1991 to 1995 In 1991, McKenzie was awarded "Best Newcomer Award" from the Sydney Theatre Critics Circle, which recognised her
chameleon-like ability and her consistently high-calibre work in theatre productions
Child Dancing (as Julie-Ann),
The Master Builder (as Kaja),
Twelfth Night (as Viola) and
Rebecca (as Mrs de Winter). During rehearsals for
Rebecca, director
George Ogilvie allowed McKenzie time off to audition for a new Australian Independent feature film called
Romper Stomper set to star
Russell Crowe. She was cast in the film and went on to win Best Actress award at the
Film Critics Circle of Australia. Russell would later say "Jacqui's range as an actor disappears over the horizon. And I'm not sure it can actually be defined. When I first saw her, in the play
Rebecca, I saw an actor whom I thought was blowing me on the skin from the inside. She is an actor who is both delicate and magical." In her "nothing short of stunning" film debut in
Romper Stomper, McKenzie was described as "especially shining in her courage, truth and skill." The role garnered her attention overseas, where she won Best Actress at the 1992
Stockholm International Film Festival for her "stark and non-sentimental portrayal of a young woman whose life has turned into a desperate chase for all she has lost: love, serenity, identity. Her character plays an essential part in creating the inexorable force and impact of the film." Over the next couple of years, she came to be regarded as one of Australia's most promising young actresses of stage and screen, showcasing a "phenomenal emotional range". In 1994, McKenzie starred alongside
David Wenham,
Geoffrey Rush and
Richard Roxburgh in Shakespeare's
Hamlet, directed by
Neil Armfield, for
Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney. This sellout production was a critical, award-winning success with McKenzie's performance "so exquisitely pitched it could have shattered glass". The production went on to tour to Melbourne but McKenzie was unable to continue due to other work commitments.
Cate Blanchett took over the role of Ophelia for the tour. McKenzie's performance in
Hamlet was followed by her role as
Joan of Arc in
Bernard Shaw's
Saint Joan, directed by
Gale Edwards for the
Sydney Theatre Company at the
Sydney Opera House. This was the first time Saint Joan had been staged in Australia since the
Zoe Caldwell production in 1962. Regarded as one of "the most revealing tests of an actress", and as "the female Hamlet", "From the moment she enters, she sets the stage ablaze. McKenzie is a Joan to make the theatrical heavens rejoice... McKenzie offers us Joan in all her innocence, ignorance, joyful goodness that seems to light her from within and, almost until the end, a youthful sense of fun. Her slight stature can seem waif thin, piteously vulnerable; but raging into battle she's tough and sturdy, a young woman of intense and convincing action. Always in focus, like an unwavering flame, is McKenzie's Joan the Maid" and "Here is a Joan with such fortitude and faith that seems hardly possible to exist within such a delicate frame. McKenzie's waif-like image conceals remarkable strength, and an almost inexhaustible supply of emotion. It is a Joan to inspire the tamest among us to stand up as individuals, and listen to the voices inside of us. Shaw himself would have been reluctantly impressed." Described by head of
NIDA, John Clarke, as "A chameleon" "one of the most talented actresses we have produced... she's an absolute dynamo, a powerhouse," McKenzie had fast earned a reputation as one of the most versatile actresses of her generation, taking on varied and often difficult roles. Equally adept in drama or comedy, she was described as the "Judy Davis of her generation (or funnily enough, the green eyed American actor
Meg Ryan)" In 1992,
Ben Elton cast her as the lead role of "Rachel", the feisty environmentalist, in
the television adaptation of his hit novel
Stark. The mini-series was a BBC/ABC comedy, was directed by
Nadia Tass and co-starred
Ben Elton and
Colin Friels. McKenzie received an
Australian Film Institute Award nomination for Best Actress in a Miniseries for the role. In 1993, she scored a Best Actress in a Feature Film nomination for her comedic turn in the indie comedy, ''
This Won't Hurt a Bit'', playing Vanessa Presscott, a nerdy English ingénue with a speech impediment. In 1994, McKenzie reunited with director
George Ogilvie, who had directed her in
Rebecca and
Twelfth Night, to play the lead role of Dancy Smith in the adaptation of
Kylie Tennant's famous depression-era drama
The Battlers. The mini-series co-starred
Gary Sweet and played on the Seven Network. McKenzie was nominated again for Best Actress in a TV Drama at the Australian Film Institute 1994 awards. In 1994, McKenzie was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress in the feature film
Traps, directed by
Pauline Chan. Playing the French girl living in
Colonial Vietnam, McKenzie got to showcase her versatility by speaking in both French and Vietnamese for the role. In 1995, McKenzie made Australian Film Institute history by winning the Beyond Best Actress in a Leading Role for
Angel Baby and the Beyond Best Actress Award in a TV Drama for
Halifax f.p.: Lies of the Mind. at the
Logie Awards for her role in
Halifax f.p. It was for playing the young lover Kate, opposite
John Lynch's Harry in the
Michael Rymer–helmed drama
Angel Baby, that McKenzie received international acclaim. The
LA Weekly reviewed: "McKenzie is a find. Whether using answers on the Wheel of Fortune as a kind of daily horoscope, or cringing in terror as the upright legs of chairs in an empty restaurant seem to whisper at her, she is blazingly equal to the extremes of animal panic and hyperconscious insight that are the north and south of this movie's humane compass."
