Rachael Maza facts for kids

Rachael Zoa Maza is a talented actress and theatre director from Australia. She is known for her work in movies and TV shows, and for leading the Ilbijerri Theatre Company. Rachael is an Indigenous Australian woman with Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal Australian heritage, and also Dutch heritage.

Early Life and Learning

Rachael Zoa Maza's father, Bob Maza, was also an actor. She learned acting at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.

Her Career in Acting and Directing

Working on Stage

Rachael Maza has acted in many plays since 1992. She often worked with a theatre group called Company B and director Wesley Enoch in Sydney. Some of her main roles were in plays like Conversations with the Dead and The Dreamers. She also performed in The Sapphires, which was a popular play.

She has also worked with The Black Arm Band, a group that performs Indigenous music and stories. Rachael directed a play called Show Us Your Tiddas! by Lou Bennett.

Since 2008, Rachael has been the artistic director of the Ilbijerri Theatre Company. This company tells stories from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. In 2024, she helped direct a musical about the Warumpi Band, a famous Indigenous band.

Acting in TV and Movies

Rachael first appeared on Australian TV in 1994 in the show Heartland. She also worked as a TV presenter for shows like Message Stick on ABC Television and ICAM on SBS, which focused on Indigenous Australians.

She has acted in many other TV series, including Wentworth, Winners and Losers, SeaChange, and Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries.

Rachael has also been in films like Cosi (1996), Lilian's Story (1996), and Radiance (1998).

Other Important Work

In September 2024, Rachael Maza was chosen to be a co-chair of First Nations Arts. This is a new part of the Australia Council that supports Indigenous arts.

Awards and Special Recognition

In 2020, Rachael Maza was given a special award called Member of the Order of Australia. This award recognized her important work in the performing arts as an artistic director.

Awards She Has Won

• In 2002, she won a Green Room Awards for Best Female Actor in a Leading Role for her work in the play Holy Day.
• She also won a Sydney Theatre Critics Circle Award for Best Performance in the play Radiance.

Her Family Life

Rachael Maza has a son named Ariel with actor Tom Long.