Christine Anu

Early life and education

Maia Christine Anu, was born in Cairns, Queensland, on 15 March 1970. She did not know who her biological father was, and grew up with her Torres Strait Islander mother and stepfather all over Queensland. Her mother is from Saibai Island, and her stepfather was a respected songman on Saibai, He died in 1979 when Christine was 10 years old.

Anu attended Emmaus College in Rockhampton, from which she graduated in 1987. Dancing being her first love, she moved to inner-city Sydney to study at the National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association (later known as NAISDA Dance College), which had been established by Carole Johnson. She earned an Associate degree in dance in 1992.

Career

Music

Anu began performing as a dancer while at college, and became a member of the Bangarra Dance Theatre and the Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre troupes. She toured with Bangarra in 1992 and 1993.

She went on to sing back-up vocals for the Rainmakers, which included Neil Murray, formerly founder-member of the Warumpi Band, for a year.

In 1995, Neil Murray won an Australasian Performing Right Association songwriting award for writing "My Island Home". Anu covered the song, which gained immediate popularity, causing her to be remembered as the principal singer of the song. She released her first album, Stylin' Up, which went platinum, in 1995.

"Come On" was released as the fourth and final single from Stylin' Up. The song peaked at number 94 in Australia on the ARIA Charts. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1996 the song won two of three awards for which it was nominated, including Best Female Artist and Best Indigenous Release. In that year she also won a Deadly Award for best female artist.

Baz Luhrmann asked her to sing on the song "Now Until the Break of Day" on his 1997 album Something for Everybody album. It was released as a single, with the video winning another ARIA award in 1999, and led to her being cast in Moulin Rouge!.

In January 1998, Anu teamed up with Archie Roach, Paul Kelly, Judith Durham, Renee Geyer, Kutcha Edwards and Tiddas and formed Singers for the Red Black and Gold. Together they released a cover of "Yil Lull". In that year, she won the Female Artist of The Year Deadly Award.

In 2000, Anu released Come My Way which peaked at number 18 on the ARIA albums chart and went gold. She released the hit single "Sunshine on a Rainy Day", for which she won the ARIA Awards for both Best Female Artist and Engineer of the Year. In the same year, she sang the song "My Island Home" at the Sydney 2000 Olympics Closing Ceremony.

In 2003, Anu released her third studio album, 45 Degrees, and in 2005 released Acoustically. and in 2004 she won Single of the Year for "Talk About Love".

In February and March 2007, Anu toured New South Wales with a new stage show, Black is Blue, singing the songs of blues legends such as Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Marlene Cummins, and Ella Fitzgerald. Also that year she toured a children's show and released an associate album titled Chrissy's Island Family. The album gained an ARIA Award nomination.

On 26 September 2010, she released a new single, "Come Home", but it was not successful. In 2012 she released the album Rewind: The Aretha Franklin Songbook.

On 7 November 2014, Anu released a Christmas album, titled Island Christmas, and the following year released ReStylin' Up 20 Years.

In March 2018, Anu released a duet version of "Without You" from the musical Rent with Greg Gould. The lyric video featured photography from around the world, each photo with a splash of red for HIV/AIDS support and awareness.

Through 2023, Anu worked on her first album since 2015's live ReStylin' Up 20 Years. The project is using German ethnomusicologist Wolfgang Laade's recordings of Anu's grandfather, Nadi Anu, which are held by the Australian Institute Of Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Studies. The resulting album, Waku: Minaral a Minalay, was released on 2 August 2024. Her daughter, Zipporah, wrote one of the songs on the album.

Acting

Anu has had an acting career in film, stage (including musical theatre), and television.

She appeared in Dating the Enemy, a 1996 Australian film starring Guy Pearce and Claudia Karvan. She has also hosted children's television programme Play School.

Anu appeared in an Australian production of the stage musical Little Shop of Horrors, which played to glowing reviews. Anu was offered a role in a Broadway production of this musical but had to decline due to commitments in recording her second album.

She had parts in the films Moulin Rouge! (2001) and The Matrix Reloaded (2003)

From October 2004 through 2005, she toured Australia in Intimate and Deadly, a cabaret-style stage show based on her life.

In 2012 she played the lead role of Australian sci-fi television series Outland, about a gay sci-fi fan club. Anu plays wheelchair-using Rae, the sole female member of the group.

