Anna Jullienne
| Anna Jullienne Kermode | |
|---|---|
| Born |
7 November 1982 New Zealand |
| Notable work | Nurse Maia Jeffries in Shortland Street |
| Spouse(s) | James Kermode (2010 - present) |
Anna Jullienne Kermode (born 7 November 1982) is a New Zealand actress, best known for her role as Nurse Maia Jeffries in the television series Shortland Street. Maia is a beautiful and talented young nurse who happens to be a lesbian. The character has a strong cult following and had a long term relationship with Jay Copeland (played by Jaime Passier-Armstrong) before her death.
Jullienne attended Corran School for Girls, and was active in drama, with lead roles in productions of Amadeus, Julius Caesar and Anything Goes, and she won several awards, including the 1999 NZ Young Performer of the Year, 1st prize in the 1999 Auckland National Independent Schools Speech Competition, and 1st prize in the Auckland Drama Championship at the North Shore Performing Arts Festival. In 2007, she won the Air New Zealand Screen Award for Performance by a Supporting Actress, for her role on Shortland Street.
Jullienne holds an ATCL Teacher Practical Certificate from the Trinity College of London Drama Examination, and studied camera technique under Jan Saussey. She is fluent in French and Japanese.
Her professional career started during her time at the University of Auckland with roles in Mercy Peak and Secret Agent Men, and she put her studies (a BA in English and Film and TV) on hold to take up her first major dramatic screen role on Shortland Street. She took a six-month break from filming Shortland Street from October 2007 and left the show in late 2010 with Maia's last scene airing 9 February 2011. Throughout her career Jullienne has been a prominent spokeswoman and model for the Red 11 modelling agency. Jullienne has appeared in photo shoots for such brands as: NZ Performance Car, Red Bull, XCDR and Car50.
Jullienne's on screen lesbian relationship with Jay Copeland (Jaime Passier-Armstrong) has been controversial, although the overall response has been positive. On 26 April 2005, the Civil Union Act came into effect in New Zealand, which allowed both heterosexual and homosexual couples to register their relationships officially as an alternative to traditional marriage. On 14 February 2006, the first Civil Union on New Zealand television took place between Maia and Jay.
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