Sheila Kennelly (born 28 December 1936), also credited as Sheila Kenneally, is a British-born Australian retired character actress of theatre and music hall, television and film, with a career spanning over 50 years. From the late 1950s onwards, her early career was based exclusively in theatre and she didn't start her screen career until the late 1960s becoming well known for her roles in TV soap operas, serials, sitcoms and mini-series.
Early life and stage career
Kennelly was born in Brighton, Sussex, England in December 1936, and arrived with her family in Australia at an early age, where she attended North Sydney High School before trining at the Independent Theatre. She started her career in stage plays in 1958, appearing with the Old Tote Theatre and the Nimrod Theatre Company, before taking a lengthy arts tour with A View From the Bridge and numerous other roles with the Neutral Bay Music Hall.
Career
Television roles
Sheila had been a staple of the small screen since the late 1960s until retiring in 2008, firstly appearing in plays at the ABC, before taking soap opera and comedy relief roles
She became a household name in the hugely popular serial Number 96 as brassy bubbly barmaid Norma Whittaker, a comedy character opposite Gordon McDougall, Norma's trademark catchphrase was calling everyone "Ducky". Whilst her husband amateur inventor Les was killed of in the infamous bomb blast storyline, Norma remained with the series for years, returning for the final episode. Both character also featured briefly in the Number 96 feature film version.
In a storyline an fictional artist visit's the apartment, played by Owen Weingott and requests to paint a nude portrait of Norma, the painting is subsequently hang up in the wine bar. This famed portrait of Norma, was in reality painted by the network's art director Eunice Dyer, based on "Chloé" a paining at a Melbourne hotel, after the series demise it was given to Tom Oliver, who housed it at his real wine establishment business he owned Jacks Sellers
In reunion with the cast of Number 96 in 2009, on Where Are They Now?, she stated she wanted to become a serious actor featuring in plays by such dramatists as Arthur Miller and Bertolt Brecht, but ended up in 96 instead as Norma, in which she used a blonde wig to disguise the real "Sheila".
From 1980 until 1984, she appeared opposite Ross Higgins in the sitcom Kingswood Country. She played "cheery wog", Rosa Berlucci who looked after Ted Bullpitt when his wife Thel left him played by Judi Farr throughout the 1980 she continued to make appearances in serials such as Glenview High, children's series Secret Valley, The Flying Doctors and a few guest roles in A Country Practice
In 1987 she was given the choice of appearing in a small role in the upcoming film Evil Angels. She stated at the time she would have loved to have been in the film, just to say she had appeared with Meryl Streep, but turned it down to appear in new Seven Network soap opera Home and Away as one of 16 original characters. She played retired carnival worker Floss McPhee for the first year of screening, but was written out as the producers wanted alongside to concentrate on a younger cast and updated formula.
Sheila later roles included Big Sky in 1997, whilst in the 2000s roles in medical drama All Saints and several guest storyline appearance in Home and Away.