Toni Collette
☼ Born on 1 December 1972, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Biography
Toni Collette is an Academy Award-nominated Australian actress, best known for her roles in The Sixth Sense (1999) and Little Miss Sunshine (2006).
Collette was born Toni Collett (she later added an "e") on November 1, 1972, in Blacktown, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. She is the first of three children of Judith (Cook), a customer service representative, and Bob Collett, a truck driver. From age six, she was brought up in suburban Sydney. At the age of eleven, she showed her phenomenal acting skills when she faked appendicitis out of boredom and longing for attention; her act was so convincing that doctors had to remove her appendix, even though the test showed nothing was wrong with it. At 16, she left school and enrolled in the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA). At that time, she was a struggling actress, supporting herself by delivering pizzas. After 18 months of studies, she left NIDA for her feature film debut as "Wendy Robinson", opposite Russell Crowe and Anthony Hopkins, in The Efficiency Expert (1991), and earned herself a nomination for Best Supporting Actress from the Australian Film Institute. Collette made her stage debut with the Sydney Theatre Company, as "Sonya" in Anton Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya", a performance that won her a critic's circle award as Best Newcomer. She also appeared in stage productions at the Belvoir Street Theatre, under directorship of Geoffrey Rush. In 1994, she won the Australian Best Actress in a Lead Role for her work in Murie
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l's Wedding (1994), for which she had to gain 40 pounds in seven weeks. In 1995, Toni Collette came to Hollywood with a supporting role in The Pallbearer (1996), then had a string of supporting roles. Her first lead as "Diana Spencer", an Australian woman who shares the name and birthday of Princess Diana, in the comedy, Diana & Me (1997), was obscured by the real Diana's death, which practically occurred at the same time when the movie was released. Her breakthrough came with the role as "Lynn Sear" in The Sixth Sense (1999), for which she quite rightly won an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Her latest memorable role as "Sheryl", a beaten-down but loving mother, in Little Miss Sunshine (2006), is also a fine ensemble work with Abigail Breslin, Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Paul Dano, and Alan Arkin. Since 2003, Toni Collette has been married to musician Dave Galafassi, with whom she recorded her singing and songwriting debut album, titled "Beautiful Awkward Pictures", in 2006. She co-owns an independent production company in Australia, and also continues her music career as a singer. Toni resides with her husband in Sydney, Australia, and owns a second home in Ireland.
In the role of actor
Juror #2 (04/11/2024)
A recovering alcoholic called to juror duty realizes that he may be responsible for the crime being tried in Juror #2. Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult) is a journalist and recovering alcoholic, whose wife Allison Crewson (Zoey Deutch) is in the final trimester of a high-risk pregnancy. Justin is called for jury duty in the trial […]
Nightmare Alley (15/12/2021)
A drifter joins a carnival and becomes a skilled mentalist in Nightmare Alley. On the run from his past, Stan Carlisle (Bradley Cooper) comes across a travelling carnival and is given work by its proprietor Clem Hoately (Willem Dafoe). Working as part of a psychic act of Zeena (Toni Collette) and Pete Krumbein (David Strathairn), […]
Knives Out (27/11/2019)
A famed private investigator looks into the mysterious death of a mystery writer in Knives Out. The morning after his 85th birthday, famed mystery writer Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is found dead of an apparent suicide. Following the funeral, police Lieutenant Elliott (LaKeith Stanfield) and Trooper Wagner (Noah Segan) are joined by private investigator Benoit […]
Velvet Buzzsaw (03/02/2019)
A high end Los Angeles art gallery exhibits works of art that turn out to be haunted by a vengeful spirit in Velvet Buzzsaw. Rhodora Haze (Rene Russo) is a former punk rocker, who now runs one of the most high end art galleries in Los Angeles, with her always respecting the opinion of art critic […]
Hereditary (08/06/2018)
A family dealing with grief unravels shocking secrets about their history in Hereditary. Annie Graham (Toni Collette) is an artist living with her husband Steve (Gabriel Byrne) and children Peter (Alex Wolff) and Charlie (Milly Shapiro). Following the death of her estranged mother, Annie becomes overwhelmed by grief, which is worsened by further family tragedy. After […]
Krampus (09/12/2015)
A family is tormented by the dark shadow of St. Nicolas in Krampus. Tom (Adam Scott) and Sarah (Toni Collette) have to put up with another stressful Christmas with relatives Howard (David Koechner), Linda (Allison Tolman) and Aunt Dorothy (Conchata Ferrell). The family bickering is enough for Tom and Sarah’s son Max (Emjay Anthony) to give up […]
Fright Night (2011) (30/08/2011)
Fright Night is the latest in a long line of 1980s horror film to receive a remake. I was able to check out the original (on the big screen) at the Toronto Underground Cinema a little over a month ago and I couldn’t help but compare the two, as I was watching the film. I can […]