Tammin Pamela Sursok

Tammin Pamela Sursok (born 19 August 1983 When she was six, her family immigrated to Australia. Early on, Sursok was involved with the Sydney Youth Musical Theatre where she pursued her interests in acting, music, and dance. She was cast in the role of Dani Sutherland, the rebellious eldest daughter of the Sutherland family who took over the running of the Caravan Park. The actress considered herself lucky to get the part, calling the experience "incredible". Sursok's performance earned her a nomination for the Logie Award for Most Popular Actress, losing out to McLeod's Daughters star Lisa Chappell.

2004–2006: Whatever Will Be Sursok left Home and Away in 2004 so that she could pursue a music career, and acting opportunities, in the United States. In 2004, Sursok acknowledged that she was signed to Sony BMG Music Entertainment, confirming reports that recording for her debut studio album had begun.

Sursok's solo album, Whatever Will Be, was released on 22 May 2005, under Sony Music Entertainment with songwriters Savan Kotecha, David Kreuger, Marion Raven, Steve Booker; and producers John Shanks, Per Mangusson and David Kreuger. Whatever Will Be made its debut on the ARIA Albums Chart at number thirteen. During its second week on the charts, it remained at its peak position of #13; however, during its third week, it had a significant drop by 23 spots, landing the album at No. 36. During its fourth week, it fell further landing at No. 43. It ended its run on 20 June, falling completely off the charts and has not charted since. Upon the song's release, it quickly shot to No. 1 on the Australian Top 100 Radio Airplay Chart, becoming the highest charting debut single in years. "Whatever Will Be" was the 98th best-selling single of 2005 in Australia.

In 2007, after a successful audition, Sursok became the third actress to portray Colleen Carlton on the American soap opera television series, The Young and the Restless. Her debut was quickly met with criticism from a number of The Young and the Restless viewers. Despite the negativity, she received comparable positive viewer feedback. "The fans have been really great." In preparation for the role, Sursok tried to catch up on Colleen's history. "I watched the last six months of episodes," she said. "My boyfriend used to date a girl who was obsessed with Y&R, so he knew everything about it and brought me up to speed, as well." Sursok earned a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for her portrayal of Colleen the following year. In an interview with Soap Opera Digest in October 2009, Sursok said it was difficult to pursue outside projects and appear on The Young and the Restless as well. Her departure was a mutual decision between Sursok and the showrunners. Sursok recorded over three tracks for the film's soundtrack, which debuted at No. 44 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The soundtrack, recorded in 2008, was released on 3 February 2009, with Sursok appearing on seven songs on the album, including two solos. The soundtrack peaked at number 44 on the Billboard 200. Sursok also appears in the 2009 feature films Crossing Over and Albino Farm. In 2010, Sursok was cast in ABC Family's adaptation of the Sara Shepard teen mystery book series, Pretty Little Liars. Sursok was cast as Jenna Marshall, a teenage girl who is left blind after a prank gone wrong. The series premiered in June that same year to over 2.47 million viewers. In June 2013, Sursok announced that she would continue her role as Jenna through her pregnancy.

She played Sarah Corso in the indie film Driving By Braille, directed by Kristina Lloyd and written by Richard H. Moon, released on DVD in May 2013. The story tells of a young woman who relives childhood trauma when she senses her boyfriend is about to propose, and who must sort through the crippling fear and doubt that is holding her back before her past destroys the couple's future.

In 2014, after several reports of Sursok indicating she was returning to music, she released a collaboration with singer Joe Brooks, covering "Say Something" made famous by A Great Big World featuring Christina Aguilera.

In January 2022, Sursok joined the cast of Australian soap opera Neighbours as fashion designer and businesswoman Montana Marcel. Her first appearance was on 13 April 2022.

Personal life On 24 August 2011, Sursok married her boyfriend, actor, producer, and director Sean McEwen, in Florence, Italy. Sursok signed an exclusive deal with the Australian magazine Woman's Day (Australian magazine)|Woman's Day to publish the couple's wedding photos The couple have two daughters, born in October 2013 and January 2019. Sursok also has three dogs.

On 16 March 2016, Sursok posted a photo of herself as an adolescent on Instagram and revealed that she had been bullied because of her weight. The post was part of her #ThisIsBeautiful hashtag campaign which aims to empower people and change the message around beauty standards. The accompanying post read: For all of you being bullied out there. This is me. Growing up I was overweight and spent most of my adolescence being bullied because of it. I definitely wasn't the popular girl, but it didn't define me. You can be ANYTHING you want to be in your life. It's your choice which path you take. Don't let other people's words give you your self-worth. You are beautiful. I was beautiful. It just took me a long time to love myself. #thisisbeautiful

In 2019, Sursok became an American citizen; however, during the COVID-19 pandemic, she—along with McEwen and their daughters—returned to Australia after being offered a movie role based in Brisbane in 2021, quarantined, and stated in an interview in March 2022 on The Morning Show that she had "accidentally" moved back to Australia.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 2006 Aquamarine Marjorie 2009 Crossing Over Rosalyn 2009 Albino Farm Stacey 2010 Flicka 2 Carrie McLaughlin Direct-to-video film 2011 Husk Natalie 2011 Driving by Braille Sarah Corso Direct-to-video film 2013 10 Rules for Sleeping Around Kate Oliver 2014 Cam2Cam Allie Westbrook 2019 Braking for Whales Star Walker Also writer and producer 2023 Blood, Sweat and Cheer Renee Streaming film

Television Year Title Role Notes 2000–2004 Home and Away Dani Sutherland Regular role (seasons 13–17); 297 episodes 2007 Rules of Engagement Woman Episode: "Game On" 2007–2009 The Young and the Restless Colleen Carlton Regular role, 165 episodes 2008 In Plain Sight Nicole Episode: Pilot 2009 Spectacular! Courtney Nickelodeon Original Movie 2010–2011 Hannah Montana Siena Recurring role (season 4); 8 episodes 2010–2017 Pretty Little Liars Jenna Marshall Recurring role (seasons 1–5, 7) 2012 Airship Dracula Amelia Television miniseries 2015 Bound & Babysitting Maggie Television film 2016 You May Now Kill the Bride Audrey Television film 2016 Girlfriends of Christmas Past Livvy Beal Television film 2019 My Killer Client Christa Bright Television film 2022 Neighbours Montana Marcel Guest role Web television fictionalized version of herself (7 episodes)

Discography

Albums Title Album details Peak chart positions AUS Spectacular! Released: 3 February 2009 Label: Nick Records Format: CD, digital download 44

Singles + List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name Title Year Peak chart positions Certification Album AUS Whatever Will Be "Whatever Will Be" 2005 13 "It's a Beautiful Thing" 30 "Say Something" 2014 — "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Other appearances + List of non-single guest appearances, showing year released, other artist(s) featured, and album name Title Year Other artist(s) Album "Eye of the Tiger" 2010 Spectacular! Cast Music from Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore

Music videos

Awards Year Group Award Work Result Refs 2001 Logie Award Most Popular New Female Talent Home and Away 2004 Logie Award Most Popular Actress Home and Away 2008 Daytime Emmy Award Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series The Young and the Restless 2013 New York Film Festival Best Actress in a Leading Role 10 Rules for Sleeping Around