Bojana Novakovic

Bojana Novakovic
Novakovic in 2012
Born (1981-11-17) 17 November 1981
Belgrade, SR Serbia, Yugoslavia
CitizenshipAustralia
EducationNational Institute of Dramatic Art
OccupationsActress, filmmaker
Years active1994–present

Bojana Novakovic[a] (born 17 November 1981) is an Australian actress and filmmaker. She is known for starring in the police procedural television series Instinct (2018–2019) and the family drama series Love Me (2021–2023), for which she was nominated for several awards. In film, she has appeared in Drag Me to Hell (2009), Edge of Darkness (2010), Devil (2010), Generation Um... (2012), The Little Death (2014), I, Tonya (2017), and Birds of Prey (2020).

Novakovic wrote, directed, filmed, and co-produced in her first feature film, a documentary set in Serbia, titled The Forbidden Aunt, which has its world premiere on 16 October 2026. Born in Serbia, Novakovic immigrated to Australia as a child.

Early life and education

Novakovic was born on 17 November 1981[2][3] to computer programmers Biljana and Radovan Novakovic in Belgrade, the capital of the SR Serbia of the SFR Yugoslavia.[2] When Novakovic was seven years old, the family immigrated to Australia, settling in Sydney, New South Wales.[1][4]

In Australia, Biljana became a sculptor, gaining two master's degrees in fine arts. Novakovic studied at The McDonald College,[1] where she was dux in 1998. In 2002, Novakovic graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art.[5]

Career

Stage

Novakovic's theatre credits in Australia include These People, Away and Strange Fruit at the Sydney Theatre Company; The Female of the Species at the Melbourne Theatre Company; Woyzeck (Helpmann award nomination for best supporting actress in 2009), Criminology (Green Room award nomination for best actress 2007), Eldorado (Helpmann nomination for best supporting actress, 2006) and Necessary Targets at the Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne, Death Variations and Loveplay (Ride On) for B Sharp, Romeo and Juliet with Bell Shakespeare company and Debris for Ride on Theatre (which received a Green Room nomination for best Independent production and best actress in 2006).

For some years Novakovic ran her own independent theatre company, Ride On Theatre (Sydney and Melbourne) with co-director Tanya Goldberg. She was a producer and performer for the 2004 Ride on Theatre sell-out season of LOVEPLAY at the Downstairs Belvoir Street Theatre, and the 2006 Green Room nominated production of Debris (in which she was also nominated for best actress).[6]

In 2008, she translated, adapted, and directed Fake Porno in Melbourne, which was invited to be part of the Powerhouse season in Brisbane in 2009, and also received three Green Room nominations, including best production. Outside of Ride On, she wrote and directed with Melbourne's Black Lung Theatre for the critically acclaimed production of Sugar at the 2007 Adelaide Fringe festival. In 2010, Novakovic received an AFI nomination for International Award for Best Actress for her role in Edge of Darkness.[7] In May 2012, she starred in a Ride On improvised theatrical production called The Blind Date project at the Brisbane Powerhouse[8] which was later also performed in Sydney and Santa Monica, California.[9]

Screen

In 2003, Novakovic played Randa in the ABC mini-series Marking Time, a role which won her an AFI Award for "Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Television Drama or Comedy".[10] As an actress, Novakovic's film credits in Australia include Blackrock (1996), Strange Fits of Passion (1998), The Monkey's Mask (1999), Thunderstruck (2004), Solo (2005) and the Serbian films The Optimists (2005) and Skinning (2010). From 2007 to 2009, she played Tippi in TV series Satisfaction for Showtime Australia. She also appeared in Drag Me to Hell (2009), Edge of Darkness (2009), Devil (2010), Burning Man (2011), and Generation Um... (2012).[11]

From 2013 to 2014, Novakovic starred on the American remake of comedy-drama television series Rake, which was cancelled after one season. In 2015, she portrayed Clare Hitchens in The Hallow,[12] a horror film set in Ireland and directed by Corin Hardy.[13] She had a recurring role on the fifth season of Shameless in 2014.[14]

In 2025, Novakovic turned her hand to filmmaking, being screenwriter, director, cinematographer, and co-producer on the feature documentary film The Forbidden Aunt (Zabranjena tetka). The story focuses on a real-life aunt of Novakovic, the estranged Aunt Gordana, and reveals abuse, addiction, and generational trauma of women in Serbia.[15][16] Filmed in Serbia and produced through Sense Productions,[15] the film is supported by the Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund, and is set to screen at the Adelaide Film Festival on 18 October 2026,[17][18] in its world premiere.[19]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1997 Blackrock Tracy Warner
1999 Strange Fits of Passion Jaya
2000 The Monkey's Mask Tianna
2004 Thunderstruck Anna
2006 Solo Billie Finn
2006 The Optimists Marina
2008 Seven Pounds Julie
2009 Drag Me to Hell Ilenka Ganush
2010 Edge of Darkness Emma Craven
2010 Devil Young Woman / (Sarah Caraway)
2010 Skinning Mina
2011 Burning Man Sarah
2012 Not Suitable for Children Ava
2013 Charlie's Country Parole Officer
2012 The King Is Dead! Therese
2012 Generation Um... Violet
2014 The Little Death Maeve
2015 The Hallow Clare Hitchens
2017 I, Tonya Dody Teachman
2017 Beyond Skyline Audrey
2018 Malicious Lisa
2020 Birds of Prey Erika Manson
2026 The Forbidden Aunt Writer, director, cinematographer, co-producer Documentary film

