Miranda Harcourt

Harcourt spent three years acting on the show, and her character was so despicable that people spat at and insulted Harcourt in public. Harcourt received a nomination in the 1989 Film and TV Awards for best actress for the role.

• Name — Dame Miranda Harcourt • Honorific Suffix — DNZM • Birth Name — Miranda Catherine Millais Harcourt • Born — 1962 • Birthplace — Wellington, New Zealand • Occupation — Actress, acting coach • Years Active — 1982–present • Spouse — Stuart McKenzie • Children — 3, including Thomasin and Davida • Mother — Kate Harcourt • Relatives — Geraldine Harcourt (cousin)

Harcourt is the daughter of Dame Kate Harcourt (née Fulton) and Peter Harcourt. Her younger brother Gordon Harcourt was a presenter on Fair Go. Harcourt graduated from Toi Whakaari, New Zealand Drama School, in 1984. Harcourt was part of a PEP scheme under Darcy Nicholas at the Willis Street Wellington Arts Centre directed by Colin McColl in a play. In 1990, a sponsored year at London's Central School of Speech and Drama led to an exploration of drama therapy in psychiatric institutions, with the deaf, and in prisons – the latter inspiring her collaboration with writer William Brandt for the solo play Verbatim, where Harcourt acted, solo, portraying nine characters, inmates' relatives, and victims' families. Harcourt was also a pioneer of verbatim theatre in New Zealand, in creating Verbatim (1993), in collaboration with William Brandt and Portraits (1997) in collaboration with Stuart McKenzie. Performed in front of people convicted of violent crimes, Harcourt says Verbatim "was a reflection back at the people on the inside; what their mothers, their sisters and their children had said about them". The show was well received in New Zealand theatres, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and from the inmates themselves. Harcourt recollected one inmate, a year after the show, asking her where the other actresses were who had starred, having remembered the distinct characters that Harcourt portrayed solo so distinctly that he remembered them as separate, individual women. The Sunday Star-Times described Verbatim as "a small miracle of dramatic theatre". The NZ Times said Harcourt's performance was "frightening in its stamina and emotional range". In The Guardian, reviewer Michael Billington praised Verbatim as "a remarkable solo show about violence.” • Illustration — Harcourt (right), at a dinner at Government House, Wellington, on 19 September 2018, to celebrate the 125th anniversary of women's suffrage in New Zealand. Also present are Harcourt's daughter, Thomasin McKenzie (left), her mother, Dame Kate Harcourt (second from right), and the governor-general, Dame Patsy Reddy. Harcourt and her mother appeared together in Flowers From My Mother's Garden, a collection of shared anecdotes, reminiscences and stories centered on their relationship and family, and co-written by Harcourt and her husband, Stuart McKenzie. The play was commissioned by the 1998 International Festival of the Arts and has been staged in Auckland, Dunedin and Christchurch. Harcourt is married to Stuart McKenzie. Together they have three children: Peter (born 1998), Thomasin (born 2000), and Davida (born 2006).

Harcourt's first short film as a director, Voiceover, written and produced by husband Stuart McKenzie, won Best Short Film at the 1997 NZ Film and Television Awards, and her first play as a director won several awards at the Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards including Best Actor and Best Set Design.

Harcourt is a partner in the company MAP Film Productions, alongside McKenzie and producer/director Neil Pardington. She has appeared in short films directed by each, including Pardington's The Dig (which was invited to Cannes as part of a special NZ showcase) and McKenzie's darkly comic Ends Meat. She also executive produced the short A&E (Accident & Eternity) in 2006, and co-produced For Good in 2003.

• The Rehearsal, Livia, 2016. • The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (Film), Olga, 2014. • Passion in Paradise (TV Series), Elaine Williams, 2011. • Rage (Film), Fran Oram, 2011. • Tangiwai: A Love Story (TV movie), Mabel Love, 2011. • Paradise Cafe (TV series), Victoria, 2009 – 2011. Appears in 24 episodes. • Dangerous Ride (Short) 2010. • Until Proven Innocent (TV movie), Dr Patricia Sullivan, 2009. • Fracture, Irene Rosser, 2004. • The Strip (TV series), Natalie, 2003. • Something Fishy, Natalie, 2003. • For Good, Mother, 2003. • City Life (TV series), Rebekah Tennant, 1996. (Appears in 5 episodes). • Hairy Maclary (TV Series), Narrator (voice), 1995. • Riding High (TV series), Annabel, 1995. Appears in 7 episodes. • The Dig (Short), Daughter, 1994. • Typhon's People (TV movie), Hilary Gladstone, 1993. • Shortland Street (TV series), Madeline Trent (2000), 1992. • The Shadow Trader (TV mini-series), Joanna McCarthy, 1989. • Send a Gorilla, Kerry-Anne, 1988. • Gloss (TV series), Gemma, 1987. • Bad Blood, Ivy Smith, 1981. • Harcourt also starred in the 1996 documentary In the Shadow of King Lear and appeared in archival footage as herself in two instances; Happy Birthday 2 You (2000 TV special), and Look Who's Famous Now (1999 TV movie).

Miranda Harcourt is recorded with the occupation film producer. Recorded as having received Arts and Culture award, New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 and NEXT Woman of the Year: Arts & Culture.