Ashleigh Cummings

Early life

Cummings was born in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where her Australian parents lived and worked. She moved to Australia with her family when she was 12 years old. From the age of two, Cummings trained as a ballet dancer. When she was 14 she joined the Brent Street School of Performing Arts, where she learned dance and acting. Cummings then attended Wenona School in North Sydney, where she graduated in 2010. She also attended the film and television school Screenwise. Cummings studied philosophy at university between acting roles.

Career

Cummings appeared as a dancer in Darren Ashton's Razzle Dazzle: A Journey into Dance in 2007. She went on to star as Ally Sheppard in Green Fire Envy a project that was produced by the Participate Film Academy. Cummings' next projects were a role in the television film Dream Life and a guest stint in soap opera Home and Away.

In September 2009, it was announced Cummings had joined the cast of Tomorrow, When the War Began, a film based on the John Marsden book of the same name. Cummings learned how to ride dirt bikes and operate AK-47 assault rifles before filming began. She also sat her Year 11 exams early and missed the first part of Year 12, while shooting the film. Cummings earned a nomination for Best Young Actor at the 2010 Australian Film Institute Awards for her portrayal of Robyn Mathers.

From September 2010, Cummings appeared in the Sydney Theatre Company's production of Our Town. The actress went on to appear in episodes of Rescue Special Ops, Underbelly: Razor and Dance Academy in 2011. She was then cast as Dorothy "Dot" Williams in ABC1's Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, a drama series based on Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher historical mysteries. Dorothy is "a conservative working-class Catholic" who becomes Phryne's assistant and companion.

In March 2012, it was announced that Cummings had been cast as Debbie Vickers in the television adaptation of Puberty Blues. Cummings read the novel before her audition and she revealed that she was surprised at the content. Cummings stated: "In terms of the sexual nature of it, I wasn't aware of a lot of that and I've learnt so much (doing this movie)." To prepare for the role of Debbie, Cummings took surfing lessons. Cummings went overseas for three weeks to work as a volunteer in South-East Asia, before she returned to film the second series of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. For her roles in Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries and Puberty Blues, Cummings received a nomination for Most Popular Actress at the Logie Awards.

Cummings recorded vocals for Dan Webb's debut album Sandstorm, released in 2014. She also starred in Rhys Graham's first feature film Galore as Billie. Cummings received a nomination for Best Performance by a Young Actor at the Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards for her role in Galore. In 2015, Cummings appeared in the television miniseries Gallipoli as Celia. She also stars in the remake of the 1981 film Goodbye Pork Pie. In 2016, Cummings won the Heath Ledger Scholarship awarded by Australians in Film to study at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting and the Ivana Chubbuck Studio in Los Angeles. Cummings has a lead role in Hounds of Love. She was also cast as Cheryl Miller in Westside, the prequel series to Outrageous Fortune.

Cummings plays Pippa in The Goldfinch, a film adaptation of Donna Tartt's novel of the same name. She also appeared in the lead role of Vic McQueen in AMC horror series NOS4A2. In 2023, she began playing Abby Conroy in the American spy action thriller series Citadel for Amazon Prime Video.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. Daniell, Sarah. (28 July 2017). "Australian Ashleigh Cummings to play Cheryl West in Westside". [[The New Zealand Herald]].
2. Kalina, Paul. (9 August 2012). "Blues sound for a new generation". [[Fairfax Media]].
3. Sams, Christine. (12 August 2012). "Blues sisters shine". [[Fairfax Media]].
4. (15 July 2016). "Feature: Ashleigh Cummings". Sydney Theatre Company.
5. "Cast – Ashleigh Cummings". Participate Film Academy.
6. Sams, Christine. (13 September 2009). "Young guns shoot to thrill in Aussie film". [[Fairfax Media]].
7. "Screenteens Acting Classes – May Intake". [[Screenwise]].
8. "Debbie played by Ashleigh Cummings". [[Network Ten]].
9. "Feature Film Production Synopsis and Credits". [[Australian Film Institute]].
10. "Dorothy Williams". [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]].
11. Joyce, James. (11 December 2010). "War begins for AFI honours". [[Fairfax Media]].
12. Meade, Amanda. (2 February 2012). "Teaser: Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries". [[News Limited]].
13. (31 March 2012). "Cummings and Harding play Debbie and Sue". [[Yahoo!]].
14. (9 August 2012). "Confronting role a real eye-opener for Ashleigh". [[The Gold Coast Bulletin]].
15. Byrnes, Holly. (11 March 2013). "Comic duo Hamish Blake and Andy Lee to battle each other for Gold Logie". [[News Limited]].
16. "Exclusive Single Premiere: Dan Webb ft. Ashleigh Cummings "Sleep" (2014)". The AU Review.
17. Roach, Vicky. (16 June 2014). "Puberty Blues star Ashleigh Cummings travelled solo to the Big Apple at 14". [[news.com.au]].
18. Hawker, Philippa. (25 July 2013). "Galore a moving story of first love, loss and betrayal set against Canberra bushfires". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
19. Maddox, Garry. (3 February 2015). "Water Diviner and Babadook go head-to-head again". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
20. Baillie, Russell. (27 March 2016). "Say Hello to Goodbye Pork Pie's new Blondini gang". [[The New Zealand Herald]].
21. (2 June 2016). "Heath Ledger's scholarship winner announced". [[The West Australian]].
22. Daniell, Sarah. (29 July 2017). "Australian Ashleigh Cummings to play Cheryl West in Westside". [[The New Zealand Herald]].
23. Kroll, Justin. (18 December 2017). "Ashleigh Cummings Joins Warner Bros.' 'The Goldfinch' Adaptation (Exclusive)". [[Variety (magazine).
24. Petski, Denise. (13 September 2018). "'NOS4A2': Zachary Quinto & Ashleigh Cummings To Star in AMC Horror Drama". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
25. Andreeva, Nellie. (27 February 2023). "''Citadel'' Sets Premiere Date; First Look At Amazon Global Spy Series Reveals Lesley Manville Casting". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
26. "2014 edition".
27. (9 September 2016). "The Venice Days Award goes to The War Show". CinEuropa.