Really Interesting Women

Really Interesting Women - the podcast

Episode 117

Louise Herron AM

Louise Herron became the first woman appointed to lead the World Heritage-listed Sydney Opera House. During that time, she was charged with transforming the Opera House and overseeing a decade of renewal in all aspects including the largest and most transformative series of building works since the Opera House opened in 1973.

The renewal process included the enormous task of trying to improve the acoustics as part of the concert hall renovation. That herculean task had its first litmus test recently when the world-renowned conductor Simone Young led the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in the first concert after the renewal, stating afterwards... ‘I’ve never known anything like we’re experiencing today’.

Each CEO of the Opera House seems to be a custodian, a visionary, and an historian. Louise recounts the sliding door moment that may have meant the Opera House, as we know it, may never have been built but for the late arriving Finnish/American architect Eero Saarinen who was part of the design competition judging panel and wasn’t happy with the shortlist presented to him...so he started foraging through the rejected entries (some say they may have already been literally binned) and found Utzon’s sketches (not even plans) – and just said, ‘that’s it’.

It's a fascinating discussion covering not just the Opera House, but how Louise progressed her career, the drivers, and motivators behind her decisions. The transferable skills she has used in the varied jobs she has had.

Also...we discussed where to from here for the Arts generally. How can we progress and promote the Arts and remove barriers from accessing, participating, and enjoying such a vital aspect of life.

Head to the link in my bio for Louise Herron's podcast episode.

Visit instagram @reallyinterestingwomen for further interviews and posts of interesting women in history.

Follow the link to leave a review....and tell your friends
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If you know of a potential guest or interesting woman in history, email me at
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Really Interesting Women - the Podcast

Episode 116
Heather Mitchell AM

Heather Mitchell is one of this country’s most acclaimed actors.

In a career lasting over 4 decades (and counting), she has been involved in film, theatre and television projects that we would all be familiar with no matter what era you call your own...the TV miniseries Bodyline, the fantasy teen drama Spellbinder, movies such as Proof, The Great Gatsby, Muriel’s Wedding, Palm Beach and countless theatre productions culminating most recently in the critically acclaimed, RBG: Of Many, One, where Heather, in an extraordinary performance, plays the former US Supreme Court Judge Ruth Bader Ginsberg - one of nearly 30 characters she plays in the show.

But if you think that working in a fickle industry for 40 plus years means she’s probably had an easy run...nothing could be further from the truth. The strength, determination and resilience required from Heather in the face of, at times, overwhelming odds, would be beyond most of us. It speaks volumes of her that she has faced these challenges and will still light up a room with her smile and genuine (!) demeanour.

Clairvoyants and burnt toast play a big part in her life too - have a listen to her podcast episode to understand why.

She’s greatly respected and admired within the industry and, more importantly, much loved .



Her memoir, Everything and Nothing (Allen & Unwin) is a really good read. A great Christmas gift if you ask me.

https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Heather-Mitchell-Everything-and-Nothing-9781761067303/

Visit instagram @reallyinterestingwomen for further interviews and posts of interesting women in history.

Follow the link to leave a review....and tell your friends
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Really Interesting Women - The Podcast

Episode 115 Suzie Miller


Suzie Miller is this country’s most successful playwright.

Her recent play ‘Prima Facie’ has had sold out performances in Australia, London’s West End and New York’s Broadway and is now being produced in over 30 countries. Killing Eve’s Jodie Comer would have had the luxury of being able to choose any theatrical production to make her West End debut. She chose Prima Facie.

The response has been phenomenal. It has earned Suzie the prestigious Olivier Award in London for Best New Play.

Was it luck? Well, Suzie Miller’s ‘overnight success’ as some may put it, has been over 20 years and 40 plays in the making – and that’s not counting her legal career which has been a huge influence on her writing.

She initially studied science and, realising that was not going to be the career for her, went on to study law. A short stint in corporate law precipitated a move to the Aboriginal Legal Service, and eventually the Shopfront Youth Legal Centre in Kings Cross. And during this time, she was writing.

Her first play in 2003 was based on her Kings Cross legal experience. It transferred from a fringe Sydney theatre to the Sydney Opera House. She was enjoying great local success but still had to juggle both playwrighting and the law for some time and then she came to a crossroads in 2009.

Join me for our conversation as we discuss her career to date as well as her more recent plays, her debut novel (an adaptation of Prima Facie), several television projects and the enormous amount she puts back into the industry and its people (including me!).

In an industry that can be fickle and unforgiving, Suzie Miller’s success should be celebrated.



HEAD to the link in my bio to listen to this episode.

Visit instagram @reallyinterestingwomen for further interviews and posts of interesting women in history.

