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Madeleine Sami

Madeleine Nalini Sami is a New Zealand actress, director, comedian and musician.[1] She started her acting career in theatre before moving to television, where she created, co-wrote, and starred in Super City. She co-wrote, co-directed, and starred in the 2018 film The Breaker Upperers, along with Jackie van Beek, which was a New Zealand box office success. Sami co-hosted The Great Kiwi Bake Off.

Early life

Sami is one of four children. Her parents are Christine Southee, who has Irish ancestry, and Naren Sami, a Fijian-Indian who settled in New Zealand.[2] Her parents separated when she was twelve.[2] She attended Onehunga High School.[3]

Career

Madeleine Sami performing at the King's Arms, Auckland, 2007

Sami rose to prominence starring in Toa Fraser's play Bare, , directed by Michael Robinson, [4] winning best actress at the 1999 Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards.[2] She then was part of Fraser's next play, No. 2., which won Perrier Comedy Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.[2]

In 2011, Sami created, co-wrote alongside Tom Sainsbury, and starred in her own comedy series, Super City, which was directed by Taika Waititi.[5] Sami played five different characters in the show and won Best Performance by an Actress at the 2011 AFTA awards.[6][7] She later co-hosted The Great Kiwi Bake Off and starred in the television series Golden Boy and The Bad Seed.[8][9] She made her TV directorial debut when she directed an episode of the second season of Funny Girls, eventually directing eleven episodes of the series.[10]

Sami is a part of The Sami Sisters, a musical group consisting of herself and her two sisters. They released an album Happy Heartbreak in 2011.[11]

She co-wrote, co-directed, and starred in the 2018 film The Breaker Upperers, along with Jackie van Beek.[12] The film received positive reviews and was a box office hit in New Zealand, becoming the best selling New Zealand film of 2018 and is one of the top 20 grossing New Zealand films ever.[13][14][15] The pair will reunite to direct the Netflix film Hope, starring Aubrey Plaza.[16] Sami also appeared in the 2019 film, Come to Daddy, directed by Ant Timpson.[17]

On 17 May 2021, Sami appeared on The Masked Singer NZ as the "Monarch (Butterfly)", getting eliminated in the fourth episode. The same year she was on the panel show Patriot Brains.

Sami starred in the 2023 Australian television series Deadloch. On July 9, 2024, Deadloch would be renewed for a second season and Sami would reprise the role of Eddie Redcliffe.[18]

Personal life

In January 2015, Sami married Pip Brown, known as the singer-songwriter Ladyhawke.[19] Brown gave birth to their daughter on 20 October 2017.[20] Sami and Brown announced the end of the relationship in 2023.[21]

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

References

  1. ^ Crombie, Nathan (7 January 2015). "Ladyhawke coy on hometown wedding". NZ Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d "Madeleine Sami, chameleon at the crossroads". NZ Herald. 24 September 2001. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  3. ^ Husband, Dale (8 September 2018). "Madeleine Sami: No holding her back". E-Tangata. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  4. ^ https://tvseans.az/en/person/8044/toa-freyzer
  5. ^ "ThreeNow | Search". Archived from the original on 31 October 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  6. ^ [1] Archived 2011-11-13 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "Sami's 'Super City' satirises the stereotypes of Auckland". Otago Daily Times Online News. 15 February 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  8. ^ "Madeleine Sami and Hayley Sproull back for more Great Kiwi Bake Off". Stuff. 23 October 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  9. ^ Fenwick, George (3 April 2019). "The Bad Seed: Madeleine Sami on how the crime show was a 'relief' from The Breaker Upperers". NZ Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  10. ^ "Boots and all: Madeleine Sami steps behind the camera on Funny Girls". www.metromag.co.nz. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  11. ^ "Musical Siblings - The Sami Sisters". RNZ. 2 January 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  12. ^ The Breaker Upperers, retrieved 28 November 2018
  13. ^ "Disney dominated the New Zealand box office in 2018". Stuff. 23 January 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  14. ^ "The Breaker Upperers (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  15. ^ "The Breaker Upperers grosses more than $1 million at Kiwi box office in first two weeks". New Zealand Herald.
  16. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony; Fleming Jr., Mike (15 August 2019). "Aubrey Plaza Feature Comedy 'Hope' Set At Netflix With Jackie van Beek & Madeleine Sami Directing". Deadline. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  17. ^ "Madeleine Sami on the attractions of acting in Come to Daddy". www.flicks.co.nz. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  18. ^ Whittock, Jesse; Clarke, Stewart (8 July 2024). "Madeleine Sami & Kate Box Return For 'Deadloch' Season 2 On Prime Video". Deadline. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  19. ^ Tapaleao, Vaimoana (9 January 2015). "Ladyhawke and Madeleine Sami to wed". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  20. ^ "A Babyhawke lands: Comedian Madeleine Sami and rocker Ladyhawke welcome a baby". Stuff. 27 October 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  21. ^ Mahon-Heap, Jonny (8 June 2023). "Madeleine Sami says she has 'consciously uncoupleth' from wife Ladyhawke". Stuff.
  22. ^ "The New Zealand Post Season of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee". atc.co.nz. Retrieved 17 December 2020.

External links