Louise Siversen

Louise Siversen was born in Melbourne; Victoria, Australia on May 25th 1960 and has had roles in nearly every Australian drama series there is, but is no stranger to theatre and radio either. As an "excruciatingly shy" child, she was sent to drama and dance classes by her parents to help her mix with other children more easily. It was there she first developed a taste for performing and went on to join St Martins Youth Theatre, appearing in many productions whilst still a child. Louise then studied law for a while at university due to her Father's wishes, but decided to pursue acting after attending a careers day which changed her mind about her future. It was then Louise decided to definitely become an actress. Prior to this Louise also had a modelling career in the early 1980s and was trained in classical ballet and jazz dance. She was still at drama school in Australia when she began work a few days a week on "Prisoner". Finally she worked her way up from a non-speaking extra to a fully fledged character; Lou Kelly, who made a remarkable impact on the series and was one of the longest serving actresses on the show. Louise married her husband Theo, a Persian carpet importer in 1983 and has also studied drama and theatre acting in New York with the Uta Hagen School. Her previous theatre experience includes her one woman self devised piece called "Coming To My Senses" for Playbox, "Art and Soul" for The Melbourne Theatre Company which opened in November 2000, "Dark" , also for the MTC and numerous radio plays by up and coming Australian writers. Louise has worked extensively for the Melbourne Theatre Company and La Mama in Melbourne and Zootango, Tasmania as well as training at The Australian College of Entertainers and The National Theatre Company. She has been in numerous films, including David Swann's debut feature "Crackers", but has played minor roles in many others, including a church goer in the Meryl Streep film "A Cry in The Dark ". Her roles in the current affairs series "Backberner" and drama "Janus" won her nominations for Logie awards and she also appeared in the series "The Games ", which was a satirical look at the Olympic Games in Sydney. Louise worked a lot for children's TV companies during the 90's and is the voice of numerous television and radio adverts, promoting everything from skin creams to cars! She is also in the process of writing a screen play and a TV series, directed a friend in a play for the Melbourne fringe festival in October 2003 and has now completed her successful 3 year run on the ABC show "Backberner" where she was praised for dishing the dirt on the week's events (plus her ever changing hairstyles ;-) When not acting, Louise teaches drama at the Victorian College of Arts, writes, enjoys reading, travelling, fashion, having a laugh with friends, good wines, being pampered and practising yoga. She is also very into alternative therapies; massage, aromatherapy, kinesiology and is a qualified flower essence therapist. In May 2004 she will be appearing in "The Memory of Water" at the Melbourne Theatre Company and has just finished studying drama for a few months in New York. Louise lives in Melbourne with Theo and is in her 21st year of marriage, but hopes to work in England one day as she admires the industry here. Her official website by Donna Ward was launched in July 2000.