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1997 Heartbreak High Tasha Episode: "6.29"
1998–1999 Wildside Vildana Asimovic Episodes: "1.29", "2.19"
1999 Big Sky Leisa Episode: "Desperate Measures"
1999 Murder Call Sophie Misfud Episode: "Bad Business"
1999 All Saints Rachel Carpenter Episode: "Ghosts of Christmas Past"
2000 Water Rats Sarah Schreiber Episode: "A Day to Remember (Break Your Heart)"
2003 Marking Time Randa TV miniseries
2004–2005 The Cooks Raffa Main role
2006 BlackJack: At the Gates Nikki TV film
2007–2009 Satisfaction Tippi Main role (seasons 1–2)
2014 Rake Michaela "Mikki" Partridge Main role
2015 Casanova Madame de Pompadour TV film
2015 Agatha Agatha TV film
2015–2016 Shameless Bianca Samson Recurring role (season 5)
2016 Westworld Marti Episode: "The Stray"
2018–2019 Instinct Detective Lizzie Needham Main role, 24 episodes
2020 Operation Buffalo Molly Recurring role, 5 episodes
2021 MacGyver Anya Vitez Episode: "Jack + Kinematics + Safe Cracker + MgKNO3 + GTO"
2021–2023 Love Me Clara Mathieson Main role
2024 Chicago P.D. Josephine Petrovic Episodes: 11x07, 11x08, 11x10, 11x12, 11x13
2026 Your Friends & Neighbors Cricket Birch Episode: "2.5"

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryWorkResult Ref.
2004Australian Film InstituteBest Actress in a Leading Role in a Television Drama or ComedyMarking TimeWon [10]
2008ASTRA AwardsMost Outstanding Performance by an Actor – FemaleSatisfactionNominated
2010Australian Film InstituteBest ActressEdge of DarknessNominated
2012Film Critics Circle of Australia AwardsBest Actress – Leading RoleBurning ManNominated
2013 Australian Film Critics Association Awards Best Supporting Actress Nominated [20]
2022 AACTA Awards Best Lead Actress in a Drama Love Me Nominated [21]
Logie Awards Most Popular Actress Nominated [22][23]
2024 AACTA Awards Best Lead Actress in a Drama Nominated [24]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Serbian Cyrillic: Бојана Новаковић; Serbian: Bojana Novaković. Bojana is pronounced boy-yana.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Dow, Steve (19 March 2023). "Bojana Novakovic: You don't wait for someone to get it together so you can get pregnant". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Bojana Novakovic" (in Slovak). CFSD. Retrieved 7 January 2026. nar. 12.07.1981, Beograd, Serbia
  3. ↑ "Bojana Novakovic". La Higuera (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 January 2026. Bojana Novakovic nació en 1981 en Australia, aunque es serbia. [=Bojana Novakovic was born in 1981 in Australia, although she is Serbian.]
  4. ↑ Late Late Show w/ Craig Ferguson Archive (4 April 2021). Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson 2/25/2014 Alice Eve, Bojana Novakovic, Roddy Hart. Archived from the original on 19 January 2025. Retrieved 10 January 2025 – via YouTube.
  5. ↑ "Bojana Novakovic (Dux of 1998) — the McDonald College". Archived from the original on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
  6. ↑ "Bojana Novakovic". doollee.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  7. ↑ Knox, David (27 October 2010). "2010 AFI Awards: Nominees". TV Tonight. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
  8. ↑ Ramsay, Cassandra (22 May 2012). "The Blind Date Project". Australian Stage Online. Retrieved 12 August 2026.
  9. ↑ "The Blind Date Project". rideontheatre.com. Archived from the original on 4 February 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  10. 1 2 "Television categories 1986 - 2009". AFI Award Winners. Australian Film Institute. 2009. Archived from the original on 20 September 2009. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
  11. ↑ "Sundance 2015: IFC Midnight Investigates The Hallow". Dread Central. 4 February 2015.
  12. ↑ "'The Hallow' Sells HUGE Out of Sundance -". bloody-disgusting.com. 3 February 2015. Archived from the original on 23 June 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  13. ↑ "[Sundance '15] Dog Lovers Avoid This 'The Hallow' Clip... -". bloody-disgusting.com. 23 January 2015. Archived from the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  14. ↑ "Bojana Novakovic Joins Showtime's 'Shameless', Rami Malek in USA Pilot 'Mr. Robot'". 9 September 2014. Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  15. 1 2 "The Forbidden Aunt (Zabranjena tetka)". Cineuropa. 18 May 2026. Retrieved 12 August 2026.
  16. ↑ Cunningham, Nick (16 August 2025). "CineLink 2025 Works-in-Progress: The Forbidden Aunt by Bojana Novaković". Business Doc Europe. Retrieved 12 August 2026.
  17. ↑ "The Forbidden Aunt". Adelaide Film Festival. Retrieved 12 August 2026.
  18. ↑ Slatter, Sean (12 August 2026). "'Agata The Writer', 'Jim Queen' among five new additions to AFF line-up". IF Magazine. Retrieved 12 August 2026.
  19. ↑ "Four new Australian films announced for Adelaide Film Festival". Cinema Australia. 12 August 2026. Retrieved 12 August 2026.
  20. ↑ "2013 Australian Film Critics Association Awards Nominations". Subculture Media. 22 February 2013. Archived from the original on 28 May 2016.
  21. ↑ "2022 AACTA Awards - Winners & Nominees". Australian Academy Cinema Television Arts. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  22. ↑ Mazzoni, Alana (14 May 2022). "The full list of nominees for the 2022 TV WEEK Logie Awards". Archived from the original on 24 April 2025. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  23. ↑ Challenor, Jake (20 June 2022). "2022 Logie Awards Winners: Hamish Blake Wins Gold". Variety Australia. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  24. ↑ "AACTA Awards - Winners & Nominees". Australian Academy Cinema Television Arts. Archived from the original on 4 March 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
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