Abbey Lee | |
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 Lee in 2015 | |
| Born | Abbey Lee Kershaw (1987-06-12)12 June 1987 (age 38) |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2004–present |
| Parent | Kim Kershaw (father) |
Abbey Lee Kershaw[1] (born 12 June 1987) is an Australian model, actress and musician.[2][3] Following several years of success leading up to the 2011 fashion seasons,V magazine dubbed her asupermodel,[4] and Models.com has listed her as an "Industry Icon".[5] She dropped the use of her surname, Kershaw, in 2015.[6][7]
Lee was born inMelbourne,Victoria, the daughter of Kerry, a psychologist, andKim Kershaw, who played in theVictorian Football League forRichmond andHawthorn.[8][9][10] She is their middle child.[11] She has said that as a child, she was "always in the hospital". At age four, she suffered frommeningitis and had to have twospinal taps. She also had atumour on her knee, and several broken bones from climbing trees.[12]
Lee grew up inKensington, Victoria and attended St Michael's Catholic Primary School in North Melbourne. She has said that she "grew up with 42 nationalities", explaining that herprimary school of 150 children was verymulticultural. She then attended theAcademy of Mary Immaculate in Fitzroy.[13]
Lee has said that she "did not come from wealth" and had various jobs while a teenager, including working at afun fair, as a grocery clerk,[14] and at aMcDonald's.[15] She tookjujitsu classes for seven years and was involved in other sports.[11]
In 2004, Lee won the AustralianGirlfriend Model Search.[16] Her rebellious side got her in trouble, she was “politely asked to depart” her high school at the beginning of her final year.[11] In 2005, after high school, she moved from Melbourne toSydney to begin modelling. She lived 100 metres (330 ft) from the beach, and it was while at the beach that she was scouted by Chic Management's Kathy Ward,[13] who also discoveredMiranda Kerr andSamantha Harris.[17] She signed with Chic Management within weeks.[18]
In 2007, Lee signed with Next Management and by March had relocated to New York City.[18] On 11 December, Models.com named her the "Next Superstar".[19]
Lee made her debut in the 2008New York Fashion Week, managing to walk a total of 29 shows for designers such asOscar de la Renta,Halston, and notably closing forRodarte.[20] For her first time inMilan Fashion Week, she was booked as aGucci exclusive.[21] Later that year, in September, she fell in her high heels at theRodarte show inNew York.[22] Then, a month later inParis, she fainted at theAlexander McQueen show from wearing a very tight leather corset.[23] These two incidents, however, did not prevent her from booking more runway shows.[22][23] Lee was one of new faces to appear on one of the fourteen covers ofV magazine's Autumn issue.[24] On 15 November 2008, inMiami, she made her international TV appearance at theVictoria's Secret Fashion Show, modelling in the "Pink Planet" segment.[25]
Lee has starred in the fragrance ads forGucci's new "Flora" scent since 2008.[26]
In November 2009, Fashion TV placed her first in their First Face Countdown for Spring/Summer 2010.[citation needed] Lee had to sit out the Autumn 2009 shows due to aknee injury: she had tornligaments and could barely walk.[16] She was featured in the explicit shoot for the French magazinePurple Fashion published Autumn/Winter 2009.[27] The infamous spread, shot by photographerTerry Richardson, caused outrage in theblogosphere, where Richardson was accused of cajoling the girls for his own sexual satisfaction. In his defense, Lee said, "Terry doesn't force girls to do anything they don't want to. He puts you in aG-string in a pile of mud because you want to do it. You touch yourself because you want to. For me, that shoot was the truth about how things were between us both, and I felt good doing it. I'm not ashamed of it—why should I be?"[12] After skipping the Autumn 2009 season owing to a knee injury, she reappeared inMilan Fashion Week, openingD&G to having the first and last looks atFendi andVersace, promptingNew York magazine to name her "Milan's Top Model".[28] On 1 December 2009, for the second time, she participated in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, but this time she had three outfits, modelling in the "Star Trooper," "Pink Planet", and in the "Enchanted Forest" segment.[29]
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In 2010, Lee was heavily in demand for campaigns, shoots and shows.[12] She was featured in the 2010Pirelli Calendar photographed by Terry Richardson,[30] and the 2011 edition photographed byKarl Lagerfeld.[citation needed] In March 2010, she was announced as the face of Chanel's Autumn/Winter 2010/2011 ready-to-wear ad campaign. This news came after she closed the Chanel Spring 2010 couture show, and opened the Chanel Autumn/Winter 2010/2011 ready-to-wear show.[31] In November, for the fourth time, she became the cover model of AustralianVogue (her previous covers of the same publication were in March 2010, March 2009, and September 2008).[32] The same year, Lee was also featured as the face of theAnna Sui FW 2010 campaign.[33]Abbey also appeared in the lookbook of the Versace x h&m collaboration collection.[34]
She took her own self-portrait for the newRag & Bone Do-It-Yourself ad campaign spring 2011 along with modelsSasha Pivovarova,Edita Vilkeviciute,Karolina Kurkova,Candice Swanepoel andLily Aldridge.[35] She earned $100,000 as an exclusive forChanel, walking for their spring-summer collection inParis.[15] She skippedNew York Fashion Week forLondon.[36]V magazine's "The Discovery Issue" crowned Lee as the newSupermodel.[4] The magazine called Lee "the biggest fashion export from Down Under sinceElle Macpherson joined the ranks ofCindy Crawford,Claudia Schiffer,Kate Moss,Naomi Campbell andChristy Turlington."[37]
She was on the May 2011 cover ofNumero, photographed by Tom Munro.[18]
Lee around this time began to shift away from her full time modeling career with her last runway being in late 2012 where she walked forAlexander Wang andAnna Sui.[citation needed] During 2012, she started to scale back on modeling to pursue an acting career and spent most of the year inSouth Africa filming the post-apocalyptic filmMad Max: Fury Road.[citation needed]
Although Lee was ranked 4th at the height of her career on theTop 50 Models Women list by models.com, as of June 2013 she was 12th on the list.[38]
In May 2014, Lee once again appeared on the cover ofVogue Australia and starred in two editorials on the same issue, in which her acting debut was celebrated. In August 2014 Models.com moved Abbey to theIndustry Icon list considering her still going presence in fashion with big fragrances contracts asFlora By Gucci and Versace'sYellow Diamond, although she was absent from runways and editorials to filmMad Max andGods of Egypt.
