Melissa Jaffer

Acting

Melissa Jaffer

Born 1936-12-01 · Gladstone, Queensland, Austrailia

Melissa Jaffer (born December 1, 1936) is an Australian actress. She is best known for her television roles, but has also appeared in many Australian films. Jaffer has made many appearances in television series, including Kings, Mother and Son, G. P., Brides of Christ, Grass Roots and All Saints. Jaffer is probably best known to international audiences for her role as aging mystic Utu-Noranti Pralatong in the science fiction series Farscape. In 1976, Jaffer tied for the first AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role opposite Jacki Weaver for her performance in Caddie. In 1980 she played the part of Cousin Edie in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's children's television series The Nargun and the Stars. In the 2015 film Mad Max: Fury Road she played the role of "Keeper of the Seeds". The short film Dear Life is her latest project.

Acting credits

Mad Max: Fury Road poster
7.6

An apocalyptic story set in the furthest reaches of our planet, in a stark desert landscape where humanity is broken, and most everyone is crazed fighting for the necessities of life. Within this world exist two rebels on the run who just might be able to restore order.

Mad Max: Fury Road

2015

Three Thousand Years of Longing poster
6.9

A solitary scholar discovers an ancient bottle while on a trip to Istanbul and unleashes a djinn who offers her three wishes. Filled with reluctance, she is unable to come up with one, so the djinn tries to inspire her with his stories.

Three Thousand Years of Longing

2022

Starstruck poster
5.4

A Sydney teen tries to make it as a rock singer, with help from her odd 14-year-old cousin.

Starstruck

1982

BlackJack poster
4.5

Jack Kempson started out as an idealistic cop. Thirty years on, he remains relentless in tracking down villains, but has lost confidence in his moral barometer. He turns a blind eye to the dubious methods employed by some of his contemporaries — prepared to let dodgy means be justified by the noble end.

BlackJack

2003

The Cars That Ate Paris poster
5.6

After surviving a car accident, a young man finds himself trapped in the isolated town of Paris, where the local economy depends on deliberately causing crashes and salvaging the wreckage. As he becomes entangled in the town’s routines, tensions between its residents and a rebellious group of youths begin to surface.

The Cars That Ate Paris

1974

Do I Have to Kill My Child? poster
7.0

A disturbing drama about a young mother who physically abuses her baby. Feeling overwhelmed and aware that she's not coping after the birth of her third child, she sends desperate cries for help. But her mother, husband, neighbour and clinic sister do not recognise the seriousness of the situation until the baby ends up in hospital with a fractured skull. A heart-wrenching film that illustrates the experiences of many women who suffer from post-natal depression.

Do I Have to Kill My Child?

1976

Komodo poster
5.2

During the 70's, some Komodo Dragon eggs were dumped on an North Carolina island. Somehow, the baby Komodos survived, and twenty years later they have grown up and taken over the island for themselves. Young Patrick has lost his parents and his dog to the lizards, but didn't see them himself, which has left him traumatized. Now, with his therapist Victoria, they return to confront his fears.

Komodo

1999

My Mother Frank poster
5.0

When a meddlesome mother enrolls in university with her son, old and new worlds collide with awesome consequences.

My Mother Frank

2000

Kindred poster
NR

Penny is in her mid-twenties. For years she has suffered from the sexual assaults of her father, who is now beginning to take an interest in her younger sister. She tries to convince her mother and sister of her situation as an incest victim, but they just ignore her. The father tries to keep his secret by isolating Penny, but eventually she is old enough and confident enough to break free, though not without the emotional scars of years of abuse.

Kindred

1983

The Delinquents poster
5.1

A small town in Australia, in the late 1950s: Brownie and Lola are deeply in love. But because they are under-age, their parents are against their relationship and try to separate them.

The Delinquents

1989

The Coolangatta Gold poster
4.8

Steve Lucas is a nineteen year old who is filled with the burning resentment of being forced to live in his brother's shadow. His brother Adam, is burdened by his father's desire for glory, and must win The Coolangatta Gold Tri-Aquathon, It is the greatest endurance test of them all: a marathon involving a 20 kilometer beach run, 6 kilometer swim and a 17 kilometer surf ski from Surfers Paradise along the golden arc of beach to Coolangatta and back to the start. The Coolangatta Gold is a story of human endeavor and endurance against overwhelming odds.

The Coolangatta Gold

1984

Ride a Wild Pony poster
6.6

Scott, a poor farm boy, is given a wild pony from a wealthy ranch owner's herd to ride to and from school. Scott and his pony soon become an inseparable team, until one day the pony suddenly disappears. Soon after, the ranch owner's handicapped daughter Josie has a wild pony especially trained to pull her cart. But Scott is convinced that Josie's pony is actually his, which leads to a court battle that divides their small Australian town. One child must ultimately lose the pony when true ownership is decided.

Ride a Wild Pony

1975

The Distant Home poster
5.7

Government authorities incarcerate a girl whose extraterrestrial origin is discovered after an accident with a car.

The Distant Home

1992

Caddie poster
6.2

Proud and classy Caddie Marsh is forced to get a job as a barmaid and raise two children on her own after her husband walks out on her.

Caddie

1976

Weekend of Shadows poster
8.0

In the 1930s, a farmer's wife in a small town is murdered. Suspicion falls on a Polish labourer and a posse is formed to catch him.

Weekend of Shadows

1978

Molly poster
9.0

After Dan collapses at a train station, he enlists Maxie to watch his beloved dog, Molly. Maxie develops a soft spot for her new furry companion - a dog which has a unique ability to sing in tune.

Molly

1983

Sally Marshall Is Not an Alien poster
9.0

A young girl obsessed with watching the heavens bets her telescope with the local bully that their oddly acting new neighbours are not aliens from outer space.

Sally Marshall Is Not an Alien

1999

Strangers poster
NR

When aged-care facility workers find two residents in bed together, familial tensions rise.

Strangers

2019

You and Me and Uncle Bob poster
8.0

Two children who play cupid to an unlikely older couple: a chorus girl and an unemployed butcher.

You and Me and Uncle Bob

1992