Deborra-Lee Furness

Deborra-Lee Furness studied at American Academy of Dramatic Arts and Methodist Ladies' College. The recorded working language is English. Works named in the authority record are Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, Force of Nature: The Dry 2 and Jindabyne. Distinctions recorded are Silver Shell for Best Actress and Officer of the Order of Australia.

Furness was born in Annandale, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, and raised in Melbourne, Victoria. At the age of 18, Furness attended secretarial school to learn shorthand and typing after her mother advised her to have a back-up career if her acting ambitions didn't come to fruition. In 1974-1975 Furness regularly appeared as 'Debbie', an office girl at Channel 12 in the soap opera The Box. The role was minor, often uncredited and typically non-speaking and usually saw Furness in the background in cafe and bar scenes, often in the company of 'Chris - Office Boy' (Chris Hopley). She also appeared - once again as an office girl, this time unnamed - in an episode of Division 4 screened in mid-1975. She then got a job as the assistant to John Sorell, the news director at Channel 9. Despite describing herself as "such a bog secretary", Furness has said she thoroughly enjoyed the urgency, the fast action and the high energy of the newsroom. After working in the newsroom for a year, in 1975 Furness was asked to work on No Man's Land, the station's daytime current affairs program which was produced exclusively by women and hosted by Mickie de Stoop. Furness started working on the show as a researcher before becoming an on-air reporter. After her work at Channel 9, Furness then travelled through Europe for one year. She studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, where she graduated in either 1981 or 1982. She performed on the stage in New York and played Kathleen, the Australian wife of Cole Gioberti (Billy Moses) on the television series Falcon Crest before returning to Australia to continue her acting career.

Furness rose to fame in 1988 when she starred in the movie Shame, for which she won Best Actor awards from the Film Critics Circle of Australia and the Golden Space Needle Award from the Seattle International Film Festival. Other roles included an episode of Halifax f.p. and The Flying Doctors. In 1993, Furness appeared as Chrissy in the television mini-series Stark starring Ben Elton and Jacqueline McKenzie. In 1995, she featured in the film Angel Baby directed by Michael Rymer and starring Jacqueline McKenzie and John Lynch. The film followed the story of two schizophrenic people who met during therapy and fell passionately in love. Also in 1995, she starred in the title role in the television series Correlli, where she met her future husband, Hugh Jackman. From 1995 to 1996, Furness starred in television series Fire alongside Andy Anderson and Wayne Pygram. Furness played the role of Dolores Kennedy. An adoptive mother of two, Furness is known for her work assisting orphans globally and streamlining international adoptions, especially in her native Australia where she is a patron, and one of the creators, of National Adoption Awareness Week. She has addressed the National Press Club of Australia on the subject of adoption laws in Australia. Furness is a patron of the Lighthouse Foundation for displaced children and International Adoption Families for Queensland. She is also a World Vision ambassador and serves on the Advisory Committee for Film Aid International, working with refugees throughout the world.

Furness met actor Hugh Jackman on the set of Australian TV show Correlli in 1995. Their wedding ceremony took place on 11 April 1996 at St. John's in Toorak, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne. After going through two miscarriages, she adopted two children with Jackman: a boy born in 2000 and a girl born in 2005. A portrait of Furness and Jackman by Paul Newton was a finalist in the 2022 Archibald Prize. In September 2023, the couple announced their separation. She filed for divorce in May 2025 and it was finalised in June 2025.

In 2014, Deborra-Lee Furness was named as the New South Wales Australian of the Year for her work in adoption campaigning.

1988 SIFF Award for the best actress in Seattle International Film Festival. 1988 Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for the best actress. 1991 Silver Shell for the best actress in San Sebastián International Film Festival.