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Rhoda Roberts

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Rhoda Roberts
AO
Born
Rhoda Ann Roberts

1959 (age 64–65)
Canterbury, New South Wales, Australia
Occupations
  • Actress
  • director
  • arts executive
Years active1986–present
SpouseSteven Field
Children3

Rhoda Ann Roberts AO (born 1959) is an Australian actress, director and arts executive.

Early life and education

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Born in Canterbury Hospital in Sydney in 1959,[1] Bundjalung woman Roberts grew up and completed Year 10 in Lismore, then moved back to Sydney, where she qualified as a nurse at Canterbury Hospital in 1979.[2][1]

Career

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Roberts co-starred with Rachael Maza and Lydia Miller in Belvoir Street Theatre's 1993 production of Louis Nowra's play Radiance.[3]

In 1989, she presented the SBS Television program First In Line[4] along with Michael Johnson.[5] Roberts was employed as presenter of Vox Populi, an SBS Television program, in 1990,[6] becoming the first Indigenous Australian to present a prime time current affairs program.[7]

In 1995 she founded the Festival of Dreaming and was its director until 2009.[8]

Roberts has been Head of Indigenous Programming at the Sydney Opera House since 2012.[2][9]

Recognition

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Roberts was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours for "distinguished service to the performing arts through a range of leadership and advocacy roles in the development, promotion and presentation of contemporary Indigenous culture".[10]

She was honoured with one of the 2017 Centenary Sue Nattrass Awards presented at the 18th Helpmann Awards.[11][12]

In September 2021, Roberts was named as the inaugural elder-in-residence at SBS Television. The new position, in which the office-holder is intended to be a "guide and counsel" on Indigenous content, had an initial term of one year, with the possibility of a two-year extension.[13]

Penny Tweedie's image of Roberts is held by the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra.[2]

Personal life

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Was married to actor Bill Hunter from 1993 to 1999. Roberts married Steven Field, and they have three children.[14]

References

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  1. ^ a b "The power of creation". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 December 2008. Archived from the original on 20 June 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "Rhoda Roberts, b. 1960". National Portrait Gallery people. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  3. ^ "Radiance". AusStage. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  4. ^ Baker, Candida (25 January 2019). "'I want to teach our knowledge. I want to bridge the gap'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  5. ^ Ginsburg, Faye (1994). "Embedded Aesthetics: Creating a Discursive Space for Indigenous Media". Cultural Anthropology. 9 (3): 365–382. ISSN 0886-7356.
  6. ^ Ien Ang, Gay Hawkins, Lamia Dabboussy (2008). The SBS Story: The Challenge of Cultural Diversity. University of New South Wales Press. pp. 52–54. ISBN 9780868408392. Retrieved 28 January 2014.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "Sundays on ABC TV - Meet the Panellists:Rhoda Roberts". ABC Television. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2003. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  8. ^ "Rhoda Roberts AO". Live Performance Australia. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  9. ^ "No Aboriginal Disadvantage". Sydney Opera House. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  10. ^ "Ms Rhoda Ann Roberts". It's An Honour. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  11. ^ "2017 Centennary Sue Nattrass Award | Helpmann Awards". 26 April 2018. Archived from the original on 26 April 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  12. ^ Macklin, Helen (17 July 2018). "Bluesfest congratulates Boomerang curator Rhoda Roberts on outstanding achievement award". The Music Network. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  13. ^ Slatter, Sean (20 September 2021). "Rhoda Roberts named inaugural SBS Elder in Residence". IF Magazine. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  14. ^ Pendergast, Kirra (2 February 2016). "People to know – Rhoda Roberts". Common Ground North Coast. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
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