Elena Carapetis

Elena Carapetis is an Australian actress and writer based in Adelaide, South Australia.

She is best known for her role as Jackie Kassis in Heartbreak High, as well as numerous other television series and theatre roles.

As a writer, her plays and screenplays often feature the experience of Greek migrants to Australia, as well as Greek mythology and feminist themes.

Elena Carapatis was born in Whyalla, South Australia.

She spent some years in Port Pirie as a child, before the family moved to Adelaide.

Her maternal grandparents were Greek Cypriot migrants to Australia, with her mother arriving at the age of 11.

Her father is of Greek Australian descent, with his forebears having migrated around the 1910s.

She grew up with a large extended family, and worked in her family's restaurant when she was 12.

She remained especially close to her brother Jon.

She started ballet lessons when she was around four years old on the recommendation of a doctor, to help her flat feet.

She went on stage for the first time as a ballerina in a "chorus of baby chicks", in a performance of Peter and the Wolf in Port Pirie Town Hall.

Her first public performance was in Tonight We Improvise at Adelaide University's Little Theatre on 10 June 1987.

This was followed by appearances in Dogg's Hamlet, Cahoot's Macbeth, also at the Little Theatre, in 1988.

In 1990, she appeared in The Courtyard of Miracles at the Lion Theatre, Adelaide].

In 1993, Carapetis performed in As You Like It at the Little Theatre, Adelaide.

She graduated from Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney with a Bachelor of Dramatic (Acting) in 1996.

Returning to Adelaide after graduation, Carapetis was employed by the State Theatre Company of South Australia (STCSA) and also by both the Adelaide College of the Arts and Flinders University as a lecturer.

Carapetis has appeared onstage in numerous productions.

Apart from STCSA, she has worked for many well-known Australian theatre companies, including Bell Shakespeare, Windmill Theatre, Sydney Theatre Company, Vitalstatistix, Brink Productions, Malthouse Theatre, and Belvoir.

In 1997, she appeared in Features of Blown Youth at the Queens Theatre, Adelaide.

She is also known for her work in television series, including Heartbreak High (1998–1999), All Saints (2000–2009), and The Hunting (2019).

In 2002, she performed in Parthenon Air at the Sidetrack Theatre, Marrickville, Sydney.

In 2004, Carapetis appeared in a production of Translations and Hot Fudge with the State Theatre Company of South Australia.

In March 2005, Carapetis first performed in It's A Mother! at the Sidetrack Theatre, Marrickville, as part of the Greek Festival of Sydney.

Carapetis has acted in several feature films, including Look Both Ways (2005) and Bad Blood (2017).

She would return to this show in 2006 as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and in 2007 as part of Melbourne's Arts House program.

In 2006 Carapetis again performed in Translations, this time at the Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne and the Beckett Theatre, Southbank.

In the same year, she appeared in 4:48 Psychosis at The Queens Theatre Stables, Adelaide.

In 2007 Carapetis played in Assassins, Triple Threat, and This Uncharted Hour.

In 2008, she appeared in Helly's Magic Cup at The Space, Adelaide.

In 2009, she appeared in The Things We Do For Love at the Dunstan Playhouse.

She featured in a small but effective role in the 2009 Adelaide film Offside.

In 2010, Carapetis performed in Ruby Bruise at the Waterside Theatre, Port Adelaide.

In 2011, appeared in transumer: deviate from the norm at the Waterside Hall, Port Adelaide.

In 2012, she played all "the other roles" in the play Truck Stop, including a doctor, counsellor, mother, and grungy teenage boy.

She played one of the lead roles in Theatre Republic's The Bleeding Tree, which was first staged at Tandanya in 2020, and again in 2022, after the hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in South Australia, at the Space Theatre.

The Hunting won the award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Mini-Series/Telemovie in the 10th annual Equity Ensemble Awards in 2020.

She also appeared in the first series of Aftertaste (ep.4, February 2021), as Vassiliki.

She has worked extensively as a voice-over artist on advertising campaigns, including for Commonwealth Bank, Sunday Mail, and Stone's Ginger Beer, and for corporate videos.

Carapetis cites American playwright Arthur Miller as the writer who has influenced her most in her writing.