Madeleine Sami

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
Born
Madeleine Nalini Sami

(1980-05-10) 10 May 1980
Auckland, New Zealand
OccupationActor
Spouse
​
(m. 2015⁠–⁠2023)​
Children1

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
Madeleine Sami performing at the King's Arms, Auckland, 2007

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 May 17, 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.

Personal life

In January 2015, Sami married Pip Brown, known as the singer-songwriter Ladyhawke.[17] Brown gave birth to their daughter on 20 October 2017.[18] Sami and Brown announced the end of the relationship in 2023.[19]

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 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[20]
2009 No. 2 Various Silo Theatre
2010 Dance Troupe Supreme Kellyanna Maidment Theatre
2014 Jesus Christ Superstar King Herod Auckland Theatre Company

References
  1. Crombie, Nathan (7 January 2015). "Ladyhawke coy on hometown wedding". NZ Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  2. "Madeleine Sami, chameleon at the crossroads". NZ Herald. 24 September 2001. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  3. Husband, Dale (8 September 2018). "Madeleine Sami: No holding her back". E-Tangata. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  4. "ThreeNow | Search". Archived from the original on 31 October 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  5. Archived 2011-11-13 at the Wayback Machine
  6. "Sami's 'Super City' satirises the stereotypes of Auckland". Otago Daily Times Online News. 15 February 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  7. "Madeleine Sami and Hayley Sproull back for more Great Kiwi Bake Off". Stuff. 23 October 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  8. Fenwick, George (3 April 2019). "The Bad Seed: Madeleine Sami on how the crime show was a 'relief' from The Breaker Upperers". NZ Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  9. "Boots and all: Madeleine Sami steps behind the camera on Funny Girls". www.metromag.co.nz. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  10. "Musical Siblings - The Sami Sisters". RNZ. 2 January 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  11. The Breaker Upperers, retrieved 28 November 2018
  12. "Disney dominated the New Zealand box office in 2018". Stuff. 23 January 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  13. "The Breaker Upperers (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  14. "The Breaker Upperers grosses more than $1 million at Kiwi box office in first two weeks". New Zealand Herald.
  15. D'Alessandro, Anthony; Fleming Jr., Mike (15 August 2019). "Aubrey Plaza Feature Comedy 'Hope' Set At Netflix With Jackie van Beek & Madeleine Sami Directing". Deadline. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  16. "Madeleine Sami on the attractions of acting in Come to Daddy". www.flicks.co.nz. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  17. Tapaleao, Vaimoana (9 January 2015). "Ladyhawke and Madeleine Sami to wed". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  18. "A Babyhawke lands: Comedian Madeleine Sami and rocker Ladyhawke welcome a baby". Stuff. 27 October 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  19. Mahon-Heap, Jonny (8 June 2023). "Madeleine Sami says she has 'consciously uncoupleth' from wife Ladyhawke". Stuff.
  20. "The New Zealand Post Season of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee". atc.co.nz. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
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