Jacki Weaver AO (b. 1947) was a household name in Australia for 40 years before rising to international prominence following her chilling performance in Animal Kingdom (2010), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award. After appearing on stage and television in Sydney in the 1960s, Weaver won an AFI award for her performance in Stork (1971). A string of films followed including Alvin Purple (1973) and Caddie (1976), for which she won a second AFI award. During the 1980s and 1990s she acted in theatre productions The Cherry Orchard, A Streetcar Named Desire and Death of a Salesman, among many others. She made her Hollywood debut with The Five-Year Engagement (2012) and received her second Oscar nomination for her role in Silver Linings Playbook (2012). Since then she has appeared in a host of US and Australian productions, among them Last Cab to Darwin (2015), Secret City (2016–2019), Bird Box (2018), Widows (2018) and Stage Mother (2020).
Photographer John Tsiavis noted of this work: 'My intent for this portrait was to capture the power and force Jacki conjures when acting. She is not representing a specific character or role, however I wanted to convey the complexity and depth of her acting, as though captured in a moment performing Shakespeare or a Greek tragedy.'
Commissioned with funds provided by Marilyn Darling AC 2018
© John Tsiavis
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