Natasha Wanganeen facts for kids

Natasha Wanganeen was born on June 20, 1984. She is an Aboriginal Australian actress. She became famous for her main role in the movie Rabbit-Proof Fence when she was just 15 years old. She has also acted in many TV shows.

In 2022, she helped write and produce her first short film, Bunker: The Last Fleet. This movie is a sci-fi story about an alien invasion in Australia. Natasha also plays the main character in it.

Early Life and Background

Natasha Wanganeen was born in Point Pearce, South Australia. When she was five years old, her family moved to Port Adelaide. She is a proud woman from several Indigenous Australian groups. These include the Ngarrindjeri, Narungga, Kaurna, and Noongar peoples.

Acting Career

Natasha Wanganeen has had many important roles in movies and on television.

Early Roles

One of her first big roles was in the 2002 film Rabbit-Proof Fence. She played a dormitory boss when she was only fifteen. She also appeared in the TV movie Jessica in 2004.

Recent Films

In 2017, Natasha starred in the thriller movie Cargo. In this film, she played a character who fights zombies. That same year, she acted in the play The Secret River during the Adelaide Festival. She had also been in the TV series of the same name in 2015.

She played Mary in the film A Second Chance: Rivals!, which came out in 2019. In the horror film Dark Place, she played a ghoul. In 2020, she was a government official in the sci-fi movie 2067.

Bunker: The Last Fleet

Natasha co-wrote and co-produced the short film Bunker: The Last Fleet. This movie was inspired by Afrofuturism, which is a cultural movement. It was first shown at the St Kilda Film Festival in June 2022.

The film is about an Aboriginal warrior named Tjarra, played by Natasha. The story takes place in Australia 37 years in the future. It was filmed entirely in the South Australian desert. This movie is special because it is one of the first Aboriginal sci-fi films.

Limbo

In 2023, Natasha appeared in the mystery film Limbo. This movie was shown at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival.

Writing and Producing

Natasha is also a writer and producer. In June 2020, she started writing a script for her own film called Battle of the Ancestors. This movie is set 60,000 years ago. It is based on Aboriginal Australian mythology, including Dreamtime stories.

She is getting help from Screen Australia and the South Australian Film Corporation for this project. She hopes to see her film made soon.

Advocacy and Activism

Natasha Wanganeen believes it is important to see more diverse faces on Australian screens. In 2018, she said that there are "not enough black faces on our screens." She was happy that Cargo showed Aboriginal people living "free and strong on the land."

In 2020, Natasha helped organize a Black Lives Matter protest in Adelaide. This protest focused on racism and unfair treatment against Indigenous Australians. It also highlighted the high number of Indigenous deaths in custody.

Personal Life

As of 2017, Natasha Wanganeen lives in Port Adelaide. She is related to famous Australian rules footballer Gavin Wanganeen. The actor and playwright Trevor Jamieson is also her cousin.

Filmography

Films

Television

Theatre

Awards

• 2004 – AFI Young Actor's Award, for Jessica