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SimoneKessell

Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāi Te Rangi, Pākehā
  • Actor
Simone-Kessell-Key-Image.jpg

Simone Kessell debuted as part-Māori teen Hannah Tumai in 1992 soap Homeward Bound. After time in the lands of Hercules and Xena, the Aucklander's next big role was as a TV journalist on Cover Story. Later came hit movie Stickmen, and a starring role in colonial-era series Greenstone, as a missionary-educated Māori woman. Kessell has since worked largely in the United States (San Andreas, TV's Of Kings and Prophets) and Australia (biker film Outlaws). In 2022 she featured in high-profile productions at each end of the globe: Urewera raids movie Muru, and miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi. Season two of hit show Yellowjackets followed.   

Screenography

2022 As: Maria Film
Our Flag Means Death
2022 - 2023 As: Blackbeard's mother Series
Obi-Wan Kenobi
2022 As: Gina Series
Yellowjackets
2021 - 2026 As: Lottie (as an adult) Series
Reckoning (miniseries)
2020 As: Paige Serrato Series

Awards

2018 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (AACTA)
Nominated for Best Supporting Actress: for Outlaws

“...Chris [Bailey] and I went into a room with a video camera. We were in there for about two hours — we just worked it and worked it — and I knew I’d got it when I made Chris cry.”

Simone Kessell, on the final audition for her starring role in 1999 TV series Greenstone

Related images

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Simone Kessell plays Karen in Stickmen.
Image courtesy of the NZ Film Commission