Noni Hazlehurst long ago cemented her status as a Serious Actress (caps intended), but thereโs one role from her 50-year career that is so memorable to Australian viewers, that sheโs approached in the street and asked about it almost everyday by strangers.
The 65-year-old was a presenter on the ABCโs iconic childrenโs show Play School for 24 years from 1978 to 2001, so for โjust about every day of my lifeโ thereโs a happy encounter with a nostalgic Play School viewer who cherishes their memories of Noni from childhood.
โPlay School reached such a wide demographic and touched so many generations,โ Noni told Now To Love.
โMany of the children who watched over me over that 24 year period are now parents themselves, so thatโs a daily occurrence,โ she says of fans approaching her in public.
While Noni is enjoying a long and award-winning career in film and TV โ she hosted Better Homes and Gardens for 10 years and her performance as the uptight matriarch Elizabeth Blight on 1950s Aussie drama A Place To Call Home has earned her a cult following โ itโs her time on Play School that she is particularly proud of.
โIโm very proud of Play School and it taught me such a lot. If you can hold the attention of a three year old for 30 minutes, adults are a pushover!โ Noni joked.
โPreschool children demand authenticity and demand you actively engage with them and thatโs one of the strengths of the show.โ
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A young Noni pictured with Humpty Dumpty, one of Play Schoolโs recurring characters.
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Noni presented on Play School for 24 years.
(Credit: ABC)As one of Australiaโs longest-serving actors, Noni has been around long enough to see the entertainment industry adopt some much-needed progressiveness, including offering women meatier, more substantial roles and ensuring everyone is treated appropriately on sets.
While she wonโt elaborate on the specifics, Noni says she has directly experienced the sexism and misogyny that sadly we know comes with being a woman in film and TV.
โI think most women have been through what Iโve been through,โ she said.
And although the #MeToo movement has has some rumblings in Australia, with the accusations against Burke and Craig McLachlan exposed last year, Noni believes we have a long way to go.
โThere is positive movement in the right direction to equality, but thereโs also been a savage and viscous backlash. Itโs one step forward, two steps back,โ she said.
โI was a feminist in the 70s and the mere fact that the world feminist has negative connotations for so many people is ridiculous, because to me it just means equality. I donโt know why people are so threatened by the fact that women want to be treated equally.โ
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Noni brings her own clothes to magazine photoshoots.
(Credit: Getty)One of the many reasons why Noni is so popular is that she describes herself as โordinaryโ and โnormalโ โ and completely walks the walk.
Sheโs very open about her dislike of the trimmings that come with being an actor โ the promo photo shoots, the red carpets and the smiling on cue.
โIโm very uncomfortable with it, because it perpetuates the myth that we think weโre special,โ Noni said.
โMost serious actors find it quite difficult, because itโs not you. Itโs borrowed makeup, borrowed hair and borrowed jewellery and clothes and so you arenโt presenting yourself. Iโm not at ease with it.โ
The actor famously brings her own clothes to photo shoots and keeps her look simple and low-key when on the red carpet promoting her work.
โMaybe eventually Iโll turn up in my tracky dacks and sand shoes!โ she joked of frocking up for the red carpet.
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Noni on the red carpet at the Helpmann Awards.
(Credit: Getty)Fans of Noniโs will be pleased to know she is back on our screens for the next few weeks as host of SBSโ new documentary series Every Family Has A Secret.
The three-part series follows six Australians as they discover the truth about their familyโs past and confront the secrets that have shaped them.
These ordinary Australians search for real, hard truths about their parents, however confronting, and intimate secrets are unearthed, estranged family members are reunited and lives are forever changed.
Watch the Every Family Has A Secret trailer below.
Every Family has a Secret will air on Tuesday nights at 7.30pm on SBS for the next three weeks.