Rachael Maza

Rachael Zoa Maza is an Indigenous Australian television and film actress and stage director.

Early life and education
Maza is of Dutch, Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal Australian heritage, the daughter of Bob Maza, also an actor.

She is a graduate of the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.

Television and film
Maza's first outing on Australian television was in the ABC Television series Heartland in 1994. She and Lillian Crombie, who also appeared in the series, were fresh out of acting school at that time. The series was written by Aboriginal Australians ans starred many Aboriginal actors, as well as Cate Blanchett in her first screen outing.

She worked as a TV presenter on ABC Television's weekly show focusing on Indigenous Australians, Message Stick. and SBS's ICAM in 1997–1998.

She has numerous credits as an actor in television series, including Wentworth, Winners and Losers, Halifax f.p., Stingers, SeaChange, Heartland (in which her father also had a role), A Country Practice and Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries.

She acted in the films Cosi (1996), Radiance (1998), and Lilian's Story (1996).

Stage
Maza worked with Company B and Wesley Enoch for many years, with her performances at the Belvoir St Theatre including leading roles in Conversations with the Dead and The Dreamers. She again worked with Enoch in The Sapphires, staged by the Melbourne Theatre Company and Sydney Festival.

She has worked as part of The Black Arm Band and as the director of Lou Bennett's play Show Us Your Tiddas!.

, Maza is artistic director of Ilbijerri Theatre Company.

Recognition

 * Order of Australia, 2020, for significant service to the performing arts as an Artistic Director

Personal life
Maza has a son, Ariel, with actor Tom Long.