Follow the link to leave a review....and tell your friends
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Really Interesting Women - The Podcast


Episode 114

Nicole Livingstone OAM

Nicole Livingstone was part of the Australian swimming team for twelve years - starting when she was in Grade 8! She went to 3 successive Olympic Games winning a silver and 2 bronze medals. She was a short course world record holder in backstroke and, in fact, still holds the longest winning sequence in history of any Australian swimmer (male or female) at the national titles. Ten consecutive backstroke titles.

More than enough achievements for one lifetime...but then she went on to a long and successful career in the media as a host and commentator and joined a number of not-for-profit boards including co-founding, with her sister, Ovarian Cancer Australia.

And then another opportunity presented itself in 2017 and after an exhaustive process, she was announced as theAustralian Football League's head of women's football and is now responsible for managing the hugely successfulAFL Women’s competition.

You've probably seen Nicole on television in some capacity over the last 20 years or so, but, like me, you probably didn't know the whole story. It's a fascinating conversation and one which I'm sure you'll enjoy.

Head to the link in my bio to have a listen to the podcast conversation.

Visit instagram @reallyinterestingwomen for further interviews and posts of interesting women in history.

Follow the link to leave a review....and tell your friends
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If you know of a potential guest or interesting woman in history, email me at
[email protected]

Really Interesting Women - the Podcast

Episode 113. Dr. Bronwyn Bancroft

Dr Bronwyn Bancroft is a proud Bundjalung woman and a very successful artist. But the journey has been a long one and she's overcome hurdles that most of us can't imagine.

Bronwyn's career has included both national and international exhibitions, and her work has been acquired by all major Australian galleries, state libraries and private collections.

She has also been a trailblazer in children’s literature having published over 40 books. In addition to this she has been a director of her own company, Designer Aboriginals since 1985 and, in 1987, was one of the first Australian fashion designers to be invited to exhibit their works in Paris.

She has a long history of involvement in community activism and arts administration, and has served as a board member for the National Gallery of Australia. She has a Diploma of Visual Arts, 2 Masters degrees and in 2018 was awarded her PhD in Visual Arts.

To have a listen to our conversation about her amazing journey, head to the link in my bio.

Visit instagram @reallyinterestingwomen for further interviews and posts of interesting women in history.

Follow the link to leave a review....and tell your friends
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If you know of a potential guest or interesting woman in history, email me at
[email protected]

Really Interesting Women - The podcast

Episode 112 Collette Dinnigan AO

Collette Dinnigan is one of the country’s most successful fashion designers.

Her creations have been worn by the likes of Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Oprah Winfrey, Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts, Princess Mary, and the Duchess of Cambridge. She became the first Australian to mount a full-scale ready-to-wear collection in Paris and was subsequently invited to show on the prestigious Paris Fashion Week schedule.

Collette has won Australian Designer of the Year, the Louis Vuitton Business Award and the Award for Excellence from Fashion Group International amongst many other accolades. She has even been a Special Guest Editor for Vogue Living’s ‘Italian’ issue.

Her business was an international success and then, after 24 years, she closed her boutiques in Sydney, Melbourne and London, stopped producing her successful bridal and evening wear lines and, with a renewed sense of purpose, headed in a new creative direction for all the right reasons.

We had a great discussion which included, as a child, her family's real life re-enactment of the TV series The Rovers (one of the great Australian shows!), being told at Fashion School that she was least likely to succeed in the class, her international rise and embracing new opportunities (working with Specsavers, entering Celebrity MasterChef) and...food. We even get tips on the best thing for Italian food lovers to plant in a garden. Everything covered!

Head to the link in my bio for a listen.

Visit instagram @reallyinterestingwomen for further interviews and posts of interesting women in history.

Follow the link to leave a review....and tell your friends
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/really-interesting-women/id1526764849

If you know of a potential guest or interesting woman in history, email me at
[email protected]

Really Interesting Women Podcast

Ep. 111 Danielle Laidley

Danielle Laidley had an illustrious career as an AFL player and in 1996 won a premiership with the North Melbourne Football Club. She subsequently became one of the youngest head coaches in the league’s history at the age of 36 and was then inducted into the club’s hall of fame.

But her amazing career and life were never what they seemed on the surface. Danielle faced a private and lifelong battle with gender dysphoria and that constant struggle with her identity led eventually to legal troubles and addiction issues...which, in other circumstances, may have led to her undertaking a private recovery. But in her case, it was all cruelly and publicly exposed without her consent or knowledge. And then came the incredible journey to recovery.

I think it would be fair to say Danielle is the most prominent transgender person in the country. The opportunity to reveal who she really was was taken away from her by police at the St Kilda police station when photos were taken and distributed publicly without her knowledge or consent . And that was how her own children found out.

Danielle is now taking back control of her own story and it's through podcasts such as this one and a documentary streaming on Stan (see below).

