Sophie Lee

Sophie Lee (born 7 August 1968) is an Australian film, stage and television actress and author.

Career Lee worked as a model early in her career, both in Australia and Japan appearing in print and on TV. Her first feature film was Raw Silk in 1988.

She first rose to fame in 1990 for hosting The Bugs Bunny Show on Australian TV. The Nine Network series, which had previously not been hosted, featured Bugs Bunny and other Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons, plus occasional other material, such as an interview between Sophie and Kylie Minogue. She was cast by executive producer David Lyle out of 150 candidates. In December that year the group issued their sole album, Love In, which Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, found was "full of syncopated beats and breezy melodies wrapped around tunes".

In 1992, she also hosted the TV series Sex. Lee built on this in the media, speaking out on feminism, sexism and the need for sex education in the AIDS era.

Lee has acted in a number of iconic films, including the Australian comedies Muriel's Wedding, Bootmen and The Castle as well as cult films such as He Died with a Felafel in His Hand and Titsiana Booberini. She is a patron of "Big Screen" at the National Film and Sound Archive. For her performance in the 1997 film The Castle, Lee was nominated for the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Lee has appeared in a number of stage productions, including Mr Kolpert with the Sydney Theatre Company and the title role in The Virgin Mim. From 2008, she has hosted "Natgeo Presents with Sophie Lee" on the National Geographic channel. She is also a commentator on the series 20 to 1.

In 2007, Lee branched into writing, releasing a book in 2007 titled "Alice in La La Land" through Random House publishing. The book is inspired by her time spent in Hollywood. Also in 2007, she became a columnist for "Sunday Magazine". In 2009 Sophie released her first children's novel titled "Edie Amelia and the Monkey Shoe Mystery", a story for 7+ year-olds, published by Pan Macmillan. The second title in the series is "Edie Amelia and The Runcible River Fever".

Personal life Born in Newcastle, New South Wales, her family did not have a TV in the house as her father, a philosophy professor at the University of Newcastle, preferred more intellectual pursuits.

In 2002 she married Anthony Freedman and stated that she would be converting to Judaism. The couple have a daughter, Edie, and two sons, Tom and Jack. Edie is named after Andy Warhol muse Edie Sedgwick.

In popular culture Australian band TISM's 1993 song "Get Thee to a Nunnery" was specifically about Sophie Lee, mentioning her by name.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Type 1988 Raw Silk Josie TV movie 1994 Muriel's Wedding Tania Degano Feature film 1994 Halifax f.p. Corri Neale TV film series, episode 1: "Acts of Betrayal" 1997 The Castle Tracey Petropoulous (née Kerrigan) Feature film 1997 The Hostages Kate TV movie 1997 Good Guys Bad Guys: Only The Good Die Young Amy TV pilot movie 1997 Titsiana Booberini Francine Pickles Short film 1999 Holy Smoke Yvonne Feature film 2000 Bootmen Linda Feature film 2001 He Died with a Felafel in His Hand Nina Feature film 2002 Tanya and Floyd Mickey Falstaff TV pilot movie 2002 Mimi Catherine Short film 2006 BlackJack: Dead Memory Denise Kennedy TV film series, 1 episode 2006 BlackJack: At The Gates Denise Kennedy TV film series, 1 episode 2006 BlackJack: Ghosts Denise Kennedy TV film series, 1 episode 2012 Mental Jean Feature film

Television Title Year Role Type 1990-91 The Bugs Bunny Show Host TV series 1991-92 The Flying Doctors Penny Wellings TV series, season 8-9, 49 episodes 1991 Video Smash Hits Herself (with Freaked Out Flower Children band) TV series, 1 episode 1991 The Main Event Herself TV series, 1 episode 1991 Sex Host TV special 1992 In Sydney Today Guest TV series, 1 episode 1992 The Midday Show Guest TV series, 1 episode 1992 Sex Host TV series 1992 The Midday Show Guest TV series, 1 episode 1992 The Afternoon Show Guest TV series, 1 episode 1992 Vidiot Herself TV series, 1 episode 1993 Typhon's People Maia Tertius TV miniseries, 2 episodes 1993 R.F.D.S. Penny Wellings TV series, 13 episodes 1995 Good Morning Australia Herself (with Sarah Chadwick) TV series, 1 episode 1997 Good Morning Australia Guest TV series, 1 episode 1997 Roy and HG Guest TV series, 1 episode 1997 Raw FM Patty TV series, 1 episode 1998 Small Tales & True Jacqui TV series, 1 episode 2000 Good News Week Master of Ceremonies TV series, 1 episode 2000 The Big Schmooze Guest TV series, 1 episode 2000 Something in the Air Jennifer Leveson TV series, 4 episodes 2004 Stingers Veronica Taylor TV series, 3 episodes 2004 The Chaser Decides Herself TV series, 1 episode 2004 The Australian Film Institute Awards Herself TV special 2007-09 20 to One Herself TV series, 5 episodes 2008 Natgeo Presents with Sophie Lee Presenter TV series, 7 episodes 2009 Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation Herself TV series, 1 episode 2013 Dance Academy Gabrielle TV series, 4 episodes 2014 Puberty Blues Mrs. Travers TV series, 2 episodes 2016 The Morning Show Guest TV series, 1 episode

Theatre Title Year Role Venue / Company 1992 Love Letters Melissa Gardner Sydney Opera House 1994 Tanya and Kit La Mama, Napier Street Theatre, Melbourne 1994 The Borgia Apartment Napier Street Theatre, Melbourne 1995 Summer of the Seventeenth Doll Bubba Ryan Playhouse Melbourne, Monash University, Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre, Queens Park Theatre Geraldton, Centennial Theatre Kalgoorlie, His Majesty's Theatre, Perth, Glen Street Theatre, Canberra Theatre, Ford Theatre Geelong, The Capital - Bendigo's Performing Arts Centre, Gold Coast Arts Centre 1995 The Judgement of Helen Theatre Works, Melbourne 1996 Gary's House Sue-Ann Q Theatre Penrith, Malthouse Theatre, Gold Coast Arts Centre, Hobart 1997 A Midsummer Night's Dream Adaptor Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne 1998 Miracles Sparkes / Louise Malthouse Theatre 2002 Mr Kolpert Sarah Wharf Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company 2002 The Virgin Mim Mim Wharf Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company 2005 Love Letters Melissa Gardner Parade Theatre