Leah Purcell (born 1970) is an Indigenous Australian actress, director and writer. She is a Helpmann Award and AACTA Award winner.

Biography

Leah Purcell was born in Murgon, Queensland, and she was the youngest of seven children of Aboriginal and white Australian descent. Her father was a butcher and a boxing trainer. After a difficult adolescence, looking after her sick mother who died while Leah was in her late teens, problems with alcohol and teenage motherhood, Leah left Murgon and moved to Brisbane and became involved with community theatre.

In 1996 she moved to Sydney to become presenter on a music video cable television station, RED Music Channel. This was followed by roles in a place called ABC television series Police Rescue and Fallen Angels. She co-wrote and acted in a play called Box the Pony, which played at Sydney's Belvoir Street Theatre, the Sydney Opera House, the 1999 Edinburgh Festival and in 2000 at the Barbican Theatre in London. She then wrote and directed the documentary Black Chicks Talking, which won a 2002Inside Film award. She appeared in the acclaimed Australian film Lantana and on stage in The Vagina Monologues. She went on to appear in three 2004 films, Somersault, The Proposition and Jindabyne as well as playing the role of Condoleezza Rice in David Hare's play, Stuff Happens in Sydney and Melbourne.

Purcell has joined the cast of Foxtel drama series Wentworth as Rita Connors, a role originally portrayed by Glenda Linscott in Prisoner. It was announced that she was one of three new leading cast members to join the series for its sixth season, alongside Susie Porter and Rarriwuy Hick. She first appeared in the first episode of season six, broadcast on 19 June 2018. Following her appearances in seasons six and seven, it was announced in October 2018, that she would be reprising her role for the eighth season, which is set to premiere in 2020.