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Deborah Jane Mailman (born 14 July 1972) is an Australian actress. Mailman is best known for her characters: MP Alexandra "Alex" Irving on the Australian political drama series Total Control, Kelly Lewis on the Australian drama series The Secret Life of Us, Cherie Butterfield in the Australian comedy-drama series Offspring, Lorraine in the Australian drama series Redfern Now, Poppy Birkbeck in the miniseries Boy Swallows Universe and Aunt Linda in the Australian dystopian science fiction series Cleverman.
Mailman was the first Indigenous Australian actress to win the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, and has gone on to win seven more both in television and film.Note: The awards are now known as the AACTA Awards. She first gained recognition in the 1998 film Radiance for which she won her first AFI award. Her other well known films are Rabbit-Proof Fence, Bran Nue Dae, Oddball, The Sapphires, Paper Planes, Blinky Bill the Movie, H Is for Happiness, and The Book of Revelation.
In 1998, Mailman made her film debut as Nona in the Australian independent film Radiance (based on the play), for which she won the AFI Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. She had a role in The Secret Life of Us, for which she was twice awarded Most Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series at the Logies (2002 and 2004).
Mailman was part of the Leah Purcell documentary Black Chicks Talking (2001), where she discussed her Aboriginal heritage. In 2006, she took part in a four-part television documentary series with Cathy Freeman called Going Bush, where the pair set off on a journey from Broome to Arnhem Land spending time with Indigenous communities along the way.
She appeared in the Play School TV series and was part of The Actors Company for the Sydney Theatre Company (2006–2007). She was a presenter on the ABC Television show Message Stick.
She appeared in the film Rabbit-Proof Fence. She played a lead role in the 2010 musical film Bran Nue Dae. In the play The Sapphires and the subsequent film of the same name she played the role of singer Gail McCrae.
She was awarded an Inside Film Award for her short film Ralph, which starred Madeleine Madden. From 2010 to 2014, she played the role of Cherie Butterfield in Network Ten's Offspring drama series.
In 2012, she starred in Redfern Now, an indigenous mini-series for the ABC.
On 29 January 2015, Mailman co-hosted the AACTA Awards with Cate Blanchett.
Mailman started as Maureen Prescott in Paper Planes, released 15 January 2015. She then appeared as Mayor Lake in Oddball and the voice of Blinky Bill's mother in Blinky Bill the Movie.
On 18 February 2015, Mailman joined the Sydney Opera House Trust.
In 2019, Mailman was appointed to a three-year term as a member of the Screen Australia Board.
In 2019, she starred as politician Alex Irving in the series Total Control, produced by Blackfella Films and screened on the ABC.
In 2024, Mailman guest starred in the Bluey episode "The Sign", voicing one of the two Sheep dog looking for a house with a swimming pool. On 7 August 2024, Mailman was named as part of the cast for the Disney+ series Last Days of the Space Age. On 18 August of that year, Mailman won the Logie for Best Lead Actress in a drama at the 2024 Logie Awards.
Mailman stars in Warwick Thornton's 2025 film Wolfram, in which she plays a mother longing for the return of her stolen children. The film premieres at the Adelaide Film Festival on 26 October 2025.
