Madeleine Nalini Sami is a New Zealand actress, comedian and musician.
Madeleine was raised in the Onehunga suburb of Auckland, New Zealand; and attended Onehunga High School. She is of Irish and Fiji Indian heritage. Madeleine starred in the long running New Zealand soap Shortland Street from 1998 to 1999, and more recently in the comedy film Sione's Wedding. She is an accomplished theatre actress and toured internationally with the shows BARE and No2 for which she won two Chapman Tripp awards and an Edinburgh fringe first award. She has since featured in various New Zealand television shows including Outrageous Fortune, The Jaquie Brown Diaries, 7 Days and the Jane Campion series, Top of the Lake.
She has also formed a pop band called The Sami Sisters together with two of her siblings, Anji and Priya Sami and on 1 August 2011 they released their debut album entitled Happy Heartbreak! which charted at number 9 in the New Zealand album charts.
In 2011 Madeleine starred in her own comedy series, Super City, directed by Taika Waititi. She won Best Performance by an Actress at the 2011 AFTA awards for this role. She also won, with co-writer Thomas Sainsbury, Best Comedy Script at the 2011 SWANZ awards for Episode 3 of the series.
In January 2015, Sami married Pip Brown, also known as the singer-songwriter Ladyhawke.
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1998 | Pio! | Various | TV series |
1998 – 99 | Shortland Street | Dr. Shivani Naran | TV series |
2000 | Ice As: Ice House | Various | |
2000 | Fish Skin Suit | Libby | TV movie |
2000 | Teach You a Lesson | Narrator | Short film |
2001 | Xena: Warrior Princess | Tyro | Episode: "To Helicon and Back" |
2003 | Perfect Strangers | Andrea | |
2004 | Talent | Chemist | Episode: "Pilot" |
2004 | Insiders Guide to Happiness, TheThe Insiders Guide to Happiness | Tess | Episode: "Is Happiness an Accident?" |
2006 | Sione's Wedding | Tania | |
2006 – 07 | Bro'Town | Bianca / Additional Voices | 5 episodes |
2007 | Eagle vs Shark | Burger Girl Customer | |
2007 | Rude Awakenings | Francesca Hoyle | TV series |
2007 | Outrageous Fortune | Linda | Episode: "No Noble Rite" |
2008 – 09 | Jaquie Brown Diaries, TheThe Jaquie Brown Diaries | Serita Singh | 13 episodes |
2009 | Buzzy Bee and Friends | Buzzy Bee (voice) | 14 episodes |
2009 | Diplomatic Immunity | Agent Amy Bickler | Episode: "Spy in the House of Love" |
2009 | Under the Mountain | Constable Green | |
2009 – present | Seven Days | Herself | Recurring Guest Role |
2010 | Radiradirah | Various | 8 episodes |
2011 | Super City | Pasha / Georgie / Azeem / Linda / Jo | TV series |
2012 | "Sione's 2: Unfinished Business | Tania |
2013 | Top of the Lake | Zena | TV series |
2013 | Super City II | Mary / Ofa / Ray / Levi | TV series |
2015 | Slow West | Marimacho |
TheatreYear | Title | Role | Theatre |
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1998 | Three People in a Cinema | Various | Silo Theatre |
1999 | Legacy | Ensemble | Aotearoa Young People's Theatre |
2000 | No. 2 | Various | Edinburgh Festival |
2001 | No. 2 | Various | NZ Tour |
2001 | Bare | Various | Wellington Fringe Festival |
2002 | Vagina Monologues, TheThe Vagina Monologues | Various | Auckland Theatre Company |
2005 | Bad Jelly the Witch | Bad Jelly | Silo Theatre |
2006 | Bad Jelly the Witch | Bad Jelly | Silo Theatre |
2007 | Some Girl(s) | Tyler | Silo Theatre |
2008 | Rabbit | Emily | Silo Theatre |
2008 | Whero's New Net | Various | Massive Company |
2008 | Spelling Bee | Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre | Auckland Theatre Company |
2009 | No. 2 | Various | Silo Theatre |
2010 | Dance Troupe Supreme | Kellyanna | Maidment Theatre |