Ashleigh Cummings

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.^[2][3][4] 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.^[3][5] Cummings then attended Wenona School in North Sydney, where she graduated in 2010.^[6] She also attended the film and television school Screenwise.^[7] Cummings studied philosophy at university between acting roles.^[2]

Cummings appeared as a dancer in Darren Ashton's Razzle Dazzle: A Journey into Dance in 2007.^[8] She went on to star as Ally Sheppard in Green Fire Envy a project that was produced by the Participate Film Academy.^[5][9] Cummings' next projects were a role in the television film Dream Life and a guest stint in soap opera Home and Away.^[10]

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.^[6] Cummings learned how to ride dirt bikes and operate AK-47 assault rifles before filming began.^[6] She also sat her Year 11 exams early and missed the first part of Year 12, while shooting the film.^[6] Cummings earned a nomination for Best Young Actor at the 2010 Australian Film Institute Awards for her portrayal of Robyn Mathers.^[11]

From September 2010, Cummings appeared in the Sydney Theatre Company's production of Our Town.^[2] The actress went on to appear in episodes of Rescue Special Ops, Underbelly: Razor and Dance Academy in 2011.^[8] 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.^[12] Dorothy is "a conservative working-class Catholic" who becomes Phryne's assistant and companion.^[10]

In March 2012, it was announced that Cummings had been cast as Debbie Vickers in the television adaptation of Puberty Blues.^[13] 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)."^[14] To prepare for the role of Debbie, Cummings took surfing lessons.^[14] 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.^[14] For her roles in Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries and Puberty Blues, Cummings received a nomination for Most Popular Actress at the Logie Awards.^[15]

Cummings recorded vocals for Dan Webb's debut album Sandstorm, released in 2014.^[16] She also starred in Rhys Graham's first feature film Galore as Billie.^[17][18] Cummings received a nomination for Best Performance by a Young Actor at the Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards for her role in Galore.^[19] In 2015, Cummings appeared in the television miniseries Gallipoli as Celia.^[17] She also stars in the remake of the 1981 film Goodbye Pork Pie.^[20] 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.^[21] Cummings has a lead role in Hounds of Love. She was also cast as Cheryl Miller in Westside, the prequel series to Outrageous Fortune.^[22]

Cummings plays Pippa in The Goldfinch, a film adaptation of Donna Tartt's novel of the same name.^[23] She also appeared in the lead role of Vic McQueen in AMC horror series NOS4A2.^[24] In 2023, she began playing Abby Conroy in the American spy action thriller series Citadel for Amazon Prime Video.^[25]

• Ashleigh Cummings at IMDb