Jackie Woodburne

Jackie Woodburne
Jackie Woodburne
	Woodburne in 2022 at the Neighbours Celebration Tour
Born	Jacqueline Ann Woodburne; 5 February 1956 (age 68); Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1980–present
Known for	Neighbours as Susan Kennedy
Notable work	Prisoner as Julie "Chook" Eggbert; The Young Doctors as Maggie Gordon; Sons and Daughters as Patricia Dunne; Cop Shop as Gina Rossi; The Flying Doctors as Elaine Dermody;

Jacqueline Anne Woodburne (born 5 February 1956)^[1] is a Northern Irish-born Australian actress, who is notable for her roles in TV soap operas.

Since 1994, Woodburne has played teacher Susan Kennedy in Neighbours. She first became notable for her role in cult serial Prisoner as Julie "Chook" Egbert and also has featured in roles in soap operas including The Young Doctors, Sons and Daughters, Cop Shop and The Flying Doctors.

Early life

Woodburne was born in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland.^[2] Her father was a policeman in the Royal Ulster Constabulary. She has two older siblings: John and Stephen. At the age of three, she emigrated with her family to Australia. The family assumed that her father would be able to join the Australian police on arrival, but, owing to various rules and regulations, he was unable to do so.^[3] Woodburne grew up in Frankston, Victoria and attended Forest Hill Primary School, Monterey Secondary College, and Karingal High School.^[4]

Career

Alongside future Neighbours castmate Janet Andrewartha, Woodburne attended the National Theatre Drama School and graduated in 1980.^[4] She went onto play Maggie Gordon in The Young Doctors.^[5] In 1981, she appeared in the serial drama The Patchwork Hero.^[6] She also played Josie in the ABC television miniseries Outbreak of Love, which was adapted from Martin Boyd's novel of the same name.^[7] Woodburne starred in the ABC Film 1915 as Dianne, alongside Sigrid Thornton, Scott McGregor and Scott Burgess.^[8] Woodburne said the fighting is not the only focus of the miniseries, as it shows how the lives of the women were also affected by World War I.^[8] In 1983, Woodburne made the first of three appearances in A Country Practice.^[9]

In 1990, she auditioned for the role of Pippa Fletcher in TV soap Home and Away, the producers looking for a recast after original portrayer Vanessa Downing left the series, but she lost out the role to Debra Lawrance.^[10]

Woodburne is best known for two long-running soap opera roles. The first was Julie "Chook" Egbert in Prisoner, a role she played from 1985 to 1986. A poem read by Julie in episode 582 of Prisoner was penned by Woodburne herself. This was followed by the role of Susan Kennedy in Neighbours, a role she has played since 1994.^[11]

Woodburne previously played the sister of Alan Fletcher's character in Cop Shop in 1983, before they were cast as husband and wife Karl and Susan in Neighbours.^[12]

Other soap opera roles include a brief appearance in the very first episode of Sons and Daughters (playing the iconic Pat the Rat character - Patricia Dunne in flashbacks), several episodes of A Country Practice, and a larger role in The Young Doctors where she played Nurse Maggie Gordon from 1980 to 1981.^[12]

In 2005, she was nominated for the Best Female Performance in a Soap Opera award at the international Rose d'Or television festival, but was beaten by fellow British actress Lesley-Anne Down.

In 2014 she became the lead in Night Terrace, a narrative comedy audio series in which she told TVTonight she plays "basically a female Doctor Who".^[13] The series was produced by Splendid Chaps Productions, with the first season released at the end of 2014. It won the Convenors' Award for Excellence in the 2014 Aurealis Awards.^[14] A second season was released in February 2016, also starring Woodburne. Both seasons have been licensed for broadcast, with the first commencing on BBC Radio 4 Extra on Sunday 21 April 2019 as part of The 7th Dimension programming block.^[15]

Woodburne appeared in a documentary special celebrating Neighbours' 30th anniversary titled Neighbours 30th: The Stars Reunite, which aired in Australia and the UK in March 2015.^[16]^[17]

Filmography

Acting roles
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1979	Skyways	Marie Newman	Episode: "Tahitian Roulette"
1980–1981	The Young Doctors	Nurse Maggie Gordon	Main cast
1981	The Patchwork Hero	Marie	Main cast
1981	Outbreak of Love	Josie Von Flugel	Miniseries
1982	Sons and Daughters	Young Patricia Dunne	Recurring role
1982	Sara Dane	Elizabeth	Miniseries
1982	1915	Dianna Bendetto	Miniseries
1980	Cop Shop	Gina Rossi	Episodes: "#1.273" and "#1.274"
1983	A Country Practice	Deborah Koonig	Episodes: "A Woman's Place: Part 1 and 2"
1983	Cop Shop	Christie Green	Recurring role
1984	Carson's Law	Fiona Hastings	Recurring role
1984	A Country Practice	Sarah Biggs	Episodes: "Close to the Bone: Part 1 and 2"
1985	Special Squad	Sharon	Episode: "Mates"
1985	The Fast Lane	Ruth	Episode: "The Below Average Samaritan"
1985	The New Adventures of Blinky Bill	Sue	Episode: "Computer Capers"
1985–1986	Prisoner	Julie "Chook" Egbert	Main cast
1987	The Flying Doctors	Elaine Dermody	Episode: "Keeping Up Appearances"
1991	A Country Practice	Kate Bartlett	Episode: "Flying High: Part 1"
1992–1993	The Flood: Who Will Save Our Children?	Lavonda (uncredited)	Television film
1994	Law of the Land	Meg Porter	Episode: "Death Before Dying"
1994–present	Neighbours	Susan Kennedy	Main cast
2003	Ain't Got No Jazz	Prostitute	Short film
2014	Neighbours vs Zombies	Susan Kennedy	Web series
2014–2016	Night Terrace	Anastasia Black / The Queen	Voice; radio drama
2015	Neighbours 30th: The Stars Reunite	Self	TV documentary
2016	Neighbours: Summer Stories	Susan Kennedy	Web series
2017	Neighbours vs Time Travel	Susan Kennedy	Web series