Mailman becomes Logies’ first Indigenous Hall of Famer

Deborah Mailman will become the first Indigenous Australian inducted into the Logies Hall of Fame.

The honour will be awarded to the 54-year-old star of television hits The Secret Life of Us, Offspring and Total Control and films including Rabbit-Proof Fence, Mabo and Wolfram.

The honour recognises outstanding and continued contribution and enrichment to Australian television culture by an individual, group or program.

Mailman also becomes the sixth woman to receive the award since its inception in 1984.

In announcing the honour on Saturday, organisers praised Mailman’s contribution to Australian storytelling and the nation’s cultural identity as “profound and enduring”.

“With a career spanning nearly three decades, the celebrated Deborah Mailman has helped redefine Australian storytelling,” they said.

Mailman was also the first Indigenous winner of the Australian Film Institute’s AACTA best actress award.

She has since won seven more AACTAs.

Mailman claimed back-to-back Logies for most outstanding actress in a drama for her performance as Kelly Lewis in The Secret Life of Us in the early 2000s.

She then took out another major Logies gong for Mabo in 2013 and more recently, was named best lead in a drama for Total Control in 2024.

Mailman features as Susan Sinclair in the Stan series Dear Life, which has been nominated for best drama at this year’s Logies.

She was named NAIDOC Person of the Year in 2003 and appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2017.

“This is an enormous honour and one that I am deeply moved by,” she said of her latest recognition.

“I’m proud that I still get to do the work that matters to me.

“I don’t stand alone in this recognition, and I look forward to thanking the many people who I share this with.”

The Logies will induct three recipients into the Hall of Fame on Sunday night to mark 70 years of Australian television.

The other two will be revealed during Seven’s awards telecast, hosted by Robert Irwin.

Irwin, presenter and comedian Julia Morris and journalist-presenter Lisa Millar are among seven nominees in the running to win this year’s Gold Logie.