Angel Baby also featured actress
Deborra-Lee Furness and
Colin Friels. In 1996, McKenzie was awarded Australian Star of the Year at the Australian Movie Convention.
1996 to 2003 McKenzie ventured to the US, where she starred in the films
Deep Blue Sea (1999) directed by
Renny Harlin with
Samuel L. Jackson,
Thomas Jane and
Michael Rapaport;
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002) with
Sandra Bullock,
Ashley Judd,
Ellen Burstyn,
Kiersten Warren and
James Garner;
Freak Weather, with
Aida Turturro and
John Carroll Lynch;
Love from Ground Zero with
Simon Baker and
Pruitt Taylor Vince, as well as tele-movie
When Billie Beat Bobby, starring
Holly Hunter and
Ron Silver. She starred in the UK independent films
Eisenstein with
Simon McBurney and
Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang) with
Stellan Skarsgård, Chris Penn and
Paul Bettany. In March 2001, McKenzie was given a United States
green card for "Person of Extraordinary Ability". She made her US theatre debut, starring as Rita in Willy Russell's
Educating Rita, at the
Williamstown Theatre Festival directed by
Bruce Paltrow and co-starring
Edward Herrmann. It was a huge success. "This production had the inexhaustible talents of Jacqueline McKenzie, an utterly charming and irrepressible Australian, whose cockney accent was spot on and characterization was full-cocked. Bursting onto the stage like a fire-engine responding to a five-alarm conflagration, McKenzie was a dynamo with enough energy to fill simultaneous performances of this and
Pygmalion (a sure bet for her if the WTF wants to bring her back – and it should). Suffice to say, hers will surely be among the most memorable and reason enough to revive
Rita." She was cast as a lead in the US television pilot for
ABC called
MEDS (later
MDs), directed by
Michael Hoffman and starring
John Hannah. She played Dockdaisy in the
National Actors Theatre /
Complicite co-production of
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, After this production, McKenzie returned to Australia to star as Catherine in the Pulitzer Prize Winning play
Proof by
David Auburn. broke all previously held box office records at the Sydney Opera House, Drama Theatre. Mckenzie followed the success of
Proof by taking the lead role of Jude in the Australian feature film
Peaches, starring
Hugo Weaving and
Emma Lung. Directed by Craig Monahan, the role garnered McKenzie a Best Actress Award from the
Film Critics Circle of Australia with her performance described as a "revelation": in the US prime-time science fiction television series
The 4400 from Executive Producer
Francis Ford Coppola, McKenzie was cast alongside
Joel Gretsch (
Taken,
Minority Report) – an onscreen partnership oft likened to
Mulder and Scully. Directed by
Yves Simoneau with show runner
Ira Steven Behr (
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine),
The 4400 was the highest-rated debut on US cable for 2004, – the third episode of
Nightmares and Dreamscapes on TNT. Starring
Annabella Sciorra, this was the first American television series to be filmed in Latin America for international markets. McKenzie guest starred in
Desperate Housewives,
Without a Trace,
CSI: Miami,
Hawaii 5-0 and the Australian TV series
Rake. She was cast as Emma Waddell in the
Jeremy Sims–directed feature film
Beneath Hill 60 and starred in the 2010 season finale of
NCIS: Los Angeles alongside former
Deep Blue Sea castmate
LL Cool J. In 2011, Cate Blanchett and
Andrew Upton, the co-artistic directors of the Sydney Theatre Company, invited McKenzie to star in their production of Sarah Ruhl's
In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) at the Sydney Opera House, Drama Theatre. Writing in the Australian, John McCallum wrote "McKenzie has been playing some major roles in Sydney recently but here is a great one, finally worthy of her ability, and she rises to it magnificently. Her Maggie is full of feverish energy, and hard-won, hard-edged glamour that a woman who has clawed herself up out of poverty to become the wife of the descendant of a crass but very rich family might be expected to display. She is better than them. She is beautiful, her smile is always bright but brief glimpses of self-doubt betray her origins, and her eyes betray her desperation." "This is a good production, made great by McKenzie's beautiful performance." In 2014, McKenzie returned to the Sydney Opera House to play Liza in Andrew Upton's adaptation of the
