Preview

Leah Purcell Biography

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
399 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Leah Purcell Biography
Leah Purcell ~
Leah Purcell truly does have an amazing story to tell, rising from the troubles of her childhood and family to become one of Australia’s most acclaimed indigenous actress’s, songwriters and even filmmakers.

Leah Purcell was born on the 14th of August 1970, in the small rural town of Murgon in Queensland. She was born to an indigenous mother and a white father, who through most of her life took no notice of her and didn’t publicly acknowledge her as his daughter. Leah Purcell had a very tough childhood, as if her own father not acknowledging her wasn’t enough she often had many nights where she would watch her mother drag herself through the door after spending the night at the pub.
Leah also didn’t have the luxuries that many other children had such as brand new clothing instead she had to wear thrift shop second hand clothing as well as hand- me - downs.

Despite the harsh realities of her home life, Leah never let this stop her in her ambitions for she always maintained a proactive and positive outlook. Leah filled her time making use of her fathers boxing training, to box with his students and her home life never stopped her Acting ambitions either and certainly at 18 years old becoming a mother you would surely think things would become a challenge for leah but they just weren’t Leah kept going forward with her acting pursuits and at age 20 after leaving her violent boyfriend and relocating to Brisbane she soon landed a debut singing position in a band that was playing in the Aboriginal musical Bran Nue Dae.

Following on from Bran Nue Dae, Leah wen on to star in Tv shows “Police Rescue” as well as “Fallen Angels” later she was casted in a major role in the Aussie film Lantana where she acted alongside an industry heavyweight Geoffrey Rush.

Roughly arount the same time in amidst of her rapidly accelrating career Leah was working on her own little masterpiece which was a one woman show called “Box The Pony” which focused on the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    From early 1900’s keep focus post World War II there were many indigenous singers but none of them made much the huge impact on Australia and the world like Jessica Mauboy has. At the age of 14 Jessica won the Telstra road to Tamworth competition ta the 2004 Tamworth country music festival in Tamworth New South Wales. As the first winner of the completion. Jessica then travel to Sydney to preform and second a recording deal with Sony music Australia. Then she released a country inspired album Cyprus liber…

    • 453 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Set largely in the public swimming pool that Aboriginal people are prohibited from using, Koorine desperately wants to enter the ‘million dollar mermaid’ swimming contest and can because she ‘looks white’ and hasn’t revealed her heritage. Her mother (Tessa Leahy) scoffs at Korrine’s dreams telling her she’s more a ‘two bob mermaid’ and that ‘swimmin…that’s for white fellas’. Talk about tough mother love! Is it any wonder Korrine aches to be accepted by the white community when she has such limitations placed upon her because of her aboriginal identity.…

    • 647 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Georgia all shaped Leah into a dependent, naive, and self-berating child whose only desire was…

    • 1465 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    I am taking the life story of my mother Tammy Lynn Gallant to analyze in a sociological perspective. Tammy was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada. She was born at the Grace Maternity Hospital, known today as the IWK Children’s Hospital, on November 13th 1978. Born to parents also known as my grandparents Kathleen Kharma, and Mike Kharma. Tammy’s mother was born and raised on McNut’s Island off the shores of Shelburne. While her father was born in Lebanon, and immigrated to Canada where he met and married Kathleen. Therefore Tammy is Canadian, and half Lebanese. Tammy has lived and grown up in Halifax Nova Scotia, with her 2 other siblings, brother George and sister Rhonda. Tammy had lived next door to a guy named Eric Gallant, who she started…

    • 1592 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel, Leah is the second oldest of the Price daughters, she is 14-years-old along with her twin sister, Adah. Leah is one of the more unique characters. Leah is very intelligent, kind-hearted, and understanding. She’s also the only tomboy of all the sisters. Leah is also a “daddy’s girl”. In so many words, she worships her father. “He stood his ground, my father, tall as Goliath and pure of heart as David.” (pg. 48) She’s very attached to her father. “I know he must find me tiresome, yet still I like spending time with my father very much more than I like doing anything else.” (pg. 43) While Leah’s other siblings and even her own mother don’t like the fact that they have to move to Africa for, Leah embraces the move and totally supports her…