Lee had a supporting role in the 2015 filmMad Max: Fury Road. By this time Lee would move toLos Angeles to pursue her acting career more seriously. In 2016, she had major roles in the filmsGods of Egypt, alongsideGerard Butler,[39] and theNicolas Winding Refn-directed thrillerThe Neon Demon, withElle Fanning.[40][41][42] Lee stated that her history of martial arts training got her the role inGods of Egypt.[11]
In 2017, Lee played Tirana in the filmThe Dark Tower.[43] The following year, she played the main character inElizabeth Harvest, directed bySebastian Gutierrez.[44]
In 2020, she played the troubled Christina Braithwhite inHBO's drama horrorLovecraft Country.[45] She toldHarper's Bazaar that she was the last one cast for the show and that she researched about growing up in a cult to understand the character.[46]
In 2021, she played Chrystal, a sufferer ofhypocalcemia, in the filmOld byM. Night Shyamalan.[47]
In 2023, she played the lead role of Delly West in the crime seriesFlorida Man, oppositeEdgar Ramirez.[48]
In 2023, she playedCarol Howe in the miniseriesWaco: The Aftermath.
In 2024, she played Marigold in the first two films of theHorizon: An American Saga series, subtitledChapter 1 andChapter 2.
Lee stated that she was a driven child with big hopes and dreams but her complicated household meant that her parents struggled to put food on the table and there was no music or art in their home.[46] She felt that modelling made her a "disposable cog in a wheel", but that it was the ticket to her survival.[1][46] Her role inMad Max opened her eyes to how acting combines expression, sound, movement, performance and "everything she loved".[46]
In 2015, Lee said that she was writing a semi-autobiographical film about addiction.[11]
In a 2024Vogue Australia feature, Lee opened up about her long-term experiences withendometriosis and chronic pain. "For a good 15 years, I was dealing with a cocktail of chronic pain and searching everywhere to get help... I was hospitalised numerous times when things got really bad, when there were flare-ups", which she hid from the public eye at the time. Her symptoms only started to improve after undergoing surgery from a specialist in the UK.[49]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Submission | Jiu Jitsu Fighter | Video short |
| 2015 | Mad Max: Fury Road | The Dag | |
| Ruben Guthrie | Zoya Houbec | ||
| Caprice | Holly | ||
| 2016 | Snowbird | Theo | Video short |
| Gods of Egypt | Anat | ||
| The Neon Demon | Sarah | ||
| Office Christmas Party | Savannah | ||
| 2017 | The Dark Tower | Tirana | |
| 1% | Katrina | ||
| Maverick | Maverick | Video short | |
| 2018 | Welcome the Stranger | Alice | |
| To the Night | Caty | ||
| Elizabeth Harvest | Elizabeth | ||
| 2019 | Lux Æterna | Abbey | |
| 2021 | Old | Chrystal | |
| The Forgiven | Cody | ||
| 2024 | Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 | Marigold | |
| Killer Heat | Monique | ||
| Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 | Marigold |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Lovecraft Country | Christina Braithwhite | Regular role, 10 episodes |
| 2023 | Florida Man | Delly West | Regular role, 7 episodes |
| Waco: The Aftermath | Carol Howe | Regular role, 5 episodes | |
| 2025 | Black Rabbit | Anna | Recurring role, 6 episodes |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Gold Derby Awards | Best Ensemble Cast(shared with the cast) | Mad Max: Fury Road | Nominated |
| 2018 | AACTA Awards | Best Lead Actress | 1% | Nominated |
| 2019 | AFCA Award | Best Lead Actress | Nominated | |
| 2021 | Critics' Choice Super Awards | Best Villain in Series | Lovecraft Country | Nominated |
| Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Nominated |
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