2 prompted her mother to move the family to Bondi, Sydney, where Judi and her brother Michael, grew up by the beach in their grandmother’s unit.

At the age of nine Farr won an elocution competition, reciting William Shakespeare at Sydney Town Hall. She studied ballet for 10 years, quitting in her teen years. She attended Holy Cross School in Woollahra.

Farr enrolled in drama school for 3 months and soon after, joined The Colony Players, an amateur Sydney theatre group, and acted in satirical revues at the Phillip Street Theatre. At age 19, she had her lucky break at the Genesian Theatre in The Skin of Our Teeth.

Career Television Farr made her television debut in a 1962 live broadcast of The Taming of the Shrew on ABC TV. She continued to play the character in that show's short-lived sequel series Rita and Wally in 1968.

Personal life

In 1963, Farr married Derry Macgillicuddy, after meeting him while performing together in a Genesian Theatre production. The couple had three children – Sean, Sarah and Bridie.

Farr died of respiratory failure on 30 June 2023 after a long illness, at the age of 84.