Madeleine Madden

Madden in 2019, photo by DFree/Bigstock.com

Place of Birth: Sydney, Australia

Date of Birth: January 29, 1997

Ethnicity: Aboriginal [Arrernte, Kalkadoon, Gadigal, Bundjalung], one quarter German, smaller amounts of Irish/Northern Irish, English

Madeleine Madden is an Australian actress. Her roles include the films Around the Block and Dora and the Lost City of Gold, and television’s Ready for This, Tomorrow When the War Began, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Mystery Road, Pine Gap, Tidelands, The Wheel of Time, and Ark: The Animated Series.

She is the daughter of Hetti Perkins, an art curator and writer, and Lee Madden. Her half-sister is actress and presenter Miah Madden. Her aunt is film and television director, producer, and screenwriter Rachel Perkins.

Madeleine’s mother is of one half German, one quarter Aboriginal Australian [Arrernte, Kalkadoon], one eighth Irish, and one eighth likely British-Australian, descent. Her father is of mostly Aboriginal Australian descent, Gadigal and Bundjalung, with a small amount of Northern Irish roots.

Madeleine’s paternal grandfather was named Charles “Chicka” Madden (born Thomas Madden, the son of Thomas William Madden). Charles is an Aboriginal Gadigal Elder, community leader, and artist. Thomas was the son of Thomas William Madden, who descended from Mitzie Madden, an emigrant, from Northern Ireland, who married an Aboriginal woman.

Madeleine’s paternal grandmother was named Lily/Lillie Mundine (the daughter of Audrey). Lily was born in Baryulgil, New South Wales, Australia.

Madeleine’s maternal grandfather was Charles Perkins (Charles Nelson Perkins, the son of Martin Connelly and Hetty Perkins). Charles was born in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, and was a noted Australian Aboriginal activist, soccer player, and administrator. Martin was the son of an Irish father and a Kalkatungu Aboriginal Australian mother. Madeleine’s great-grandmother Hetty Perkins was an elder of the Eastern Arrernte people. She was the daughter of Harry Perkins, who was white, and of Nellie Errerreke, who was Arrernte Aboriginal Australian.

Madeleine’s maternal grandmother was named Eileen Munchenberg. Eileen was German. She was of Lutheran faith.

Sources: https://www.theguardian.com

Obituary of Madeleine’s father – https://www.smh.com.au

History of Madeleien’s paternal grandfather, Charles “Chicka” Madden – https://www.historyofaboriginalsydney.edu.au