Shantae Barnes-Cowan

Shantae Barnes-Cowan (born ) is an Aboriginal Australian actress. She starred in the TV series Total Control, Operation Buffalo (2020), and Firebite (2021-2022), and the feature films Wyrmwood: Apocalypse (2021), and Sweet As (2022). Among other accolades, she was nominated for the 2024 AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for Sweet As.

Early life and education Shantae Barnes-Cowan was born in and was placed in a foster family when she was a year old in Whyalla, South Australia. She is very close to her foster parents, the Cowans. She is an Adnyamathanha woman, and has three sisters and seven brothers.

She did not study drama at school, but always admired Deborah Mailman and Jessica Mauboy. She completed year 12 at Samaritan College, Whyalla, in 2021.

Career In her screen debut, Barnes-Cowan played Jess Clarke in season 1 of the award-winning Australian political drama series Total Control in 2019. She played Peggy Adelaide casting director Angela Heesom, who auditioned Barnes-Cowan for the role, said later that she had told her that day that she was going to be an actor and was a "star in the making", who had all the natural instinct. She described her "as an Indigenous version of Julia Roberts".

In 2021, she completed filming the horror film Wyrmwood Apocalypse, playing the character Maxi in her first feature film.

She played the lead role Shanika in the AMC+ international TV miniseries Firebite.

She played the lead role as troubled teen Murra in Jub Clerc's directorial feature debut,

She moved to Adelaide to study beauty therapy at TAFE, while also auditioning for new roles, including internationally. The series premiered on 21 September 2025 on ABC TV, with all episodes available on iview. Anne Rutherford of Australian Book Review called Barnes-Cowan a "standout of the season", saying that she "carries a natural gravitas that makes her compelling to watch".

Other activities As a teenager, Barnes-Cowan was an active sportsperson and community leader. She played country and regional netball, as well as regional and state level basketball, representing South Australia. 2018: Winner, Whyalla NAIDOC Week award for Female Sportsperson of the Year 2021: Nominated, Channel 7 Young Achiever Award in the Aboriginal Achievement category 2022: Nominated as one of Adelaide's 26 most inspiring women by the Adelaide Advertiser 2022: Nominated, Woman of the Year Awards, Rising Star category (SkyCity Adelaide, The Advertiser, and Sunday Mail) 2023: Winner, Outstanding Achievement of a Child or Young Person category in the South Australian Child Protection Awards 2024: Nominated, AACTA Award for Best Lead Actress in Film, for Sweet As

Filmography Films

TV