Award-winning stage, screen, and voice actor with five decades of professional craft.
Donna Akersten MNZM is one of Aotearoa’s most enduring and respected actors, with a career spanning more than five decades across theatre, film, television, and voice. Since her professional debut in 1970 with the New Zealand Players Drama Quartet, Donna has brought intelligence, emotional range, and craft to a wide array of roles in both New Zealand and Australia.
She has performed with every major theatre company in New Zealand, including landmark roles such as Mary Mooney in Once a Catholic (Mercury Theatre), Carlotta in The Cherry Orchard (Downstage), Meg in The Birthday Party (Circa – Chapman Tripp Award for Best Supporting Actress), and Deborah in The Book Club (Auckland Theatre Company – Audience Award for Best Actress). She has twice received the Wellington Critics’ Award for Best Actress.
Donna’s screen work includes leading roles in Shortland Street, Jackson’s Wharf, Country GP, Mirror Mirror, Bread and Roses, and the German tele-feature The Mystery of the Opals. Her feature film credits include Sleeping Dogs, Bad Blood, Middle-Age Spread, Te Rua, and Via Satellite. In Australia, she has worked with The Nimrod Theatre, J.C. Williamson, Q Theatre, and the Adelaide Arts Festival.
A highly regarded voice artist, Donna has extensive experience in radio drama, audiobook narration, and documentary voiceover, and remains a go-to talent for sophisticated and nuanced vocal work.
Donna was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) in 2002 for services to acting. Alongside her professional work, she has contributed to the arts community through teaching, mentoring, and co-owning a boutique catering business that provided employment opportunities for fellow actors between roles.
Based in Wellington, Donna continues to bring grace, gravitas, and wit to the stage and screen.
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