The Thornton factor: Sigrid no stranger to activism
(Photo courtesy Bill McAuley | billmcauleyphotographer.com)
Beloved Australian film and TV star Sigrid Thornton AO is well known for iconic movies like The Man From Snowy River. However, she also strongly advocates for Australia's film and television industry. (Photo, circa 1997.)
Her television hits include Prisoner, All the Rivers Run and SeaChange.
As a young teenager, Sigrid accompanied her late mum Merle (who passed this week, aged 93) to protest and fight for women's liberation. A leading feminist activist, Merle Thornton sparked the women's liberation movement in Queensland after she "chained herself" to a Brisbane pub in 1965.
Off-screen, Sigrid Thornton has pressed successive governments to keep libraries open and has also been vocal about the need to appropriately fund the Australian film and television industry.
**This photograph is part of an IA series that looks at Australia through the lens of award-winning photojournalist, Bill McAuley.**
Bill McAuley's 40-plus-year news career began in 1969 as a cadet photographer at 'The Age' in Melbourne.
He has several published collections, including 'Portraits of the Soul: A lifetime of images with Bill McAuley'. To see more from Bill, click here.
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