Leverne McDonnell

Leverne Ann McDonnell (27 June 1963 – 15 March 2013) was an Australian actress.

Early life McDonnell spent three years as a member of "Energy Connection", a youth dance theatre company in Adelaide, South Australia, until she was admitted to the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney. She graduated from NIDA in 1985.

Career

In 1992, McDonnell played the role of Kelly in the 1992 ABC police drama series Phoenix—a role for which she was nominated for an AFI Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Television Drama. She played a different role, Detective Sergeant Jan Murray, in Janus, a spin-off of Phoenix.

Other television credits include the television series Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left, Chances, The Secret Life of Us, Horace & Tina and The Saddle Club; and the mini-series The Dirtwater Dynasty, Come In Spinner and Simone de Beauvoir's Babies.

Her film appearances included roles in Oscar and Lucinda (1997) and The Interview (1998).

In 2008, McDonnell played the leading role of Detective Inspector Gina Sturrock in the feature film Four of a Kind, a film on she was also the Associate Producer.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Type 1988 Belinda Auditioning Girl Feature film 1992 The Distant Home Senior Nursing Sister TV movie 1993 Gross Misconduct Miriam McMahon Feature film 1993 Mr Electric Short film 1997 Oscar and Lucinda Miss Malcolm Feature film 1998 The Interview Solicitor Feature film 2007 The King Graham's Mum TV movie 2008 Four of a Kind Detective Inspector Gina Sturrock Feature film (also Associate Producer) 2014 All in Her Stride Herself Video (also Co-producer)

Television Year Title Role Type 1987 Sons and Daughters Sherry Devine TV series, 2 episodes 1988 The Dirtwater Dynasty Christine Candy TV miniseries, 2 episodes 1998 Captain James Cook Mary Burnett TV miniseries, 1 episode 1990 Come In Spinner Ursula Cronin TV miniseries, 4 episodes 1991 Rafferty’s Rules Bernadine Nelson TV series, 1 episode 1991 Chances Phillipa Taylor TV series, 61 episodes 1992 Phoenix Kelly TV series, 1 episode 1992 Acropolis Now Whitney TV series, 1 episode 1994 Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left Jady 2 TV series, 6 episodes 1995 Halifax f.p. Gillian Moffatt TV series, 1 episode 1994–95 Janus Detective Sergeant Jan Murray TV series, 13 episodes 1996 Naked: Stories of Men Joan TV series, 1 episode 1997 Water Rats Stella Morgan TV series, 1 episode 1997 Blue Heelers Deanna Delbridge TV series, 2 episodes 1997 State Coroner Vicky Bennett TV series, 1 episode 1997 Simone de Beauvoir's Babies Dianne TV miniseries, 4 episodes 2001 The Secret Life of Us Kelly's Boss TV series, 6 episodes 2001 Horace & Tina Miss Blood TV series, 5 episodes 2002–03 Stingers Dr Holt / Dr Scarff TV series, 2 episodes 2008 Bed of Roses Robyn TV series, 2 episodes 2008–09 The Saddle Club Dr. Judith 'Judy' Barker TV series, season 3, 3 episodes

Theatre Year Title Role Type 1984 Holidaymakers Sonya NIDA Theatre, Sydney 1984 Three French Farces: Legacy Lisette NIDA Theatre, Sydney 1984 Richard III Buckingham NIDA Theatre, Sydney 1985 A Dream Play NIDA Parade Theatre, Sydney 1985 Chamber Music Circus Style Performer NIDA Theatre, Sydney 1985 The Greeks Play 1 The War NIDA Parade Theatre, Sydney 1985 Once in a Lifetime Circus Style Performer NIDA Parade Theatre, Sydney 1986 Hamlet Phillip Street Theatre, Sydney 1987 Emerald City The New England Theatre Company 1988 Cowgirls and Indians NIDA Parade Theatre, Sydney 1990 Operation Holy Mountain Q Theatre, Penrith 1990 The Government Investigator Q Theatre, Penrith 1995 Aftershocks Elaine / Marg / Julie Fairfax Studio with MTC 1997 Jungfrau Dr Eve Blakemore Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne with Playbox Theatre Company

Personal life and death

McDonnell died on 15 March 2013, aged 49, in Melbourne, after a year-long battle with pancreatic cancer.