    • 437 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Born in May of 1958, in the town of Killeen, Texas, she was born to be a writer. She began her collegiate studies at Auburn University. In 1981, she received her bachelor's degree from Colgate University. Following this, she received a master's degree from the University of Iowa’s Writers’ Workshop. After this, she furthered her pedigree by earning her second master's degree in linguistics which also came from the University of Iowa. In 1998, her work was an alternate for the PEN/Hemingway Award, and also won a Whiting Award and the Nelson. The novel, The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, won Book of the Year in 2006, which is also what this paper is about. The content mentioned in paragraph one clearly illustrates why she wrote the book, and how it influenced her life. She not only made her name solidified in the field of writing, but also she wrote the book for the right reasons. The story told by the pastor influenced her although it did not come full circle until she went to a writing workshop and saw those who were disabled. She then began to think that she could make the novel work. She started writing the book and finished the first chapter rapidly, and then finished at a slower pace. Thus it is clear that through the events in paragraph one she learned more about down syndrome, following this thus influenced her life in a positive…

    • 1172 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Ethel Payne

    • 3055 Words
    • 13 Pages

    Her father died from a disease contracted while handling soiled laundry on the trains when she was 12, leaving their family without financial means because her mother didn’t work.…

    • 3055 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    White Trash Primer Essay

    • 1424 Words
    • 6 Pages

    girl’s childhood that seemed like an average child's life growing up in a rural area. This girl grew…

    • 1424 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Themes In The Sapphires

    • 1299 Words
    • 6 Pages

    A sense of belonging, family and traditions are all important aspects of life. The importance of these themes, particularly to Aboriginal Australians, is emphasised through Wayne Blair’s The Sapphires. The film provides an opportunity for the viewers to connect with these themes in a true and entertaining story of how four young Australian Aboriginal women and an Irish expatriate that bond together through culture and adversity in their journey from country NSW to war torn Vietnam. Belonging is explored through Julie and Kay’s experiences throughout the film. The extended family, as well as Dave’s lack of family, emphasises the importance of family throughout the film. The different Aboriginal cultures explored throughout the film, highlight…

    • 1299 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Swallow the Air

    • 486 Words
    • 2 Pages

    She brings up the concept of Aboriginality and what it means to belong and how to multiculturally. We see this concept…

    • 486 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Cultural Identity Bangarra

    • 1357 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The story of Mathinna explores her personal journey and highlights some of the key political, cultural and social interactions that occurred at the time of colonisation, which is significant as it gives audiences an insight into the life of an Aboriginal girl during the time of colonisation. The intent of the work is to demonstrate the social disruptions that occurred as British settlers relocated the Aboriginal people from their tribal lands, intervened in their cultural practices and challenged their traditional…

    • 1357 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hannah's Gift Analysis

    • 930 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The story of Hannah’s Gift will always stick in my mind. Maria Housden has sparked my interest in and willingness to help a child like Hannah and a family like the Martells. Many of the lessons Maria learned from her daughter were ones I needed to hear…

    • 930 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dancer Essay

    • 1111 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The focus of the short story “Dancer” by Vickie Sears is the positive progression of the main character, Clarissa, a foster child who gains a sense of her cultural identity as a Native. In the beginning of the story, she is introduced as a child with next to nothing and is portrayed to have psychopathic traits. Towards the end of the story, there are positive changes in her character. The main factor that led to Clarissa’s progression was her developing a strong interest in the powwow that led her to gain a sense of being a part of a family, knowledge about the community, and a better understanding of her history and culture.…

    • 1111 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    China Coin

    • 556 Words
    • 3 Pages

    However, Leah begins to understand her mother more through her experiences. In coming to terms with her father’s death during the trip up the Yangtze River, she decides to end the conflict with her mother and rebuild the relationship. ‘It’s over.’ Leach took Joan’s hand and squeezed. ‘We’ve been through a lot, eh?’ (p.82)…

    • 556 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Halfbreed Analysis

    • 949 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Throughout Maria Campbell’s autobiography Halfbreed, Campbell depicted most of her life from the beginning of her childhood to the time where she grew up and becomes more concern with the Aboriginal community by educating herself with Aboriginal history. But throughout Campbell’s life journey, she is struggling to survive and to overcome her past and find ways to build a better future. Maria Campbell’s childhood was relatively happy until the death of her mother, and everything went downhill after. Medicine has played an important role on the ups and downs of her life. She falls into drug addiction with hard drugs in order to keep her happy, helping her sleep, and forgetting about her problems. But on the other hand, drugs also helped her realized…

    • 949 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays