Lisa McCune | |
|---|---|
 McCune at the 2011Logie Awards | |
| Born | (1971-02-19)19 February 1971 (age 54) Sydney,New South Wales, Australia |
| Education | Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (BA) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1986−present |
| Known for | Blue Heelers asMaggie Doyle |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
Lisa McCune (born 19 February 1971)[1] is an Australian actress, known for her role in TV seriesBlue Heelers as Senior ConstableMaggie Doyle, and inSea Patrol as Lieutenant Kate McGregor RAN. She has won fourGold Logie Awards.
McCune has also featured in many theatre roles.[2]
Born in Sydney,[1] McCune grew up in Perth. She first performed on stage at the age of 15 playingDorothy inThe Wizard of Oz[1] at the Limelight Theatre inWanneroo, Western Australia.
After attendingCarine Senior High School[3] and graduating fromGreenwood Senior High School,[4] she was accepted into both the classical singing andmusical theatre courses at theWestern Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA). She graduated with aBA in Music Theatre in 1990.
Upon graduation, McCune secured an agent, Robyn Gardiner Management (RGM Associates), and took on various jobs in Sydney and Melbourne. In February 1991, she won a twelve-month contract withColes Supermarkets for a series of print and TV advertisements in which she played Lisa, the girl-next-doorcheckout chick.[5]
McCune performed in a statewide tour of Victorian high schools in the educationalJohn Romeril play about work experience, calledWorking Out, was in the chorus for a Sydney musical version ofGreat Expectations starring Philip Gould, and starred as the aspiring ballerina postulant, Sister Mary Leo, in the sequel to theDan Goggin musicalNunsense.
She had a brief appearance in a re-enactment about a possible UFO-sighting inBass Strait for the American seriesUnsolved Mysteries and a role in the 1993 satirical horror movieBody Melt in which her heavily pregnant character was attacked by a ferocious placenta before dying from an exploding stomach. McCune also sang in a couple of bands, includingGeorge Kapiniaris' Flares and Choice.
In 1991, she filmed a pilot for aSteve Vizard/Artist Services comedy calledTurn it Up (akaRadio Waves). In 1993, McCune won the lead part of Allie Carter in the pilot ofNewlyweds before being replaced byAnnie Jones for the series.
McCune shot to fame in September 1993 at age 22 when she debuted as ConstableMaggie Doyle inBlue Heelers, playing the role until the seventh season. During this time she won theGold Logie Award for Most Popular Television Personality four times.
Throughout herBlue Heelers run, she occasionally took time off to appear in other productions. In 1996 McCune appeared oppositeBrett Climo who played her brother inBlue Heelers, in a friend's filmThe Inner Sanctuary. In early 1997 she played the role of Anne in theMelbourne Theatre Company's (MTC) production ofSondheim’sA Little Night Music. In 1998, McCune playedCinderella in another Sondheim musical,Into the Woods. She also did two short seasons of the classic two-handerLove Letters.
In early 1999 she took six weeks offBlue Heelers to play one of the leads, Mary Abacus, in the miniseries adaptation ofBryce Courtenay'sThe Potato Factory, which earned her a nomination for anAFI award forBest Actress in a TV Drama.[6] In July 1999, a couple of months before finishing onBlue Heelers, she starred alongsideJohn Wood inShe Loves Me.
Immediately after finishingBlue Heelers, she starred alongsideJohn Waters,Bert Newton,Nikki Webster,Rachel Marley and laterRob Guest in a stage version ofThe Sound of Music, asMaria von Trapp.[7]
In 2001, while she was pregnant with her first child, her portrait by Shaun Clark was entered in theArchibald Prize.[8][9] She was off screens for a year to be a stay-at-home mother.
In 2002, her next project was a 'comeback' role in the television seriesMarshall Law withAlison Whyte and formerBlue Heelers cast memberWilliam McInnes.[10] Although it rated well in the first week,[11] the series was critically panned and its subsequent low ratings ensured it was cancelled after one season.[12]
In 2004, after another year off due to the birth to her second child, McCune slowly began to return to television. She again was the advertising face ofColes Supermarkets.[5] She also hostedSeven Network showsThe World Around Us andForensic Investigators. McCune also appeared as the love interest oppositeMatt Day in theABC telemovieHell Has Harbour Views.[13]
In September 2005, McCune guest starred in a four-episode storyline onMDA[6] alongside her formerBlue Heelers co-starPaul Bishop. Also in 2005 she narrated a second season ofForensic Investigators and appeared in the Australian filmLittle Fish, starring alongsideCate Blanchett andSam Neill in the early stages of her third pregnancy. In 2006, she played Annabel inTripping Over.
She has also appeared in a number of musicals and other stage productions around Australia, notably asSally Bowles inCabaret,[14] Hope Cladwell inUrinetown, and Olive Ostrovsky inThe 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.[15][16] In 2012/13, she performed oppositeTeddy Tahu Rhodes inOpera Australia's production of theBartlett Sher 2008 New York revival of theRodgers and Hammerstein musicalSouth Pacific at theSydney Opera House, thePrincess Theatre, Melbourne, and the BrisbaneQueensland Performing Arts Centre.[17]
From 2007 until 2011, McCune was in the ensemble cast for theNine Network drama series,Sea Patrol. Her character is theexecutive officer (second in command) Lieutenant Kate McGregor, of HMAS Hammersley, a fictionalRoyal Australian Navypatrol boat. There were five seasons of the show, and it was cancelled due to financial issues resulting from the scheduled loss of pertinent government tax credits.