Gorky classic
Children of the Sun for the Sydney Theatre Company. Co-starring with
Justine Clarke and
Toby Truslove, under the direction of
Kip Williams, the production was immensely successful, garnering McKenzie a nomination for Best Actress at the 2014 Sydney Theatre Awards. In 2014, McKenzie reunited with her
Romper Stomper co-star, Russell Crowe, to perform in his feature-film-directing debut,
The Water Diviner, in which he also stars. With a handpicked cast that included
Yılmaz Erdoğan,
Olga Kurylenko,
Ryan Corr,
Jai Courtney,
Steve Bastoni and
Cem Yılmaz,
The Water Diviner was nominated for eight
AACTA awards including Best Supporting Actress in a feature film for McKenzie, who played the role of Russell's grieving wife Lizzie. For this performance, McKenzie won Best Supporting Actress at the 2014
Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards. Films to be released:
Force of Destiny, written and directed by Paul Cox and starring
David Wenham and
Shahana Goswami. This will premiere at the
Melbourne International Film Festival;
Fell, written and directed by Kasimir Burgess and starring
Matt Nable and
Daniel Henshall. In 2015, McKenzie starred alongside
Richard Roxburgh and Cate Blanchett in the Sydney Theatre Company production of
The Present, by
Anton Chekhov. Adapted by Andrew Upton, this production was directed by
John Crowley. That production moved in 2016/17 to the
Ethel Barrymore Theatre in Manhattan for the
Broadway debut of McKenzie and the rest of the cast. She also starred as Orlando in the
Sarah Ruhl play
Orlando, based on
the novel by
Virginia Woolf (made famous by the
1992 film directed by
Sally Potter and starring
Tilda Swinton). Directed by
Sarah Goodes,
Orlando ran at the Sydney Opera House for the Sydney Theatre Company. McKenzie was nominated for Best Actress in
Orlando and Best Supporting Actress in
The Present at the 2015 Sydney Theatre Awards.
2016 to present In 2016, McKenzie reunited with her former
Stark! co-star
Ben Elton for his romantic comedy
Three Summers filming in Perth. The ensemble also featured
Robert Sheean,
Magda Szubanski,
Michael Caton and
Rebecca Breeds. In August 2016, McKenzie filmed the independent movie
Harmony in
Wollongong and Sydney, Australia. McKenzie starred as Jane Chandler in Australian feature film
The Gateway in October 2016. Written by
Michael White and directed by John Soto, the
sci-fi film also starred
Myles Pollard and Ben Mortley. The film follows the journey of a
particle physicist who, grieving over the loss of her husband in a car crash, uses a revolutionary machine to bring him back with dire consequences for her family. In May 2017,
SBS announced that McKenzie had been cast in their new four-part drama
Safe Harbour about a group of Australians who come across a boat of refugees whilst sailing on vacation. The mini-series, produced by
Matchbox Pictures, also stars
Phoebe Tonkin,
Ewen Leslie and
Joel Jackson. In June 2017, McKenzie began filming Luke Sparke's movie
Occupation with
Charles Mesure,
Temuera Morrison and
Dan Ewing about a group of town residents banding together after a devastating ground invasion. In August 2017, McKenzie started shooting the TV series
Romper Stomper, a follow-up to the 1992 cult classic movie in which she starred with Russell Crowe. The series, conceived and directed by
Geoffrey Wright (creator of the original film) and produced by John Edwards, premiered on Australian streaming platform
Stan on New Years Day 2018, breaking all records for original content. The series was aired in the United Kingdom on the BBC later in 2018. For her role in the series McKenzie was awarded a Logie for Most Outstanding Supporting Actress at the
Logie Awards of 2018. At the
CinefestOZ awards in August 2017, McKenzie was honoured with the Screen Legend Award, recognising her contribution and excellence in the film industry. Reunited with friends from drama school,
Essie Davis and
Daniel Lapaine, on the hit film
Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears (a spinoff of the series
Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries) 2019 saw Jacqueline return to the Sydney Theatre Company to play Alice in
Lucy Kirkwood's
Mosquitoes (play) at the
Sydney Opera House. In 2020, she starred in series 2 of the
Stan original series
Bloom and starred alongside
Jane Seymour in Australia feature film ''
Ruby's Choice''. ==Music==