Australian Leading Ladies Trivia Quiz

Answer: 'Bringing up Baby'

May Robson was 75 when she was nominated for her Academy Award, and holds the record for the earliest born actress to be nominated (she was born in 1858), and also holds the record for being the first Australian nominated for any Academy Award. The unusual costar was a leopard named Baby given as a gift to May's character (the aunt of Katharine Hepburn's character, Susan). She persuades Cary Grant's character, David, to help her raise Baby. There follows a series of adventures leading to them falling in love.

May had previously acted with Cary Grant in 'Alice in Wonderland' in 1933 (she was the Queen of Hearts and he was the Mock Turtle), and played the role of Katharine's aunt in 'Bringing up Baby'. Her last role was in 1942, in 'Joan of Paris'. She passed away later that year.

Answer: 'A Passage to India'

Judy Davis trained at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney, and was a student with Mel Gibson. Her first major role was in 'My Brilliant Career', based on the book by Miles Franklin. 'A Passage to India' was her first major international role, and she was nominated for an Academy Award, losing to Sally Field for 'Places in the Heart' (this is the ceremony where Sally Field made her famous 'you really like me' acceptance speech. Judy Davis continues to have a successful career, with her most recent role as of 2016 being in 'The Dressmaker'.

'A Passage to India' was set in India in the 1920s. Judy's character, Adela attends a picnic hosted by an Indian Doctor, named Aziz, with the aim of visiting some famous caves. Adela's future mother-in-law and chaperone becomes unwell and leaves Adela and Aziz to explore the caves with a guide. Aziz stops to smoke a cigarette and Adela disappears, to reappear shortly after running down the hill, blood stained and dishevelled. Aziz is charged with attempted rape, but at trial, Adela changes her mind and Aziz is exonerated.

Both 'Howards End' and 'Room with a View' by EM Forster were made into movies with Emma Thompson winning a Best Actress Award for her role in 'Howards End', while 'Room with a View' won Academy Awards for Art and Costumes.

Please note that this is the correct spelling of 'Howards End'. There is no apostrophe.

Answer: 'Moulin Rouge!'

'Moulin Rouge!' was a Baz Luhrmann film which was nominated for 8 Academy Awards (including Nicole's Best Picture nomination) and received two Awards for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design. Catherine Martin, Luhrmann's wife, was the first Australian to win 4 Academy Awards.

'Moulin Rouge!' is the story of Satine, who becomes involved in a love triangle with the impoverished writer, Christian, played by Ewan McGregor. However, her manager has promised that she will meet with the Duke of Monroth (Richard Roxburgh). Sadly, Satine develops tuberculosis, and succumbs the night that her company launches their new show.

Nicole was famously married to the actor Tom Cruise for eleven years, adopting two children with him. She was quoted in 2015 as saying that their marriage break up was the best thing to happen to her career, causing her to focus on her acting roles. She co-starred with him in both 'Days of Thunder' and 'Eyes Wide Shut'. She received her second Academy Award Best Actress nomination for 'The Hours'. She has subsequently filmed 'Australia' also with Baz Lurhrmann.

Answer: She was the first person to win an award for portraying an Academy Award winner

Katharine Hepburn won 4 Best Actress Academy Awards, a record number for any actor or actress. Cate Blanchett is the first person to win an Academy Award for portraying another Academy Award winning actor or actress. She is the first female to win two nominations for portraying the same character twice (Elizabeth I in 'Elizabeth' and 'Elizabeth: the Golden Age'). She is the eleventh nominee to receive two nominations in the same year, and is the first Australian to receive two Academy Acting awards.

Cate has also featured on Australian stamps, both as herself and as Elizabeth I. She and her husband were co-CEO's and Artistic Directors of the Sydney Theatre Company from 2008-2013.

Answer: 'Flirting'

Naomi was invited to audition for 'Flirting' when she met the director through her friend Nicole Kidman. She moved to America in the 1990s but found it difficult to get work. Amongst her roles during this time was as the voice of a mouse in 'Babe: Pig in the Big City'. Her breakthrough role came in 2001 in 'Mulholland Drive'. She went on to receive a Best Actress Academy Award nomination for her role in '21 Grams'. Her father was a road manager and sound engineer for Pink Floyd, and his laugh was featured in two songs on 'Dark Side of the Moon'.

'Flirting' stars Thandie Newton as a Ugandan-Kenyan schoolgirl, 'Thandiwe', who falls in love with 'Danny' (Noah Taylor). Naomi Watts plays 'Janet' who befriends Thandiwe. The film explores set in 1965, explores racial tensions and the social conventions of the time. Ultimately Danny and Thandiwe are separated, and she returns to Uganda, regularly writing to Danny to let him know she is safe.

'Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging' was a British coming of age film, while 'Waiting for Alibrandi' was set in Sydney. 'Sirens' was sent in the 1920's, loosely based on an episode in the life of the Australian artist, Norman Lindsay.

