Deborra-Lee Furness
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Deborra-Lee Furness

Deborra-Lee Furness, AO (born 30 November 1955) is an Australian actress, director, and producer who began her career after studying at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. She rose to fame in 1988 with her award-winning performance in the film Shame, for which she received best actress awards from the Film Critics Circle of Australia and the Seattle International Film Festival. Her subsequent film credits include Angel Baby (1995), Jindabyne (2006), and Force of Nature: The Dry 2 (2024), and she has also appeared in numerous television productions, such as the series Correlli (1995), where she met her former husband, Hugh Jackman. Beyond her work in the performing arts, Furness is a dedicated child advocate and humanitarian, having founded National Adoption Awareness Week in 2008 and the advocacy organization Adopt Change in Australia to improve adoption laws and streamline international adoptions; she is also a World Vision ambassador and co-founder of the organization Hopeland. For her extensive service to the performing arts and her advocacy for children, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2022. She and Hugh Jackman were married from 1996 until 2025 and are the adoptive parents of two children.

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