Christine Anu

Christine is Australia’s most iconic female Indigenous entertainer with a career spanning over 25 years in music, theatre, dance, film and television.

Born in 1970 in Cairns, Queensland, Christine has always been surrounded by music since she was a child. Her mother had come from Saibai Island, off the south coast of Papua New Guinea, and her father was from Mabuiag Island, closer to the centre of Torres Strait. Music was a way for her to connect with her family heritage. Her father would often pull out his guitar and encourage a family singalong, and together they would sing island songs. However, it was as a dancer that Christine first came into prominence.

Trained in dance at the National Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA), Christine moved from home to inner-city Sydney to pursue her passion.

Christine started her singing career as a backup vocalist for Neil Murray’s group, the Rainmakers. In 1973, she fronted a dance-oriented remake of Paul Kelly's "Last Train" for her first single, with Paul Kelly himself singing the backing vocals.

Since then, she has become one of Australia’s most popular recording artists and performers of all time. Christine has one of Australia's most enduring and recognisable voices. She has received 17 ARIA nominations, including the APRA AMCOS award-winning My Island Home and her platinum album Stylin’ Up. Many consider My Island Home the unofficial Australian Anthem. It was recently added to the National Film Sound Archive’s Sound of Australia registry.

Christine has had an astonishing career spanning over 25 years across all forms of media, including music, theatre, dance, film, television, radio and children’s entertainment. She has made widely acclaimed appearances in Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge, The Matrix Reloaded and Dating the Enemy. Her television appearances also include shows such as Wildside, The Alice, East-West 101, Playschool, Outland and Dance Academy. On stage, she has appeared in Bad Boy Johnny and the Prophets of Doom, Little Shop of Horrors, Kissing Frog, Rent, Rainbow’s End, Parramatta Girls and The Sapphires. She received the Judith Johnson Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical at the Sydney Theatre Awards for her role in The Sapphires.

Christine has toured nationally and abroad, including Vietnam, North America, China, the Middle East and Papa New Guinea. She has also performed at many momentous events, including the Sydney 2000 Olympics Closing Ceremony, G’Day Australia, APEC Cultural Performance, Sydney Paralympics, 25th Anniversary of Carols in the Domain and flicked the switch to launch National Indigenous Television in Australia.

Furthermore, she is also one of the most influential keynote speakers. She can resonate with people and provide a real community focus while delivering key messages in all kinds of arenas and platforms, including charity, community, education, entertainment and politics.

Christine has and will always be proud of her Torres Strait Islander heritage and often uses her platform to advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and others from marginalised backgrounds. She uses her voice and reputation to spread a message of unity and hope and is a prominent voice of multicultural Australia.

In 2016, Christine was appointed host of the Evenings ABC radio program. She now presents her own national radio show on ABC Radio every Friday and Saturday.

She was the first recipient of the Australian Songwriters Associations Inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award for Contribution to Australian First Nations Music.

In 2020, Christine celebrated 25 years of Stylin’ Up.