Christine Anu (b. 1970), singer, songwriter and actor, was born in Cairns, Queensland. Her mother's family were from Saibai Island and her father's from Mabuig Island in the Torres Strait. As a teenager she moved to Sydney to train in dance at the National Aboriginal and Islander Development Association before joining the Bangarra Dance Theatre and the Aboriginal and Islander Dance Theatre. Her first recorded single was 'Last Train' with Paul Kelly in 1993; and her first album, Stylin' Up, was released in 1995. Including the hits 'Party' and 'My Island Home', it went platinum in Australia and Anu won the ARIA award for best Female Artist in 1996. The albums Come my Way (2000), 45 Degrees (2003), Acoustically (2005), Rewind: The Aretha Franklin Songbook (2012) and ReStylin' Up 20 Years (2015), a re-visioning of her debut album, followed. She has performed in theatre musicals including Little Shop of Horrors, Rent, The Sapphires and South Pacific, and appeared in films including Moulin Rouge (2001) and The Matrix Reloaded (2003). A stage show based on her life, Intimate and Deadly, toured Australian cities in 2005. She hosts a radio program, ABC Evenings with Christine Anu.
Cairns-based artist Elizabeth Barden painted this portrait, one of several she has made of Anu, while the singer awaited the birth of her second child, daughter Zipporah.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2004
© Elizabeth Barden
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