Samantha Strauss

Samantha Strauss is a multi-Logie award winning Australian screenwriter known for the shows Dance Academy,Nine Perfect Strangers and Apple Cider Vinegar.

Samantha Strauss
Born	Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Occupation	Screenwriter
Language	English
Citizenship	Australian
Notable works	Dance Academy, H2O: Just Add Water
Notable awards	Logie Award International Emmy Award nomination

Early life and family

Strauss grew up in Gold Coast, Queensland, and was educated at St Hilda's School, Trinity Lutheran College and Bond University, where she studied Film and Television. She also trained in professional ballet on the Gold Coast, before a fractured back injury forced her to change directions.

Screenwriting career

Samantha Strauss is the co-creator and head writer of the 65-part ABC teen drama series Dance Academy.^[1] In 2011 the series won the Australian Logie for Most Outstanding Children's Drama and was nominated for an International Emmy Award^[2] in the Children and Young People category.

Samantha has been commissioned to write B Model—a feature film produced by Louise Smith and Rachel Griffiths, with Griffiths slated to direct. Based on the novel by Miranda Darling, this project is still in development.

On 22 September 2020, See-Saw Films launched production company Picking Scabs jointly with Strauss.^[3]

She created the 2020 Showcase and Sky Atlantic series The End about three generations of family trying their best to navigate how to live meaningfully and die with dignity. The inspiration for the show came from Strauss's experience watching her grandmother go through life changes after moving into a retirement village she thought she would hate.^[4]

She was a writer on the 2021 Hulu series Nine Perfect Strangers, based on the novel by Australian writer Liane Moriarty.^[5]

Strauss created the Logie award winning 2025 Netflix series Apple Cider Vinegar about the convicted scammer and health influencer Belle Gibson.^[6]

Strauss adapted Liane Moriarty's novel The Last Anniversary for Binge which premiered in 2025.^[7]

Filmography

• Dance Academy (writer, co-creator)
• H₂O: Just Add Water (writer)
• The New Legends of Monkey (writer)
• The Wrong Girl (writer)
• The End (creator, writer)
• Nine Perfect Strangers (writer)
• Apple Cider Vinegar (creator, writer)
• The Last Anniversary (creator, writer)