| 1998 | Radiance | Nona | |
| 2000 | The Third Note | Tina | Short film |
| The Monkey's Mask | Lou | ||
| 2002 | Rabbit-Proof Fence | Mavis | |
| 2006 | The Book of Revelation | Julie | |
| 2009 | Bran Nue Dae | Roxanne | |
| 2012 | Mental | Sandra | |
| The Sapphires | Gail McCrae | ||
| Mabo | Bonita | ||
| 2013 | The Darkside | Pamela | |
| 2014 | Paper Planes | Maureen | |
| 2015 | Oddball | Mayor Lake | Also narrator |
| Lorraine | TV movie | ||
| Blinky Bill the Movie | Blinky's mum | Voice | |
| 2016 | A Few Less Men | Police Officer | |
| 2017 | Three Summers | Pam | |
| Djali | Gracie Phillips | Short film, directed by Hunter Page-Lochard | |
| 2019 | H Is for Happiness | Penelope Benson | Directed by John Sheedy |
| 2020 | 2067 | Regina | |
| Combat Wombat | Maggie Diggins | Voice | |
| 2023 | |||
| 2023 | The New Boy | Sister Mum | Feature film directed by Warwick Thornton |
| 2024 | Runt | Bernadette Box | Directed by John Sheedy |
| 2025 | Kangaroo | Rosie | |
| 2025 | Wolfram | Pansy | Feature film directed by Warwick Thornton |
| 1998–2002 | Play School | Herself | Presenter | |
| 2001–05 | The Secret Life of Us | Kelly Lewis / Narrator | Main cast (86 episodes) | |
| 2005 | The Alice | Sonia | Episodes 1 & 2 | |
| 2006 | Two Twisted | Jones | TV series | |
| 2006 | The Chaser's War on Everything | Herself | Episode 9 | |
| 2010–17 | Offspring | Cherie Butterfield | Main cast (69 episodes) | |
| 2012 | Redfern Now | Lorraine | Episode 3: "Raymond" Episode 7: "Where the Heart Is" | |
| 2014–16 | Black Comedy | Guest Cast | 9 episodes | |
| 2014–21 | Jack Irish | Cynthia | Dead Point movie and 7 episodes | |
| 2016 | Tomorrow When the War Began | Kath Mackenzie | 6 episodes | |
| 2016–17 | Cleverman | Aunty Linda | 12 episodes | |
| 2016 | Wolf Creek | Bernadette O'Dell | Episode 1.3: "Salt Lake" Episode 1.4: "Opalville" | |
| Please Like Me | Siobhan | Episode 4.6: "Souvlaki" | ||
| 2017–23 | Little J & Big Cuz | Big Cuz | Animated series | |
| 2017 | Get Krack!n | Prime Minister Burney | Episode 1.7 | |
| 2018 | Mystery Road | Kerry Thompson | Mini-series | |
| Bite Club | Anna Morton | 8 episodes | ||
| 2019–24 | Total Control | Alex Irving | Main cast | |
| 2023 | Deborah Walker | Voice role | ||
| 2024 | Boy Swallows Universe | Poppy Birkbeck | 3 episodes | |
| Bluey | Sheepdog 1 | Voice role, Episode: "The Sign" | ||
| Last Days of the Space Age | Elieen Wilberforce | 8 episodes | ||
| 2025 | Love Divided By Eleven | Susan | Post production |
| 1998 | Best Leading Movie Actress | Radiance | |
| 2003 | Best Leading TV Actress | The Secret Life of Us | |
| 2010 | Best Supporting Movie Actress | Bran Nue Dae | |
| Best Supporting TV Actress | Offspring | ||
| 2013 | Best Leading Movie Actress | The Sapphires | |
| Best Supporting Movie Actress | Mental | ||
| 2015 | Paper Planes | ||
| Best Leading TV Actress | |||
| 2019 | Best Lead Actress in a TV Drama | Total Control | |
| 2020 | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | H Is for Happiness | |
| 2024 | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | The New Boy | |
| 2026 | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Kangaroo |
| 2010 | Most Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Offspring | |
| 2011 | |||
| 2012 | Redfern Now | ||
| Offspring | |||
| Most Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Television Movie or Miniseries | Mabo |
| 2010 | Best Supporting Actress | Bran Nue Dae | |
| 2013 | Best Actress | The Sapphires |
| 2003 | Best Female Actor in a Play | The Seven Stages of Grieving | |
| 2005 | The Sapphires | ||
| 2007 | Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play | The Lost Echo |
| 2002 | Most Outstanding Actress | The Secret Life of Us | |
| 2003 | |||
| 2004 | |||
| 2013 | Mabo | ||
| Most Popular Actress | |||
| 2016 | Most Outstanding Actress | ||
| 2017 | Most Outstanding Supporting Actress | Wolf Creek | |
| Most Popular Actress | Cleverman / Jack Irish / Offspring / Wolf Creek | ||
| 2018 | Cleverman | ||
| 2019 | Bite Club / Mystery Road | ||
| 2024 | Best Lead Actress in a Drama | Total Control |
In 2012, Mailman was a recipient of the Queensland Greats Awards.
In 2017, Mailman won the Chauvel Award, which acknowledges significant contribution to the Australian screen industry.
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