Sarah Lambert
Sarah Lambert is an Australian writer, director and producer, working primarily in television.
Early life
Lambert grew up with two older brothers, Tony and Andrew, and an older sister, actress Anne-Louise Lambert, known for her role as Miranda in the 1975 classic film, Picnic at Hanging Rock. When their parents split up in the mid-1970s, Lambert moved to the inner-Sydney suburb of Balmain with her mother and siblings.[1]
Career
Lambert had a recurring role as Sandy on television soap opera A Country Practice, playing Jo Loveday's best friend, Sandy Crosby from 1986 to 1989. She starred in drama series Heartbreak High as teacher Christina Milano in 1994.[2][1]
She made guest appearances in Spring & Fall, Bellamy, E Street, Rafferty's Rules, Police Rescue, G.P. and Medivac as well as featuring in the miniseries Against the Wind (1978) and Scales of Justice (1983). She also appeared in the films Doctors and Nurses (1981), Fluteman (1982) and The Roly Poly Man (1994). Lambert retired from acting in 2002, starting a career as a documentary filmmaker, followed by a television writer and show runner.
Lambert was the creator of the Nine Network television drama series Love Child, which she also wrote and produced.[3] It aired from 2014 to 2019 and over its four seasons, received 20 award nominations including Best Miniseries at the AWGIE Awards, Best Television Drama Series at the AACTA Awards, and Best Drama Program at the Logie Awards twice.[4]
Lambert is the writer and showrunner of the 2019 television adaptation of the Marele Day novel, Lambs of God for Lingo Pictures and Foxtel. The miniseries stars Ann Dowd, Jessica Barden and Essie Davis. The series received eighteen AACTA nominations. It was nominated for Best Screenplay at the 2019 AACTA Awards as well as being nominated for Best Television Series or Miniseries at the 2019 AWGIEs. It also won at the 2019 Screen Producers Awards for Best Miniseries.[5]
In 2022, Lambert was writer and an executive producer on an adaptation of Markus Zusak’s novel, The Messenger.[6]
Lambert was also the showrunner of the 2023 Amazon Prime Video miniseries, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, based on the novel by Holly Ringland. Starring Sigourney Weaver, it was Amazon Prime’s most successful Australian Original series worldwide, with the biggest opening weekend viewership globally for an Australian launch.[7] The series was nominated for twelve AACTAs, winning Best Miniseries. Lambert was recognised for an AWGIE nomination for Best Screenplay in a Limited Series. Lambert's work on the episode "Black Fire Orchid" also earned her a Highly Commended nod at the NSW Premier's Literary Awards.[4]
Lambert's other writing credits include episodes for award-winning shows The Doctor Blake Mysteries, A Place to Call Home, and Dance Academy. For the latter, she was nominated for Best Children’s Screenplay at the AWGIE Awards.[4] She also co-created the 2002 U.K. series Aliens Among Us, writing and directing over thirty episodes.[6] Her U.S. credits include Clone Story, God In Government, 14 Million Dreams, New Type of Jazz and The Play's The Thing for PBS. She received an Emmy nomination for the latter.[8]
She runs her own production company, Lantern Pictures,[4] which was launched in 2023.
