Penne Hackforth-Jones

Penne Hackforth-Jones (5 August 1949 – 17 May 2013) was an American-born Australian actress and biographer.

Penelope Beatrix Hackforth-Jones was born in August 1949 in Greenwich, Connecticut, to Paul and Susan Felicity (née Gullett) Hackforth-Jones and was a granddaughter of Sir Henry Gullett and niece of Jo Gullett, both Australian politicians. She lived with her family in England before relocating to Australia in 1964. After completing her secondary education at St Catherine's School, Toorak in 1966 she attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney until graduating in 1968.

In 1969, Hackforth-Jones made her first credited on-screen appearance in the Australian television series Riptide. She later appeared in such Australian television series as Bellbird, Butterfly Island, Homicide, Matlock Police, Division 4, Cop Shop, Tandarra, Cash and Company, Young Ramsay, Punishment, Bellamy, A Country Practice, Mother and Son, Tanamera – Lion of Singapore, Murder Call, All Saints, Chandon Pictures, :30 Seconds and The Doctor Blake Mysteries. She also appeared in Episode 169 of Australian sitcom Hey Dad..!.

Her feature film roles included Dr. Sort in Alvin Purple (1973), the bridal shop manager in Muriel's Wedding (1994), Mrs Pike in Paradise Road (1997), Cynthia Dodds in Mao's Last Dancer (2009), and Mrs Johnson in The Tree (2010). She was featured in a long-running television advertisement series for Kellogg's Sultana Bran in the 1980s/90s.[10]

Hackforth-Jones was the author of a biography of her great-grandmother, novelist Barbara Baynton, titled Barbara Baynton – Between Two Worlds.

In 1976 Hackforth-Jones won a Penguin and Sammy award for best actress in a series for her role as Jessica Johnson in Tandarra.[11] She was nominated for best actress in a supporting role at the Australian Film Institute Awards in 1990 for her performance in Kokoda Crescent.[12]

Penne Hackforth-Jones died of lung cancer on 17 May 2013, aged 63, in Melbourne. She never married, and was survived by her three sisters. The Daily Telegraph featured an article on Hackforth-Jones in its history section on 21 May.