Kate Box

Kate Box is an Australian stage, film, and television actress. She is known for her roles as Nicole Vargas in Rake, Lou Kelly in Wentworth, and as Dulcie Collins in Deadloch.

Early life and education
Kate Box grew up in Adelaide, South Australia. She lived with her parents, social workers Greg and Lorraine, and sister Sally in Colonel Light Gardens, and attended the local primary school.

She did her secondary education at Annesley College. At the age of 13 she started classes at Unley Youth Theatre (now Urban Myth), where she met filmmakers Sophie Hyde and Matthew Cormack, who went on to form Closer Productions, and screenwriter Drew Proffitt.

Box started a bachelor of arts degree at the University of Adelaide aged 17, intending to major in psychology, but changed her mind and graduated with politics and Australian studies as her major subjects. She then auditioned for the Victorian College of the Arts and National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). She was accepted into NIDA course and, at the age of 22, moved to Sydney. She graduated from NIDA in 2003.

Stage
Her first stage performance was in 2004 as Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Bell Shakespeare Company. Her role in the Sydney Theatre Company presentation of Top Girls earned her a Helpmann Award for Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play nomination in 2018. Other stage credits include Dolores (Old Fitzroy Theatre), Macbeth (Sydney Theatre Company) and A Christmas Carol (Belvoir).

Screen
She went on to make her screen debut with a role in the 2005 television film sequel Small Claims: White Wedding. Following this, she made her film debut in 2008 with The Black Balloon and she received guest spots on television shows such as the medical drama series All Saints and the children's drama series My Place.

Her performance in the 2014 comedy film The Little Death earned her a nomination for best actress in a leading role in the AACTA Awards.

She came to prominence with her role as Nicole Vargas in the ABC comedy-drama series Rake for which she appeared throughout its entire run. During her run on Rake, Box was cast in popular television series including Offspring, Old School, and the six-part Closer Productions comedy drama mini-series Fucking Adelaide (2018). The story follows three siblings who reunite back in Adelaide after some time, when their mother decides to sell the family home.

Box played Marg McMann in the 2018 television film Riot, a film focusing on the LGBTI rights movement and the origins of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in the 1970s, a role which won her the AACTA Award for Best Lead Actress in a Television Drama, and the role of which she is most proud, saying "I was so grateful to walk with that character for a bit because the courage that she displayed definitely helped me to live my life with more truth and courage". Winning the AACTA for the performance was especially meaningful for her, because it gave her the opportunity to stand "front and centre" of issues relating to gay rights and acceptance of LGBTQIA+ people.

In 2019 Box appeared in Upright, with Tim Minchin, and in Les Norton.

In 2019, it was announced Box was cast in the role of "legacy" character Lou Kelly in the Foxtel prison drama series Wentworth for its eighth and final season. Also in 2019, Box was announced as a cast member in the Cate Blanchett-produced Matchbox Pictures series, Stateless, released in 2020.

Box played a leading role in the "Tasmanian noir crime comedy" TV series, Deadloch, written by Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan. The eight-part series by Australian Amazon Original was released in 2023 to positive reviews.

Box appears in the SBS anthology series Erotic Stories (2023), in the episode "The Deluge", as Cara.

In November 2023 Box was announced for the upcoming ABC television series Ladies in Black.

Box plays Dr Brennan in the seven-part Netflix adaptation of Trent Dalton's novel Boy Swallows Universe, aired in January 2024.

Box during the 2024 AACTA awards won the award for Best Acting in a Narrative Comedy for her role in Amazon series Deadloch, Box also delivered a rousing speech on her award win and also said "we are the stories we tell and the one's we don't." Box also used the speech to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, and her speech went viral over the following days.

On 9 July 2024, Deadloch would be renewed for another season with Box to reprise the role of Dulcie Collins.

Personal life
Box is openly gay. Since meeting at a playwright's conference in 2009, she has been in a relationship with writer and actor Jada Alberts, who also appeared in Wentworth from 2013 to 2014. They live with their three daughters in a "really affectionate household" in Sydney. In October 2020 they were considering a move back to Adelaide, but were still in Sydney.

She is a close friend of director Sophie Hyde.