It's an important episode and can help people understand. Please head to the link in my bio for a listen.

#reallyinterestingwomen #riw #daniellelaidley #transgender #genderdysphoria #addiction #determination #resilience
@daniellemaylaidley07
@the_dls
@afl
@aflwomens
@nmfcofficial


The book is:
Don't Look Away: A Memoir of Identity and Acceptance
The documentary:
Stan
Revealed: Danielle Laidley: Two Tribes

Visit instagram @reallyinterestingwomen for further interviews and posts of interesting women in history.

Follow the link to leave a review....and tell your friends
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If you know of a potential guest or interesting woman in history, email me at
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Really Interesting Women

Podcast - Episode 110

Nikki Gemmell

Nikki Gemmell is an international best-selling author of over 20 books and a Walkley Award winning commentator and opinion writer for The Australian newspaper.

Her subject matter and distinctive writing style led to the French literary magazine Lire in 2007 including her in a list of what it called the fifty most important writers in the world – those it believed would have a significant influence on the literature of the 21st century. In fact, in France she has been described as a "female Jack Kerouac ".

Four of her books (Shiver, Cleave, The Bride Stripped Bare and The Book of Rapture) made the longlist of "Favourite Australian Novels" as chosen by readers of the Australian Book Review.

But it was her best-known work in 2003, The Bride Stripped Bare, which became a world-wide publishing sensation...and then upended her universe. To protect herself she initially published the book anonymously. Then the media outed her and, according to Nikki herself, all hell broke loose. The consequences are still being felt today.

With Nikki Gemmell there's always a lot to discuss. And we try and cover as much as we can...her loving yet fractious relationship with her mother, how to deal with the inevitable withering criticisms that come from being a public figure and her liberating time as a writer in London....and then retraining, as she calls them, her pommy children to become Australian when she returned to these shores.

But all the while, it was her love of writing that kept her moving through life's rollercoaster. And still does.

Her books display the qualities she most admires in other authors...brutal, eviscerating honesty. But there’s an overriding sense of fun, wit and wisdom which makes her a brilliant writer, a great guest and, it goes without saying, a really interesting woman.

Visit instagram @reallyinterestingwomen for further interviews and posts of interesting women in history.

Follow the link to leave a review....and tell your friends
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/really-interesting-women/id1526764849

If you know of a potential guest or interesting woman in history, email me at
[email protected]

Really Interesting Women - Podcast Episode 109

Caroline de Mori AM

This is a great story of an extraordinary woman.

Caroline was a journalist, ran a PR company and was a successful business woman who ran her own company with 4 of her own children. When that just wasn't a thing.

She's a risk taker, a do-er and hates injustice. Her corporate role took her all over the Kimberley and Pilbara regions of WA and what she saw in the remote Aboriginal communities affected her profoundly...as it would for anyone seeing it. But unlike 'anyone'...she decided to do something about it.

In 2005, Caroline established the EON Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation to overcome chronic health issues in Indigenous communities in the most practical way – by helping them grow and prepare fresh fruit and vegetables. She recognised that the simplest way to provide fresh food particularly to remote communities was to grow it locally.

The communities themselves request EON's assistance, so it has the best chance of success as a result. The children's involvement is a huge part of it. And it's working.

Head to the link in my bio for Caroline's story.

The website is brilliant. Have a look:
www.eon.org.au

Visit instagram @reallyinterestingwomen for further interviews and posts of interesting women in history.

Follow the link to leave a review....and tell your friends
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/really-interesting-women/id1526764849

If you know of a potential guest or interesting woman in history, email me at
[email protected]

Podcast ep. 108

Marita Cheng AM

Marita is a former Young Australian of the Year. 11 Years on from that award her work improving the lives of others is quite extraordinary.

Marita and her brother were raised by their single mother in housing commission in Cairns. She encouraged education and worked a number of jobs such as a hotel room cleaner and dishwasher to give them every opportunity she could afford.

 Marita is the founder of Robogals and the founder and current CEO of Aubot, a start-up robotics company. She co-founded Aipoly, an app to assist blind people to recognise objects using their mobile phones and was named as one of the World's Top 50 women in Technology by Forbes in 2018 and was recognised on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2016.

On 9 June 2019, Marita was appointed a member of the Order of Australia for significant service to science and technology, particularly to robotics.

Former Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, described her as  a leader; 
an inspiration; a game changer.

 
HEAD to the link in my bio for Marita's podcast episode. 


www.maritacheng.com

Visit instagram @reallyinterestingwomen for further interviews and posts of interesting women in history.

Follow the link to leave a review....and tell your friends
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/really-interesting-women/id1526764849

If you know of a potential guest or interesting woman in history, email me at
[email protected]