Leverne McDonnell

Who was Leverne McDonnell?

Leverne Ann McDonnell was an Australian actress.

She spent three years as a member of "Energy Connection", a youth dance theatre company in Adelaide, South Australia, until she was admitted to the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney. She graduated from NIDA in 1985.

In 1992, McDonnell played the role of Kelly in the 1992 ABC police drama series Phoenix—a role for which she was nominated for an AFI Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Television Drama. She played a different role, Detective Sergeant Jan Murray, in Janus, a spin-off of Phoenix. Other television credits include the television series Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left, The Secret Life of Us, Horace & Tina and The Saddle Club; and the mini-series The Dirtwater Dynasty, Come In Spinner and Simone de Beauvoir's Babies. Her film appearances included roles in Oscar and Lucinda and The Interview.

In 2008, McDonnell played the leading role of Detective Inspector Gina Sturrock in the feature film Four of a Kind, a film which she was also the Associate Producer on.

McDonnell died on 15 March 2013, aged 49, after a year-long battle with cancer.