ElizabethMcRae
- Actor
Veteran actor Elizabeth McRae, NZOM, is probably best-known for her long-running role as Shortland Street receptionist Marjorie Brasch. Alongside her work as a theatre actor and voice coach, her screen work includes leading roles in the Return Journey episode of anthology series About Face, and Nancy Brunning's short film Journey to Ihipa.
Screenography
Biography
Wellington born Elizabeth McRae began her long theatre career in the mid 50s, while studying for a Bachelor of Arts at Victoria University. In 1968 she was a founding member of Auckland's Mercury Theatre.
McRae's first screen credit dates to 1973, to her role in Rudall and Ramai Hayward’s The Doll’s House, an adaptation of the short story by Katherine Mansfield. McRae also helped out behind the scenes. She remembers it as a slow production — by the time it finished, one of the child actors "had grown second teeth, and she had little teeth when she started!" The film would be the last to involve Rudall Hayward, a Kiwi film pioneer who passed away in May 1974.
Awards
2006 Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit
For services to theatre
“There’s a lot of respect for Mum around here ... people feel very fondly towards her because she’s a lot of fun, but she’s also a very caring person.”