Radha Mitchell

Radha was born Radha Rani Amber Indigo Ananda Mitchell, on November 12, 1973, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, to model-turned-designer Adriana Mitchell and filmmaker Norman Mitchell. Her parents got divorced when she was six years old.

Talking about her name, Radha mentions that it is “a creative byproduct” that emerged from the experiences her mother had while the latter explored Indian spirituality in the 1970s. The three parts of her name, which are of Indian origin, are ‘Radha,’ name of a popular Hindu Goddess; ‘Rani,’ which means ‘queen’; and ‘Ananda,’ meaning ‘happiness.’

She studied at the ‘St Michael's Grammar School’ in St Kilda, Victoria. It was here that she learned the basics of acting and started performing in shows. She would often visit her father’s studio and that, in a way, helped her get an initial exposure in the entertainment industry.

Following her graduation, Radha relocated to the US, where she studied fine arts at the ‘University of California.’

She made her debut in professional acting in 1988, with the role of ‘Pixie Robinson’ in the ‘ABC’ TV series for children, titled ‘Sugar and Spice.’

The Australian sitcom ‘All Together Now’ saw her essaying the recurring role of ‘Jodie’ in six of its 101 episodes, aired between 1992 and 1993.

In 1994, she landed up essaying the guest role of ‘Cassandra Rushmore,’ a sky-diving instructor, in the Australian TV soap opera ‘Neighbours.’ Later, between 1996 and 1997, she played the regular role of ‘Catherine O'Brien’ in the same series. Meanwhile, she featured in the Australian police drama ‘Blue Heelers,’ in 1994 and 1996.

Her big-screen debut happened with the starring role of ‘Danni’ in the Australian romantic comedy ‘Love and Other Catastrophes.’ The film released on August 1, 1996, in Australia, and on March 28, 1997, in the US, and became a commercial success.

She then starred along with Ally Sheedy in ‘High Art,’ a Canadian–American independent film, written and directed by Lisa Cholodenko. She played ‘Syd,’ an assistant editor of a reputed high-art photography magazine. The film released on June 12, 1998, and won an ‘Independent Spirit Award.’