On 5 April 2008, she began her role of Sarah Brown in the major stage productionGuys and Dolls,[18] playing for 20 weeks at thePrincess Theatre in Melbourne before being revived for a Sydney season at theCapitol Theatre on 12 March 2009.
In 2010, she appeared as Jean in the MTC production ofSarah Ruhl'sDead Man's Cell Phone. McCune also appeared as the celebrity guest in the reasonably-priced ute/car in season 3, episode 1 ofTop Gear Australia in August. She appeared alongsideRichard Roxburgh in season 1, episode 2 of the television seriesRake, which aired in November.
McCune starred Dr. Sam Stewart inReef Doctors, an Australian television drama series that ran 9 June 2013 to 7 September 2013.[19]
In 2014, she starred asAnna Leonowens in Opera Australia's production of theRodgers and Hammerstein musicalThe King and I, playing oppositeTeddy Tahu Rhodes in Brisbane and Sydney, andLou Diamond Phillips in Melbourne.
In 2015, McCune recorded "The Unbearable Price of War", a duet withLee Kernaghan for his albumSpirit of the Anzacs. Later that year, she joinedDavid Hobson,Teddy Tahu Rhodes, andGreta Bradman for a concert tour, From Broadway to La Scala, of the five Australian mainland state capitals.[20]
In 2018, she appeared in theNetwork Ten comedyHow to Stay Married withPeter Helliar. In 2019, McCune appeared in33 Variations at theComedy Theatre, Melbourne, oppositeEllen Burstyn.[21] McCune playedGertrude inBell Shakespeare's 2020 production ofHamlet at theSydney Opera House, theCanberra Theatre Centre and theArts Centre Melbourne.[22] In 2022, she appeared as Elizabeth Laine inGirl from the North Country at theSydney Festival, and then in Adelaide and Melbourne.[23]
In 2024, McCune appeared in ABC kids showPlanet Lulin.[24]
In August 2024, McCune won the twenty-first season ofDancing with the Stars Australia with professional dance partnerIan Waite. The pair won following an in-studio audience vote against fellow finalistsSamantha Jade andAnt Middleton. Their two final routines received scores of 40 and 39 out of a possible 40.[25]
In 2025, McCune was one of 5 contestants on season 4 of Taskmaster Australia.[26]
McCune married Tim Disney, a film technician who was part of theBlue Heelers crew, on 18 February 2000. They have three children, born in 2001, 2003 and 2005. McCune confirmed in 2020 that Disney was her ex-husband but they continue to co-habitate and co-parent.[27] In 2021, McCune said she was "happily single", in an interview withThe Australian Women's Weekly.[28]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Fast Forward | Various | Episode: "4:16" | |
| 1994–2000 | Blue Heelers | Maggie Doyle | Main cast | |
| 2000 | The Potato Factory | Mary Abacus | Television miniseries | |
| 2002 | Marshall Law | Ros Marshall | Main cast | |
| 2005 | MDA | Dr. Liz Gibson | 4 episodes | |
| 2006 | Two Twisted | Fiona Wells | Episode: "Call Back" | |
| Tripping Over | Annabel | Episode: "1.1, 1.3, 1.5, 1.6" | ||
| 2007–2011 | Sea Patrol | Lieutenant 'XO' Kate McGregor,RAN | Main cast | |
| 2010 | Rake | Lucy Marx | Episode 1.2: "R vs. Marx" | |
| 2013 | Reef Doctors | Dr. Sam Stewart | Main cast, also co-producer | [29] |
| 2013–2014 | It's a Date | Em | Episode: "1.1, 1.2" | |
| 2015 | The Divorce | Louise | Main cast | [30] |
| 2017 | The Warriors | Deb Van Exel | Main cast | |
| The Ex-PM | Lorelei Baggins | Episode: "Reckoning" | ||
| 2018–2020 | How to Stay Married | Em Butler | Main cast | |
| 2023 | Big Miracles | Narrator | 7 episodes | [31] |
| The Garden Hustle | Self | Co-host | [32] | |
| 2024 | Planet Lulin(F.A.N.G) | Esme | 10 episodes | |
| 2025 | Taskmaster Australia | Contestant |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Turn It Up | Lynette | TV film | |
| 1993 | Body Melt | Cheryl Rand | Feature film | |
| 1996 | The Inner Sanctuary | Felicity | Feature film | |
| 2005 | Hell Has Harbour Views | Caroline Ashton | TV film | |
| Little Fish | Laura | Feature film | ||
| 2007 | One of the Lucky Ones | Wendy the Narrator | TV film | |
| 2011 | Blood Brothers | Margaret Kennedy | TV film | [33] |
| 2014 | The Little Death | Maureen | Feature film |
Media related toLisa McCune at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
