Abbey Lee
Birthdate: Jun 12, 1987
Birthplace: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Abbey Lee (birthname: Abbey Lee Kershaw) made the jump from Australian supermodel to film actor with her debut role in George Miller’s highly acclaimed sequel, Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), starring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron, which was nominated for ten Oscars and grossed $380.4 million worldwide for Warner Bros. Lee appeared prominently in the cast of director-writer Brendan Cowell’s Australian film version of his play, Ruben Guthrie (2015), with Patrick Brammall, Alex Dimitriades, Jack Thompson and Robyn Nevin.
Lee had a supporting role in producer-director Alex Proyas’ commercial and critical failure, Gods of Egypt (2016), starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Gerard Butler, Brenton Thwaites, Chadwick Boseman, Elodie Yung, Courtney Eaton, Rufus Sewell, and Geoffrey Rush, and losing money ($150 million global take) for Lionsgate/Entertainment One.
Lee was cast by Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn for his dark take on the fashion industry, The Neon Demon (2016), starring Elle Fanning, Karl Glusman, Jena Malone, Christina Hendricks, and Keanu Reeves, premiering in competition at the Cannes film festival before a theatrical release by Amazon Studios and Broad Green Pictures returning a poor $3.6 million gross.
Abbey Lee played an escort in the ensemble of the Will Speck/Josh Gordon-directed comedy, Office Christmas Party (2016), with Jason Bateman, Olivia Munn, T.J. Miller, Jillian Bell, Vanessa Bayer, Courtney B. Vance, Rob Corddry, Kate McKinnon and Jennifer Aniston, and grossing a strong $114.5 million globally via distributors Paramount Pictures and Mister Smith Entertainment.
Lee had a prominent supporting role in Columbia Pictures/Imagine Entertainment’s Stephen King adaptation, The Dark Tower (2017), with Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, and Jackie Earle Haley under Nikolaj Arcel’s direction, resulting in a poor $113 million for Sony Pictures Releasing.
Lee co-starred in the Stephen McCallum-directed Australian biker drama, Outlaws (formerly titled 1½) (2017), riding with Ryan Corr, Simone Kessell, Josh McConville, and Aaron Pederson, and premiering at the Toronto Film Festival. Lee played her first lead title role in director-writer Sebastian Gutierrez’s sci-fi movie, Elizabeth Harvest (2018), co-starring Ciaran Hinds, Carla Gugino, Matthew Beard, and Dylan Baker, and premiering at the South by Southwest film festival before an IFC Films release.
Abbey Lee co-starred opposite Caleb Landry Jones and Eleonore Hendricks in director-writer Peter Brunner’s drama, To the Night (2018), produced by Ulrich Seidl and which premiered at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival. Lee co-starred with Charlotte Gainsbourg, Beatrice Dalle, Felix Maritaud, and Karl Glusman in Gaspar Noe’s provocative Lux Æterna (2019), which premiered out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival.
Lee joined the ensemble of filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan’s sci-fi horror movie, Old (2021), with Gael Garcia Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Rufus Sewell, Alex Wolff, Thomasin McKenzie, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Ken Leung, Embeth Davidtz, and released by Universal Pictures to a very healthy return of $90.2 million worldwide.
Lee had a supporting role in director/writer/producer John Michael McDonagh’s crime drama, The Forgiven (2021), starring Ralph Fiennes, Jessica Chastain, Matt Smith, Ismael Kanater, Caleb Landry Jones, Mourad Zaoui, Marie-Josee Croze, Alex Jennings, Said Taghmaoui, and Christopher Abbott, premiering at the Toronto Film Festival before opening to poor business ($1.4 million) for distributors Roadside Attractions/Vertical Entertainment/Universal Pictures/Focus Features.
Abbey Lee was part of the ensemble of Kevin Costner’s failed Western multi-part epic, Horizon, starting with Horizon: An American Saga—Chapter 1 (2024), with Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Giovanni Ribisi, Jena Malone, Michael Rooker, Luke Wilson, Isabelle Fuhrman, Jeff Fahey, Will Patton, Tatanka Means, and Owen Crow Shoe, and losing money for New Line Cinema and producers Territory Pictures. Lee reunited with director/writer/producer John Michael McDonagh as star of the thriller, Fear Is the Rider (date to be announced), with co-star Christopher Abbott.
Personal Details
Abbey Lee was born in Melbourne, Australia, and was raised in Kensington, Australia, by father Kim (Australian footballer) and mother Kerry (psychologist). Lee has two siblings, Lee being the middle child. Lee attended St. Michael’s Catholic Primary School in North Melbourne and then attended the Academy of Mary Immaculate in Fitzroy, Australia. Lee was expelled from her high school around the time that she won the Australian Girlfriend Model Search, leading to her leaving Melbourne and relocating to Sydney to launch a modeling career. Lee’s height is 5’ 10¾ ”. Lee’s estimated net worth is $4 million.
Awards
Nominee, Best Actress, Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (2018); Nominee, Best Ensemble—Drama Series, Screen Actors Guild Awards (2021).
Actor
Screen Actors Guild Awards
Filmography
actor
Previous (16)
- 2022 | The Forgiven
The Forgiven
A fatal accident disrupts the lives of Western visitors to a lavish party in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco, and will ultimately lead to a reckoning in the desert.
- 2022 | Lux ÆternaasAbbey
Lux Æterna
Two actresses, Béatrice Dalle and Charlotte Gainsbourg, are on a film set telling stories about witches - but that's not all. 'Lux Æterna' is also an essay on cinema, the love of film, and on-set hysterics.
- 2022 | Diva (re-release)
Diva (re-release)
Two tapes, two Parisian mob killers, one corrupt policeman, an opera fan, a teenage thief, and the coolest philosopher ever filmed all twist their way through an intricate and stylish French-language thriller.
- 2021 |
- 2019 | Lux Æterna
- 2018 | Caprice
- 2018 | Elizabeth Harvest
- 2018 | To the Night
- 2018 | Welcome the Stranger
- 2017 | Outlaws
- 2017 | The Dark TowerasTirana
The Dark Tower
A boy haunted by visions of a dark tower from a parallel reality teams up with the tower's disillusioned guardian to stop an evil warlock known as the Man in Black who plans to use the boy to destroy the tower and open the gates o...
- 2016 | The Neon Demonas Sarah
- 2016 | Office Christmas PartyasSavannah
Office Christmas Party
When his uptight CEO sister threatens to shut down his branch, the branch manager throws an epic Christmas party in order to land a big client and save the day, but the party gets way out of hand...
- 2015 | Ruben Guthrie
- 2015 | Mad Max: Fury RoadasThe Dag
Mad Max: Fury Road
In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a woman rebels against a tyrannical ruler in search for her homeland with the aid of a group of female prisoners, a psychotic worshipper and a drifter named Max.
- 2004 | Fear Is the Rider
Some Facts About Abbey Lee
Hard Knocks: Abbey Lee suffered meningitis, a knee tumor, broken bones and experienced a spinal tap as a child, and then, as a model, tore ligaments in her knee after a fall on a runway and also fainted during a runway show wearing an Alexander McQueen-designed corset.
Hit the Beach: Lee was discovered on a beach in Sydney by modeling agent Kathy Ward, who had also discovered models Miranda Kerr and Samantha Harris.
Model Life: Abbey Lee developed a highly successful modeling career, becoming the face of such prominent labels as Yves Saint-Laurent, Chanel, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, Fendi, Calvin Klein, Tom Ford, Ralph Lauren, Kenzo, Mulberry, Donna Karan, Gap, Rag & Bone, and H&M.
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