'Jacki Weaver’s life as an actor is a story of immense talent and resilience. At the beginning of her career when she was 15 she played Cinderella at the
Phillip Street Theatre in Sydney in 1962. She also appeared on the television program
Bandstand several times as a teenager. Weaver studied elocution as a child and trained at the Independent Theatre with Doreen Warburton and Doris Fitton. As a youngster Jacki was determined to pursue acting but her small stature, girlish beauty and blonde hair often meant that she did not get the ‘strong characters’ that she wanted.(1) Weaver achieved success in the early 1970’s in
Stork,
Caddie and
The Removalists(stage play and film). She appeared in the feature films
Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) and
Squizzy Taylor (1982) as well as in the telemovies
Do I Have to Kill My Child? in 1976 (winning a Logie for Best Actress),
Polly Me Love (1975) and the musical play set in the Depression called
The Girl From Moonooloo in 1984, playing a part written especially for her. She also appeared in
The Perfectionist in 1987. (Introduction)