Although her name might not trip off the tongue of some people, Toni Collette has become one of the most successful Australian actresses working in Hollywood over the past couple of decades. She is probably best known for her appearances in Little Miss Sunshine and The Sixth Sense, where she earned an Oscar nomination for her role as Haley Joel Osment's mother. But she has also starred in some genuine cult classics like Velvet Goldmine and Muriel's Wedding, the Australian-made comedy classic with a legendary Abba soundtrack which was her breakthrough role, and for which she gained 40 pounds in seven weeks to play the curvaceous lead.
Born in Blacktown, Australia, on 1 November 1972, her film debut came a couple of years earlier in Spotswood, opposite Russell Crowe and Anthony Hopkins, for which she was nominated for an Australian Film Institute Best Supporting Actress award. Toni has not been afraid to bare all for her art. She even went so far as to do full frontal nudity with a fully shaved vagina for her role in the arthouse movie 81/2 Women. For going where other actresses fear to tread ... good on ya, Toni, you little ripper!