Answer: 'Six Feet Under'

Rachel played the role of Brenda Chenoweth in 'Six Feet Under' receiving two Emmy nominations for her performance. 'Six Feet Under' was a family drama, set in the family business, a funeral parlour, each show beginning with a death which set the tone or them for each episode.

Rachel continued her career on the big screen, winning a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her portrayal of Hilary in the movie 'Hilary and Jackie'. This was the story of Hilary (a flautist) and Jacqueline du Pre (a cellist) featuring their tumultuous relationship. Rachel then went on to star in the series 'Brothers and Sisters', winning nominations for her performance in that series.

'The Sopranos' was also set around a family business, albeit a crime family headed by Tony Soprano (played by James Gandolfini).

'True Blood' was a quirky show based on the character of Sookie Stackhouse and her unusual friends in the town of Bon Temps. Sookie had the ability of telepathy, other main characters were vampires, werewolves, faeries and shapeshifters.

'Tales from the Crypt' was a horror anthology series which ran from 1989-1996.

Answer: The Sixth Sense

Toni Collette has played a mother in a number of her major films. She was nominated for an Oscar for her role in 'The Sixth Sense', was nominated for a BAFTA Supporting Actress Award for her role in 'About a Boy' and was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild award for 'Little Miss Sunshine'.

'The Sixth Sense' featured the relationship between a mother, her son and his therapist, played by Bruce Willis. Cole played by Haley Joel Osment can hear and see dead people, and Malcolm (Bruce Willis) does his best to help him by getting him to communicate with the ghosts he sees and resolving their issues. Over time, Cole does this and becomes more settled at school. It is only at the end of the movie that we realise Cole has also been helping Malcolm to resolve his issues.

For her role in 'Muriel's Wedding' she gained 18 kg in seven weeks. She has since gone on to star in the TV Series, 'The United States of Tara'. She was offered, but turned down, the lead role in 'Bridget Jones' Diary' due to previous work commitments.

'The Hours' starred fellow Australian actress, Nicole Kidman.

Answer: War of the Worlds

Steven Spielberg offered her the role of Mary Ann Davis in 'War of the Worlds' after seeing her performance in 'Lord of the Rings'. As Miranda was pregnant at the time, she declined. However, the script was rewritten to accommodate her. Miranda Otto has starred in a variety of Australian films and dramas, including playing Lindy Chamberlain in a mini-series based on Chamberlain's autobiography 'Through my Eyes'. Lindy Chamberlain's daughter was taken and killed by dingoes at Ayers Rock (Uluru) in 1980. Lindy was also portrayed by Meryl Streep in the movie, 'Evil Angels' also known as 'A Cry in the Dark'.

'The War of the Worlds' was a book written by HG Wells which was made into a radio play in 1938 (many people tuning in thought that the events were real). It tells the story of the invasion of Earth by Martians, and features the family of Tom Cruise, a divorced father of two. The film shows his struggles in rescuing his children from the invasion (which he successfully does). The original book set the events in Surrey (there is a Tripod statue in the town of Woking, honouring the HG Wells book).

Miranda Otto also featured in 'The Starter Wife', 'Doing Time for Patsy Kline' and the fifth series of 'Homeland'.

Answer: Sirens

'Sirens' was released in 1994, as one of Hugh Grant's break through roles. It was Portia de Rossi's debut role, and she went on to act in 'Scream 2', 'Girl' and 'Cursed'. Her first big role in the US was as Nelle Porter in 'Ally McBeal'. She had to work hard to lose her Australian accent to be able to win this and her other roles.

'Sirens' tells the story of a weekend in the Australian Blue Mountains in the 1930s. Hugh Grant's character, Tony, is a newly arrived (from England) Anglican priest who, with his wife Estella, visits the artist Norman Lindsay to discuss the artist's plan to display a potentially blasphemous painting of a crucifix. There are a series of sensual encounters, including one where Estella comes across Lindsay's models swimming in a pond, naked. After the weekend is over, Estella and Tony have reconsidered many of their views on sexuality and their relationship has changed.

Her 'Nip/Tuck' co-star, Julian McMahon, was formerly married to Danni Minogue, and is the son of a former Australian Prime Minister.
Portia de Rossi married Ellen DeGeneres in 2008, and legally changed her surname to DeGeneres in 2010. She has also written an autobiography about her eating disorders.

Answer: Alice in Wonderland

To win the role of Alice, Mia had to audition several times, involving three flights in as many weeks between Australia and London. Shortly after this she was successfully cast as Jane in 'Jane Eyre' and has had lead roles in both 'The Kids are all Right' and 'Madame Bovary'.

'Alice in Wonderland' is based on the books by Lewis Carroll. It features the adventures of Alice Knightley as a 19 year old who can no longer remember her earlier adventures. She is approached to help restore the White Queen to her throne, as she has been usurped by the Jabberwocky. After a series of adventures and a final battle, she is successful in her mission.

At the age of 9, Mia began taking ballet lessons, and worked seriously at it for several years. She had to quit ballet at the age of 14 due to a bone spur on her heel, and it is at this time that her acting career began to develop, winning a number of small roles on Australian television.

Canberra, Mia's hometown, is the capital of Australia.