Rebecca Jackson Mendoza
Encyclopedia
Rebecca Jackson Mendoza (born 1973) is an Australia
n actress, singer and dancer.
father and German Australian
mother. She first came to national prominence as half of the pop duo Jackson Mendoza
, with her sister Natalie
. They had minor success releasing two singles that reached the Top 30 in Australia before disbanding in 2000.
(1987) as a dancer, and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
(2005) as Queen Breha Organa. Her stage
roles include Australian and German
productions of Miss Saigon
, Australian productions of Show Boat
and Hair
, Australian and Japan
ese productions of We Will Rock You
, and Lady Galadriel in the Toronto
production of The Lord of the Rings.
Mendoza is playing Miss Bell in Fame: The Musical
, Australia.
after being stabbed in the chest by her estranged husband and fellow Show Boat cast member Marlon Brand, who committed suicide
after the attack. The couple had a daughter named Phoenix.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n actress, singer and dancer.
Early life
Rebecca Jackson Mendoza was born in Melbourne, Australia to a FilipinoPhilippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
father and German Australian
German Australian
German religious refugees represented the first major wave of German settlement in Australia, arriving in South Australia in 1838. Some were active as missionaries and explorers in Australia from early in the 19th century, and German prospectors were well-represented in the 1850s gold rushes...
mother. She first came to national prominence as half of the pop duo Jackson Mendoza
Jackson Mendoza
Jackson Mendoza was a short-lived Australian pop duo consisting of sisters Natalie and Rebecca Jackson Mendoza. Jackson Mendoza's debut single "Venus or Mars" was the first song penned by music production team the Matrix. "Venus or Mars" spent 10 weeks on the ARIA singles charts, peaking at #24...
, with her sister Natalie
Natalie Mendoza
Natalie Jackson Mendoza is a Hong Kong-born Australian-British-Filipina classical theatre-trained actress and musician. She is best known for her role as one of the main characters, Jackie Clunes in the British TV drama Hotel Babylon and as tough girl Juno in the acclaimed horror thriller The...
. They had minor success releasing two singles that reached the Top 30 in Australia before disbanding in 2000.
Career
Mendoza has had film roles in Howling IIIHowling III
Howling III is a 1987 Australian horror sequel to The Howling, directed by Howling II: Stirba - Werewolf Bitch director Philippe Mora and filmed on location in and outside Sydney, Australia...
(1987) as a dancer, and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the sixth and final film released in the Star Wars saga and the third in terms of the series' internal chronology....
(2005) as Queen Breha Organa. Her stage
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
roles include Australian and German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
productions of Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr.. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover...
, Australian productions of Show Boat
Show Boat
Show Boat is a musical in two acts with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was originally produced in New York in 1927 and in London in 1928, and was based on the 1926 novel of the same name by Edna Ferber. The plot chronicles the lives of those living and working...
and Hair
Hair (musical)
Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement...
, Australian and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese productions of We Will Rock You
We Will Rock You (musical)
We Will Rock You is a jukebox musical, based on the songs of Queen and named after their hit single of the same name. The musical was written by British comedian and author Ben Elton in collaboration with Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor...
, and Lady Galadriel in the Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
production of The Lord of the Rings.
Mendoza is playing Miss Bell in Fame: The Musical
Fame: The Musical
Fame: The Musical is a singing and dance contest in Ireland, produced by Screentime ShinAwiL for RTÉ. The audition and Fame Bootcamp stages were filmed around Ireland and in London....
, Australia.
Stabbing incident
In 1999, Mendoza suffered a strokeStroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
after being stabbed in the chest by her estranged husband and fellow Show Boat cast member Marlon Brand, who committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
after the attack. The couple had a daughter named Phoenix.
External links
- Cast page at The Lord of the Rings - The Stage Musical website
- Rebecca Jackson Mendoza at Nerf Herders Anonymous fansite