Madeleine Nalini Sami is a New Zealand actor, director, comedian and musician.[1] She started her acting career in theatre before moving to television, where she created, co-wrote, and starred in Super City. She co-wrote, co-directed, and starred in the 2018 film The Breaker Upperers, along with Jackie van Beek, which was a New Zealand box office success. Sami co-hosted The Great Kiwi Bake Off.
Madeleine Sami | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Sami in 2018 | |
| Born | Madeleine Nalini Sami 10 May 1980 Auckland, New Zealand |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
Early life
Sami is one of four children. Her parents are Christine Southee, who has Irish ancestry, and Naren Sami, a Fijian-Indian who settled in New Zealand.[2] Her parents separated when she was twelve.[2] She attended Onehunga High School.[3]
Career
Sami rose to prominence starring in Toa Fraser's play Bare, winning best actress at the 1999 Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards.[2] She then was part of Fraser's next play, No. 2., which won Perrier Comedy Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.[2]
In 2011, Sami created, co-wrote alongside Tom Sainsbury, and starred in her own comedy series, Super City, which was directed by Taika Waititi.[4] Sami played five different characters in the show and won Best Performance by an Actress at the 2011 AFTA awards.[5][6] She later co-hosted The Great Kiwi Bake Off and starred in the television series Golden Boy and The Bad Seed.[7][8] She made her TV directorial debut when she directed an episode of the second season of Funny Girls, eventually directing eleven episodes of the series.[9]
Sami is a part of The Sami Sisters, a musical group consisting of herself and her two sisters. They released an album Happy Heartbreak in 2011.[10]
She co-wrote, co-directed, and starred in the 2018 film The Breaker Upperers, along with Jackie van Beek.[11] The film received positive reviews and was a box office hit in New Zealand, becoming the best selling New Zealand film of 2018 and is one of the top 20 grossing New Zealand films ever.[12][13][14] The pair will reunite to direct the Netflix film Hope, starring Aubrey Plaza.[15] Sami also appeared in the 2019 film, Come to Daddy, directed by Ant Timpson.[16]
On 17 May 2021, Sami appeared on The Masked Singer NZ as the "Monarch (Butterfly)", getting eliminated in the fourth episode. The same year she was on the panel show Patriot Brains.
Sami starred in the 2023 Australian television series Deadloch. On July 9 2024 Deadloch would be renewed for a second season, Sami would reprise the role of Eddie Redcliffe. [17]
Personal life
In January 2015, Sami married Pip Brown, known as the singer-songwriter Ladyhawke.[18] Brown gave birth to their daughter on 20 October 2017.[19] Sami and Brown announced the end of the relationship in 2023.[20]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Ice As: Ice House | Various | |
| 2000 | Fish Skin Suit | Libby | TV movie |
| 2000 | Teach You a Lesson | Narrator | Short film |
| 2003 | Perfect Strangers | Andrea | |
| 2006 | Sione's Wedding | Tania | |
| 2007 | Eagle vs Shark | Burger Girl Customer | |
| 2009 | Under the Mountain | Constable Green | |
| 2012 | Sione's 2: Unfinished Business | Tania | |
| 2014 | What We Do in the Shadows | Morana | |
| 2015 | Slow West | Marimacho | |
| 2018 | The Breaker Upperers | Mel | Also writer; director |
| 2019 | Come to Daddy | Gladys | |
| 2020 | Baby Done | Hospital Midwife |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Pio! | Various | |
| 1999 | Shortland Street | Dr. Shivani 'Vani' Naran | |
| 2000 | Fish Skin Suit | Libby | |
| 2001 | Xena: Warrior Princess | Tyro | Episode: "To Helicon and Back" |
| 2004 | Talent | Chemist | |
| 2004 | The Insiders Guide to Happiness | Tess | |
| 2007 | Rude Awakenings | Francesca Hoyle | |
| 2007 | Outrageous Fortune | Linda | |
| 2006–2007 | Bro'Town | Additional Voices/Bianca | 5 episodes |
| 2009 | Diplomatic Immunity | Agent Amy Bickler | |
| 2008–2009 | The Jaquie Brown Diaries | Serita Singh | 13 episodes |
| 2009–2013 | Buzzy Bee and Friends | Buzzy Bee | 14 episodes |
| 2009–2020 | 7 Days | Herself | 20 episodes |
| 2010 | Radiradirah | Various | |
| 2011 | 3 News | Herself | |
| 2011–2013 | Super City | Pasha/Georgie/Azeem | Creator/Writer/Executive Director |
| 2013 | Top of the Lake | Zena | |
| 2013 | Aroha Bridge | Mum/Aunty Winny/Angeline Hook | |
| 2016 | All Talk with Anika Moa | Herself | |
| 2016–2018 | Funny Girls | Director | |
| 2014 | Flat3 | Madeline | |
| 2018–2021 | The Great Kiwi Bake Off | Host | |
| 2019 | Get Krack!n | Amy Bryan | 1 episode |
| 2019 | The Bad Seed | Marie Da Silva | 5 episodes |
| 2019 | Golden Boy | Claire | 8 episodes |
| 2019 | What's Your Problem? | Herself | 1 episode |
| 2019– | Have You Been Paying Attention? | Guest | |
| 2020 | Taskmaster NZ | Herself | 10 episodes |
| 2021 | The Masked Singer NZ | Monarch/Herself | 2 episodes |
| 2023-present | Deadloch | Eddie Redcliffe | 8 episodes |
| 2023 | Double Parked | Nat | |
| 2023 | Our Flag Means Death | Archie |
Theatre
| Year | Title | Role | Theatre |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Three People in a Cinema | Various | Silo Theatre |
| 1999 | Legacy | Ensemble | Aotearoa Young People's Theatre |
| 2000 | No. 2 | Various | Edinburgh Festival |
| 2001 | NZ Tour | ||
| 2001 | Bare | Various | Wellington Fringe Festival |
| 2002 | The Vagina Monologues | Various | Auckland Theatre Company |
| 2005- 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 | The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee | Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre | Auckland Theatre Company[21] |
| 2009 | No. 2 | Various | Silo Theatre |
| 2010 | Dance Troupe Supreme | Kellyanna | Maidment Theatre |
| 2014 | Jesus Christ Superstar | King Herod | Auckland Theatre Company |