A golden age
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ|August 2023
At 50, A Place to Call Home star Marta Dusseldorp is glowing with creativity. Motherhood has made her a better actor, while moving to Tasmania has sparked her greatest challenge yet.
GENEVIEVE GANNON
A golden age

After our long day with Marta Dusseldorp has ended and the tape recorder is turned off, the actress tucks her legs under herself on the soft white banquette and continues to talk about work, life, acting, and the wicked paradox of raising fearless young women – wanting to protect her daughters from having to go through what she went through, while understanding that adversity builds resilience.

A flickering fire warms our backs, and to our left, a two-storey window looks out onto Tasmania’s Mount Hazard underneath a sky that sparkles like thousands of tiny diamonds spilled on a sheet of midnight-blue velvet. Marta speaks eloquently and thoughtfully about these big subjects, and the responsibility she feels to the industry that has shaped and fulfilled her.

“I want to continue to perform, but also create and nurture and mentor. I see my role as that now. As a 50-year-old woman, I’m ready to do what was done for me, which is identify and support and encourage young women,” she says.

The Weekly’s photoshoot lasted all day against the chilled beauty of Tasmania’s Coles Bay. With daughters Grace, 16, and Maggie, 13, in tow, Marta gamely clambered over pink granite, swished through tall grass, and posed on the rocks turned orange by lichen.

I’ve cried, triggered by Marta talking about being separated from her girls while filming amid COVID, Marta has cried, speaking about the woman who helped her forge her career, and she’s let our team glimpse the close bond she shares with her daughters, of whom she is prodigiously proud. Now, her voice is hoarse, but she’s eager to talk more. She’s on the cusp of a new grand adventure. She is about to launch Bay of Fires, a drama she stars in, produced and co-created from scratch with Jack Irish collaborator Andrew Knight and AFI-winning screenwriter Max Dann.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August 2023 من Australian Women’s Weekly NZ.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August 2023 من Australian Women’s Weekly NZ.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من AUSTRALIAN WOMEN’S WEEKLY NZ مشاهدة الكل
Spotlight on Vitamin D
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

Spotlight on Vitamin D

Sunlight is the best source of vitamin D, but safe sun exposure is still essential.

time-read
2 mins  |
May 2024
Coming up roses
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

Coming up roses

Driven by a renewed interest in the flower’s power, a rose renaissance is dawning.

time-read
3 mins  |
May 2024
'I was given a 5% chance of survival'
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

'I was given a 5% chance of survival'

When Caroline Laner Breure was hit by a car in an horrific accident on a Spanish holiday with her boyfriend, her body and her dreams were shattered. Somehow she found the will to go on living.

time-read
5 mins  |
May 2024
Time to celebrate our mothers
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

Time to celebrate our mothers

Author Kathy Lette gives a heartfelt thank you to her magnificent mum, Val - a baker of fairy cakes with the patience of a saint.

time-read
4 mins  |
May 2024
"I am lucky to be here" ”
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

"I am lucky to be here" ”

Since the day she walked onto the MasterChef Australia set back in 2009, Julie Goodwin has openly shared her life. But in writing a memoir, she had to examine the demons she'd battled privately... until now.

time-read
9 mins  |
May 2024
JAMIE OLIVER at your service
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

JAMIE OLIVER at your service

Returning to the set of MasterChef Australia to help steer a path through grief and spread happiness, the celebrity chef is also at a turning point - he opens up about failure, love, second chances and his endless reservoir of joie de vivre.

time-read
10 mins  |
May 2024
From one mum to another
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

From one mum to another

Princess Catherine's public announcement struck a chord with mum-of-two Jane Gillard. She shares her story of parenting through cancer- and offers hope for the princess and mums navigating their own health journey while raising primary-aged kids.

time-read
4 mins  |
May 2024
The courage of Princess Catherine "You are„, not alone"
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

The courage of Princess Catherine "You are„, not alone"

It was a rare personal address that she shouldn’t have had to make. But with conspiracy theories swirling and the slimmed-down “Firm” under fire, Princess Catherine silenced critics with searing courage and dignity.

time-read
9 mins  |
May 2024
THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE

When Tracy Hall fell for Max Tavita, she fell for a mirage. Max was a false identity created by a con man, and Tracy was the latest in a long line of women whose life savings hed stolen.

time-read
9 mins  |
May 2024
Amother's GIFT
Australian Women’s Weekly NZ

Amother's GIFT

In December last year, Australia’s first uterus transplant recipient, Kirsty Bryant, gave birth to Henry, a happy, healthy baby boy. The uterus that had made this little miracle possible had been donated by her mother, Michelle. Five months later, their first Mother’s Day since Henry’s birth feels especially precious.

time-read
10 mins  |
May 2024