Actor

Joanne Samuel

August 5, 1957 · Camperdown, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Joanne Samuel (born 1957 in Camperdown, Sydney, Australia) is an actress who remains best known for her role as the screen wife of Mel Gibson in the 1979 film Mad Max.

Prior to her appearance in the film, Samuel had made guest appearances in police procedurals Matlock Police and Homicide. She was then a regular cast member in television soap operas Class of '74, The Sullivans and The Young Doctors. She left The Young Doctors very suddenly – the producers kindly wrote her out of the show quickly as she was offered the Mad Max role after a fellow Young Doctors actress who had been due to take the role fell ill. Samuel later returned to television in the regular role of Kelly Morgan-Young in Skyways (TV series).

Notable work

6.7
Mad Max (1979)
as Jessie Rockatansky
7.4
Mad Max 2 (1981)
as Jessie Rockatansky (archive footage) (uncredited)

Often works with

Tiriel Mora
3 titles together
My Pet Dinosaur, The Legend of The Five, Smoke Between Trees
Mel Gibson
2 titles together
Mad Max, Mad Max 2
Lisa Aldenhoven
2 titles together
Mad Max, The Young Doctors
Max Fairchild
2 titles together
Mad Max, Mad Max 2
Jordan Dulieu
2 titles together
My Pet Dinosaur, The Legend of The Five
Beth Champion
2 titles together
My Pet Dinosaur, The Legend of The Five

Full filmography · 18

What About Sal?
as Alice
2024
The Red Shoes: Next Step
Director
2023
Christmas Down Under
as Barbara Parker
2021
The Legend of The Five
Director
20204.4
Smoke Between Trees
as Therese
2019
Acute Misfortune
as Magistrate
2018
My Pet Dinosaur
as Doris Mercher
20175.4
The Wiggles Movie
as Mrs. Bingle
1997
Nightmaster
as Sonia Spane
19884.1
Spook
as Carole Bradly
1988
Gallagher's Travels
as Sally Woodrow
1987
Queen of the Road
as Rosy Costello
1984