Kate Kendall is a British-born Australian actress and director. She played Angie Piper in the long-running Nine Network Australian drama Stingers from 1998 to 2004. Kendall has appeared in television series The Librarians (2007), Rush (2010) and Conspiracy 365. She joined the cast of television soap opera Neighbours in 2013 as Lauren Turner. After leaving the role in 2017, Kendall became a director, and later producer, on the serial.

Early life and education

Kendall was born in England and moved to Australia with her family when she was six months old. Her father, David Kendall, was prominent in the Pram Factory and La Mama Theatres in Melbourne, and, after moving to Adelaide, with the State Theatre Company of South Australia (STCSA) in the 1980s. In Adelaide, he also headed the new acting course at the Centre for Performing Arts (CPA) (now the Adelaide College of the Arts) in 1987. Kate studied at the CPA in Adelaide.

Career

Stage

On the stage, Kendall played Rebecca in Solstice for STCSA in Adelaide, Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Cinderella in Into the Woods in Melbourne Botanic Gardens. Other theatre work includes at the Adelaide Festival Centre, the Carlton Courthouse and Budinski's Theatre in Melbourne. With the Aboriginal youth company, Jumpback Theatre, worked with female prisoners.

Screen

Kendall had small parts in television shows such as Home and Away and Neighbours led to a guest role as Rosie Burgess in Blue Heelers in 1997. Her breakthrough television role was as Angie Piper in Stingers, which role she played for 192 episodes from 1998 to 2004. Kendall played a minor role as Lisa in the American mini-series The Starter Wife (2007) and also appeared in three episodes of the Australian produced comedy The Librarians (2007), as Jacinta McSweeney. Kendall appeared on the Australian drama Rush in 2010. In 2011 Kendall played the lead role of Diana in MTC's production of Next to Normal and appeared in the Australian musical premiere of An Officer and a Gentleman. She also played Emily Ormond in the twelve-part drama series Conspiracy 365, which was based on the book of the same name. Kendall took over the role of Lauren Carpenter on Neighbours in 2013. As she was wrapping up the role of Lauren in 2017, Kendall began directing small scenes. She has since directed numerous episodes of the series. In June 2020, it was announced that Kendall would become a producer. She covered for series producer Natalie Lynch, while she was on maternity leave. David Knox of TV Tonight believed Kendall was the show's first actor, director, producer. Kendall directed the 2023 four-part series Heat, created by Jason Herbison.

Personal life

Kendall married former Carlton Football Club AFL player Wayne Johnston and has a son and four stepchildren. She enjoys horse-riding and is a fan of country music and cricket. She was a supporter of Greenpeace.

Filmography

Television appearances

Film appearances