Biography
Kris McQuade was a character actress in her native Australia over her career in film and television. Born in 1952 in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia, McQuade began her acting career when she was just 17 years old, making her debut in an episode of the short-lived Australian TV series "Bellbird" (1966-1967). She toiled away for years in lowbrow "Ozploitation" films with suggestive titles, including "Come Out Fighting" (1973), "The Sex Therapist" (1973), "Alvin Rides Again, and Again! And Again! And Again!" (1974), "The Firm Man" (1975), and "Dick Down Under" (1975), before earning her big break in the critically acclaimed short film "The Love Letters from Teralba Road" (1977). Wide audiences first took notice of McQuade when she starred as Faye Peterson on the popular daytime soap "Skyways" (7 Network, 1979-1981). McQuade enjoyed a banner year in 1982, when she appeared in the surprise hit dramedy "Lonely Hearts" (1982), as well as the teenage delinquent drama "Fighting Back" (1982), for which she won the AACTA Award, basically Australia's version of the Oscar, for Best Supporting Actress. This lead to a number of roles in films that proved to be big successes both in Australia and abroad, including "Goodbye Paradise" (1983), "The Coca-Cola Kid" (1985), and especially Baz Luhrmann's directorial debut, "Strictly Ballroom" (1992). As the nineties unfolded McQuade found herself working a lot more in television, on programs such as "Boys From The Bush" (BBC, 1991-92), "Blue Heelers" (7 Network, 1994-2006), "Wildside" (ABC, 1997-99), and "Grass Roots" (ABC, 2000-03). In the new millennium, McQuade started appearing in films more often, including "Better Than Sex" (2000), "Ned Kelly" (2003), "Preservation" (2003), "December Boys" (2007), and "Subdivision" (2009), while also putting in time on such TV shows as "Stingers" (9 Network, 1998-2004), "Supernova" (BBC Two, 2005-06), "Wentworth" (SoHo, 2013-), and an arc on the hugely popular soap opera "Home and Away" (7 Network, 1988-). McQuade next appeared seen in the sitcom "Rosehaven" (ABC, 2016-), and alongside Martin Freeman in the post-apocalyptic thriller "Cargo" (2017).
