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Shantae Barnes-Cowan
Australian actress From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Shantae Barnes-Cowan (born 2001 or 2002) is an Aboriginal Australian actress. She starred in the TV series Total Control (2019), Operation Buffalo (2020), and Firebite (2021-2022), and the feature films Wyrmwood: Apocalypse (2021), and Sweet As (2022). Among other accolades, she was nominated for the 2024 AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for Sweet As.
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Early life and education
Shantae Barnes-Cowan was born in 2001 or 2002 and was placed in a foster family when she was a year old in Whyalla, South Australia. She is very close to her foster parents, the Cowans. She is an Adnyamathanha woman, and has three sisters and seven brothers.[1]
She did not study drama at school, but always admired Deborah Mailman and Jessica Mauboy.[1] In 2021, while studying Year 12 in high school, 18-year-old Barnes-Cowan worked on film sets across Australia. She credited her foster family for helping her juggle her career and education.[2][3] She completed year 12 at Samaritan College, Whyalla, in 2021.[4]
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Career
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In her screen debut, Barnes-Cowan played Jess Clarke in season 1 of the award-winning Australian political drama series Total Control in 2019.[5][6][7] She played Peggy[7] in Operation Buffalo in May 2020.[8] Adelaide casting director Angela Heesom, who auditioned Barnes-Cowan for the role, said later that she had told her that day that she was going to be an actor and was a "star in the making", who had all the natural instinct. She described her "as an Indigenous version of Julia Roberts".[9]
In 2021, she completed filming the horror film Wyrmwood Apocalypse, playing the character Maxi in her first feature film.[7][10]
She played the lead role Shanika in the AMC+ international TV miniseries Firebite.[7] Firebite, which was filmed in Adelaide,[4] was created by Warwick Thornton and Brendan Fletcher. Shanika is the adoptive daughter of Tyson, played by Rob Collins, and both play vampire-killing "bloodhunters". The series aims to tell the story of the colonisation of Australia from an Indigenous perspective, using vampires as metaphors for smallpox.[11]
She played the lead role as troubled teen Murra in Jub Clerc's directorial feature debut,[7] the coming-of-age film set in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, Sweet As (2022).[2] She had a leading role in Sweet As, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and won the Crystal Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.[1]
In 2023, she completed filming on a short film, The Redemption, an Australian Western filmed in Tamworth, New South Wales.[1] It was directed by Peter Cameron, and premiered in July 2024.[12][13]
She moved to Adelaide to study beauty therapy at TAFE, while also auditioning for new roles, including internationally.[1]
In late 2024, Barnes-Cowan was announced in the cast for a second series of Mystery Road: Origin.[14]
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Other activities
As a teenager, Barnes-Cowan was an active sportsperson and community leader. She played country and regional netball, as well as regional and state level basketball, representing South Australia.[7]
Barnes-Cowan has been South Australian ambassador for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.[7]
Recognition and awards
- 2018: Nominated, Young Sisters Dreaming Award in the Gladys Elphick Awards[7][15]
- 2018: Winner, Whyalla NAIDOC Week award for Female Sportsperson of the Year[16][1]
- 2020: Whyalla Australia Day Young Citizen of the Year[1][17]
- 2021: Nominated, Channel 7 Young Achiever Award in the Aboriginal Achievement category[18]
- 2022: Nominated as one of Adelaide's 26 most inspiring women by the Adelaide Advertiser[19]
- 2022: Nominated, Woman of the Year Awards, Rising Star category (SkyCity Adelaide, The Advertiser, and Sunday Mail)[20]
- 2023: Winner, Outstanding Achievement of a Child or Young Person category in the South Australian Child Protection Awards[21]
- 2024: Nominated, AACTA Award for Best Lead Actress in Film, for Sweet As[22]
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Filmography
Films
TV
References
External links
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