Episode 9: Miah Madden

This week we have Miah Madden on the mic. Miah's career as an actress and activist feels like it was written in the stars. Her father is the late Lee Madden, the pioneering Indigenous Australian tennis player, actor, fashion model, poet, and talent agent. Her five siblings are all remarkable talents in their own right including the actress Madeleine Madden, Lille Madden, an artist, and Ruby Madden, a champion runner. Miah started acting as a child, with roles in The Sapphires and Redfern Now, and last year she got her breakout role in the hit series Paper Dolls. Produced by Belinda Chapple, an original member of the iconic Australian pop band Bardot, the series  charted the creation and dissolution of a girl pop band in the early 2000s, and reexamined the power dynamics between young women in music and their record labels. The show made Miah one of the most exciting and in-demand new Australian actresses, and, remarkably, she’s balancing that career with a degree in law. She wants to dedicate her life to advocating for the Indigenous community, and sees lawmaking as the most viable path to last change. We talk about the mental health toll last year’s often toxic referendum discourse took on Miah and her family, the achievements of her father, including the story of his staging the first ever Indigenous fashion show in Paris in the ‘90s, her unexpected role as the youngest ever host of Play School, and more.  Please rate, review, subscribe, and share this episode with your friends, and find us over at @ELLEAUS on Instagram and Tiktok for more from ELLE Australia.  This episode is proudly brought to you by Kerastase, who have exclusively partnered with ELLE Australia on the launch of What the ELLE. Explore Kerastase's Genesis collection here. What the ELLE? episode tile features the artwork "Beach Bum" by Matilda Bailey and is designed by Paulina Paige Ortega.