On the 21 October 2024, it was announced she would be playing the role of Hermes in the touring Australian production of Hadestown.

Other TV

In 2004, she became a judge on Popstars Live, a television quest broadcast on the Seven Network at 6.30 pm on Sunday night in Australia along the lines of Australian Idol. The program failed to achieve a similar level of success, leading network executives to pressure the judges to offer harsher criticism of the contestants. Anu refused to offer harsher criticism, saying that she wished to be a role model, leading to her resignation as a judge in April 2004.

In 2009, Anu participated in Who Do You Think You Are.

In August 2020, Anu was revealed to be "the Goldfish" in the second season of The Masked Singer Australia and was the third contestant unmasked, placing 10th overall.

Anu also performed "Waltzing Matilda" at the 2003 AFL Grand Final and performed at the 2024 AFL Grand Final.

Radio

In December 2015, ABC announced that Anu would host the Evenings radio program on ABC Radio Sydney, ABC Radio Canberra and ABC Local Radio stations across New South Wales. Anu shared the role with Dominic Knight, then took over full-time in April 2016 after Knight's resignation. In the first half of 2016 the program suffered a dip in the ratings after she began hosting. In November 2016, ABC announced a national Evenings program on Friday and Saturday across ABC Local Radio, hosted by Anu. Chris Bath replaced Anu as host of Evenings from Monday to Thursday on ABC Radio Sydney, ABC Radio Canberra and ABC Local Radio stations across New South Wales.

After a break, Anu restarted presenting Weekend Evenings in January 2023. , Anu presents Weekend Evenings on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, along with Sirine Demachkie.

Personal life

Anu is a mother of a son, Kuiam, and daughter, Zipporah Corser Anu. Zipporah's father is actor Rodger Corser, and she is also musically talented.

Anu married her childhood sweetheart, Simon Deutrom, in 2010. He is not the father of either of her children. In June 2016, Anu announced that she and Deutrom were separating after six years of marriage, and they later divorced.

She revealed in 2012 that she had struggled with weight gain, after suffering from depression, and appeared on the Nine Network's reality show Excess Baggage.

In February 2020, Anu pleaded guilty in the Rockhampton Magistrates Court to mid-range drunk driving, after having been pulled over by police in Rockhampton on New Year's Eve. She was fined A$650 and had her driver's license suspended for three months.

Discography

Main article: Christine Anu discography

Studio albums

• Stylin' Up (1995)
• Come My Way (2000)
• 45 Degrees (2003)
• Acoustically (2005)
• Chrissy's Island Family (2007)
• Rewind: The Aretha Franklin Songbook (2012)
• Island Christmas (2014)
• Waku: Minaral a Minalay (2024)

Live albums

• Intimate and Deadly (2010)
• ReStylin' Up 20 Years (2015)

Filmography

Films and television

Theatre and stage performances

The following list includes selected stage performances by Anu.

Awards and nominations

At the 2025 NAIDOC Awards Anu was presented with the Creative Talent Award.

ARIA Awards

The ARIA Music Awards are a set of annual ceremonies presented by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987. ARIA Awards won by Anu include:

Australian Women in Music Awards

The Australian Women in Music Awards is an annual event that celebrates outstanding women in the Australian Music Industry who have made significant and lasting contributions in their chosen field. They commenced in 2018.

|- | Christine Anu | Diversity in Music Award | |- | Christine Anu | Artistic Excellence Award |

Deadly Awards

The Deadly Awards, (commonly known simply as The Deadlys), was an annual celebration of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. They ran from 1996 to 2013. |- | 1996 | Herself | Female Artist of the Year | |- | 1998 | Herself | Female Artist of the Year | |- | 2000 | "Sunshine on a Rainy Day" | Single of the Year | |- | 2003 | Herself | Female Artist of the Year | |- | 2004 | "Talk About Love" | Single of the Year | |-

Green Room Awards

National Indigenous Music Awards

The National Indigenous Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises the achievements of Indigenous Australians in music.

! Ref. |- ! scope="row" rowspan="1"| 2024 | "Waku: Minaral a Minalay" | Song of the Year | |}

Queensland Music Awards

The Queensland Music Awards (previously known as Q Song Awards) are annual awards celebrating Queensland, Australia's emerging artists. They commenced in 2006.

! Ref. |- | 2025 | herself | Lifetime Achievement Award | | |}

References

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