Personal life
Lambert is married to husband Peter Frost and they have a daughter and a son.[9]
Acting credits
Films
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Doctors and Nurses | Mary Grey | |
| 1982 | Fluteman | Jane | |
| 1994 | The Roly Poly Man | Vicki Lane | |
| 1996 | Hey Amigos | Chicciolina | Short film |
| 2002 | Turtle Monkey | Jana | Short film |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Against the Wind | Elizabeth Wiltshire | Miniseries |
| 1980 | Spring & Fall | Debra | |
| 1981 | Bellamy | Cassie | Miniseries |
| 1983 | Scales of Justice | Miniseries | |
| 1989 | E Street | Elizabeth Kennedy | |
| 1986–1989 | A Country Practice | Sandy Crosby | |
| 1990 | Rafferty's Rules | Rudi Apps | |
| 1991 | Police Rescue | Juliet | |
| 1997 | Uncle Jack and the Dark Side of the Moon | Kate | |
| 1993 | G.P. | Leah White | |
| 1994 | Heartbreak High | Christina Milano | Season 1, episodes 1–26 |
| 1995 | Eat My Shorts | ||
| 1997 | Medivac | Francine Lord | 1 episode |
Writing / directing credits
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Come Fly with Me | Writer / Director | Short film |
| 2006 | Photograph | Writer / Director | Short film |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | City Arts – The Play's the Thing | Writer / Director | Documentary |
| 2000 | Last Chance for Peace: Sierra Leone | Writer | Documentary |
| 2001 | 14 Million Dreams | Producer | Documentary |
| 2002 | Clone Story | Writer | TV film |
| 2002 | Aliens Among Us | Co-creator / Writer (17 episodes) / Director (26 episodes) | |
| 2004 | God in Government | Writer | TV film |
| 2005 | The Alice | Writer | Miniseries, episode 14 |
| 2005 | God in Government | Writer / Co-Director | Documentary |
| 2006 | Clone Story | Writer / Director | Documentary |
| 2006 | Love My Way | Writer (1 episode) / Script Editor (13 episodes) | Season 2 |
| 2007 | All Saints | Writer | Season 10, episode 26: "Under the Skin" |
| 2008 | Resistance | Writer | |
| 2010; 2012 | Dance Academy | Writer | Season 1 & 2, 2 episodes |
| 2014–2017 | Love Child | Creator / Writer / Producer | 36 episodes |
| 2015 | A Place to Call Home | Writer | Season 3, episode 6: "In the Heat of the Night" |
| 2016 | The Doctor Blake Mysteries | Writer | Season 4, episode 7: "For Whom the Bell Tolls" |
| 2019 | Lambs of God | Writer / Showrunner / Producer | Miniseries, 4 episodes |
| 2023 | The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart | Writer / Showrunner | Miniseries, 7 episodes |
| 2023 | The Messenger | Writer / Executive Producer | Miniseries, 3 episodes |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Work | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | The Play's The Thing | Emmy Awards | Nominated[8] | |
| 2006 | The Alice (episode 14) | Queensland Premier's Literary Awards | Nominated[8] | |
| 2010 | Dance Academy | AWGIE Awards | Best Children's Television | Nominated |
| 2019 | Lambs of God | AWGIE Awards | Best Television Series or Miniseries of 4 hours or less | Nominated |
| 2019 | Lambs of God | AACTA Awards | Best Miniseries | Won |
| 2019 | Lambs of God (episode 1: "The Devil into Paradise") | AACTA Awards | Best Screenplay in Television | Nominated |
| 2019 | Lambs of God | Screen Producers Australia Awards | Television or Miniseries Production of the Year | Won |
| 2024 | The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart | AWGIE Awards | Best Television – Limited Series | Nominated |
| 2024 | The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart | AACTA Awards | Best Miniseries | Won |
| 2024 | The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (episode: "Black Fire Orchid") | NSW Premier's Literary Awards | Highly Commended |
References
- ^ a b "Two of Us". The Sydney Morning Herald. 20 September 2014.
- ^ Idato, Michael (8 April 2013). "LaPaglia's been landed with a Love Child". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
- ^ Groves, Don (29 November 2013). "Love Child evokes the spirit of the Sixties". IF. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
- ^ a b c d "Sarah Lambert". RGM Artists.
- ^ "Lambs of God: the dark gothic Foxtel original series coming in 2019". Foxtel. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
- ^ a b "Sarah Lambert". Screen Territory.
- ^ "Screenwriter Sarah Lambert discusses creating award-winning television and the importance of investing in the future of female screen creatives". Screen NSW. 8 March 2024.
- ^ a b c "Sarah Lambert". Pathways.
- ^ "EXCLUSIVE: Love Child creator Sarah Lambert: I wasn't supposed to be able to have more children". 9Honey Celebrity. 28 July 2015.