Janine Burchett

After landing a role on 1990s crime drama Plainclothes, Janine Burchett decided to pursue acting. The dancer for Limbs Dance Company went on to study at drama school Toi Whakaari. Australian-born — her mother is Kiwi — Burchett later wrote and produced 2004 short film Gabriel, which won multiple awards internationally. Her screen roles include Gertrude Hillary — mother of Edmund — in miniseries Hillary, delusional murderer Jaime Gardner in Shortland Street, and Roman noblewoman Domitia in Spartacus. Burchett also founded Auckland's Shine School of Confidence, which mentors children in speech, communication and acting. 

Janine has it all. Her work on screen has often been in dramas, but she is a terrific comedienne as well. I have directed Janine in many television dramas including Rage and Hillary, and she was superb. I know the word beauty is considered outré, but it is a powerful quality to possess and Janine has poise, grace and glamour in spades. You can't teach that stuff. Danny Mulheron, director of miniseries Hillary and TV movie Rage