Early years

Thornton was born in Canberra, the daughter of Merle, a teacher and writer, and Neil Thornton, an academic. She was raised in Brisbane, attending St. Peter's Lutheran College. For two years she lived in London, where she was a member of the Unicorn Theatre.

Back in Brisbane she attended Twelfth Night Theatre Junior Workshop and In 1970, during the Captain Cook Bicentenary Celebrations, Thornton appeared before Queen Elizabeth II as Rosa Campbell-Praed in Looking Glass on Yesterday. She acted in TV series Homicide and Division 4 in 1975. She also appeared on The Sullivans, as Elizabeth "Buffy" Turnbull.

Acting career

In 1977, Thornton made her film debut as Wendy in The FJ Holden directed by Michael Thornhill, and in the same year as Maria in the film adaptation of Henry Handel Richardson's colonial Australian novel, The Getting of Wisdom (1977) directed by Bruce Beresford. In 1978, Thornton appeared in the Australian television sequel of the British comedy series Father, Dear Father in Australia. The same year she played Angela in the film Snapshot (aka The Day After Halloween) directed by Simon Wincer, for which role she was nominated for Australian Film Awards Best Actress in a Feature Film in 1979.

A year later she appeared as Roslyn Coulson in the Australian television drama Prisoner (known overseas as Prisoner: Cell Block H). Thornton starred in 1981 in Duet for Four. 1982 saw her take on the roles of Jessica Harrison in the films The Man from Snowy River and its sequel in 1988 The Man from Snowy River II. 1983 marked an appearance in Street Hero. She starred in 1983's miniseries All the Rivers Run. 1986 saw her in The Lighthorsemen, the TV adaptation of Nevil Shute's novel The Far Country, Great Expectations: The Untold Story and Slate, Wyn & Me.

From 1988 to 1991 she appeared as Amelia Lawson in the American television drama series Paradise. Syndication of All the Rivers Run and The Man from Snowy River and The Man from Snowy River II brought her to a wider international audience.

In 1991 she starred in Over the Hill directed by George T. Miller and in 1996, Love in Ambush directed by Carl Shultz. She starred as Laura Joy Gibson in the Australian television series SeaChange from 1998 to 2000, winning the Most Outstanding Actress award in 1999 and 2000.

Stage highlights

Thornton's stage performances include an early 2000s production of The Blue Room. In 2009 she made her debut with Opera Australia in its production at Melbourne's Arts Centre as Desiree Armfeldt in Sondheim and Wheeler's A Little Night Music, directed by Stuart Maunder.

In 2014, she won critical acclaim for her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire for the Black Swan State Theatre Company in Perth.

In 2015, she appeared in the premiere of the play 'Diary of a Nobody' for Stephen Beckett Productions in Tasmania.

In 2015 she played the part of Golde in Fiddler on the Roof at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre.

Recent film and television work

In 2003 Thornton appeared in Mittens directed by Emma Freeman. In 2004, she played a geneticist in a four-episode arc on MDA. She shaved her head for her role in the 2005 telemovie Little Oberon.

Thornton hosted the Nine Network's What's Good For You.

In 2010, she appeared in Underbelly: The Golden Mile as recurring character Geraldine "Gerry" Lloyd, an Australian Federal Police detective and investigator for the Wood Royal Commission.

In 2011, Thornton starred in Face to Face, an independent Australian film directed by Michael Rymer.

In 2012 she participated in Who Do You Think You Are

The "Sigrid factor"

In his book The Big Shift, about changing Australian demographics and culture, Bernard Salt coined the term the "Sigrid factor" pointing out that Australian towns in which movies had been made featuring Thornton had prospered since that time. More broadly he referred to changing Australian cultural values which were well reflected in the types of places in which Sigrid Thornton had acted: the Riverland during the 1980s All the Rivers Run and the coast in the 2000s SeaChange.

Awards

Thornton has won:

• Most Outstanding Actress (1999 and 2000) for her role in SeaChange.

She has been nominated for:

• the Gold Logie (in 2000 and 2001)
• Most Outstanding Actress (in 2001)
• Most Popular Actress (in 2000 and 2001)

Personal life

Thornton is married to Tom Burstall and has two children.

Advocacy

Thornton is known for her work with World Vision, the Royal Children's Hospital, Vision Australia, Reach Foundation and other charitable causes. She has lobbied successive governments to keep libraries open and to resource the Australian film and television industry. She has been appointed to several federal and state film bodies, including Film Victoria and is involved in helping to sustain and develop the industry.

Filmography

Film
Title	Year	Role	Notes
The FJ Holden	1977	Wendy
The Getting of Wisdom	1978	Maria
The King of the Two Day Wonder	1978	Maria
One More Minute	1979	Angela
Duet for Four	1982	Carline Martin
The Man from Snowy River	1982	Jessica Harrison
Street Hero	1984	Gloria
Best Enemies	1985	Fennimore
Slate, Wyn & Me	1987	Blanche McBride
The Lighthorsemen	1987	Anne
The Man from Snowy River II	1988	Jessica Harrison
Over the Hill	1992	Elizabeth
Whipping Boy	1996	Cass Meridith
Inspector Gadget 2	2003	Mayor Wilson	Direct-to-video
The Pact	2003	Susan Tuttle
Face to Face	2011	Claire Baldoni
BFFs	2014	Jacqueline
Scare Campaign	2015	Vicki
Peter Allen: Not the Boy Next Door	2015	Judy Garland

[ Source: Wikipedia ]