Linda Cropper
Linda Cropper is an Australian actress. She played Dame Nellie Melba in the 1987 television series Melba, becoming more widely known for her role as Geraldine Proudman in the TV series Offspring. She has featured in many other TV series and also has several film credits. In 2025 she plays a lead role as Lyn in the a dark comedy Birthright.
Career
Television
Cropper played Nellie Melba in the 1987 television series Melba.Other television credits include roles in ABC miniseries Palace of Dreams, Edens Lost, Ring of Scorpio, Bordertown, Wildside, Water Rats, All Saints, White Collar Blue, and The Pacific. She had a recurring role as Xhalax Sun during the third season of the Australian-American science fiction series Farscape.
In 2024 she played Rose de Vigny over eight episodes in the mystery drama series High Country.
Film
Cropper's film credits include Teesh and Trude, Little Fish and Fool's Gold.She plays a lead role as Lyn in Australian filmmaker Zoe Pepper's feature film directorial debut, a dark satirical comedy called Birthright, which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in New York City in June 2025.
Theatre
Cropper's many theatre credits include Simon Phillip's co-production of Poor Boy for the Melbourne Theatre Company and Sydney Theatre Company, and the role of Lady Macbeth in Bell Shakespeare's Macbeth. Other credits with Bell Shakespeare include Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, As You Like It and Hamlet. Sydney Theatre Company credits include Arcadia, A Month in the Country, Top Girls, and Great Expectations. She played the solo role Melbourne Theatre Company's production of The Architect by Aidan Fennessy in 2018.Accolades
In 1989 Cropper was nominated for an AFI Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini Series, for Edens Lost.In 2010, she was nominated for an AFI Award for Best Guest or Supporting Actress in a Television Drama for her performance in Satisfaction.
She won the Green Room Award in 2019 for her 2018 performance in The Architect.
Filmography
Television
Film
Theatre
Cropper's stage roles include:| Year | Title | Role | Company |
| 1978 | The Threepenny Opera | NIDA Theatre, Sydney | |
| 1979 | Lost to the Devil | Maggie | Neutral Bay Music Hall |
| 1979 | Cabaret | Sally | Civic Playhouse, Newcastle with Hunter Valley Theatre Company |
| 1979 | Under Milk Wood | Civic Playhouse, Newcastle with Hunter Valley Theatre Company | |
| 1979 | The Miracle Worker | Aunt Ev | Civic Playhouse, Newcastle with Hunter Valley Theatre Company |
| 1980 | Cyrano de Bergerac | Refreshment Girl / Lise / Sister Marthe | Sydney Opera House with STC |
| 1980 | Volpone | Celia | Nimrod Theatre, Sydney |
| 1981 | Celluloid Heroes | Alison Mackay | Opera Theatre, Adelaide, His Majesty's Theatre, Perth |
| 1981 | The Dresser | Irene | Theatre Royal, Sydney, Comedy Theatre, Melbourne, Townsville Civic Theatre, Pilbeam Theatre, Her Majesty's Theatre, Brisbane, His Majesty's Theatre, Perth |
| 1981 | Chinchilla | Romola de Pulszky | Sydney Opera House with STC |
| 1982 | Amadeus | Constanze Weber | Theatre Royal, Sydney with STC |
| 1982 | Tristram Shandy | Nimrod Theatre, Sydney | |
| 1984 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Melbourne Athenaeum with MYC | |
| 1986 | The Madras House | Sydney Opera House with STC | |
| 1988 | The Mortal Falcon | Sydney Opera House with STC | |
| 1988 | An Ideal Husband | Wharf Theatre, Sydney with STC | |
| 1988 | Loot | Wharf Theatre, Sydney with STC | |
| 1990 | The Secret Rapture | Katherine Glass | Sydney Opera House with STC |
| 1990 | Three Sisters | Masha | Sydney Opera House with STC |
| 1991 | Three Stories High - Julia's Song / Painted Woman / Koori Love | Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney | |
| 1992 | The Marriage of Figaro | The Countess | Suncorp Theatre, Brisbane |
| 1992 | Vassa | NIDA Studio, Sydney | |
| 1993 | Top Girls | Wharf Theatre, Sydney with STC | |
| 1993 | The Idiot | Crossroads Theatre, Sydney with Fisher Stein Productions | |
| 1994 | King Lear | Sydney Opera House with STC | |
| 2000 | A Month in the Country | Sydney Opera House with STC | |
| 2002 | Hippolytus | Government House, Sydney with Bell Shakespeare | |
| 2003 | Hamlet | Gertrude | Sydney Opera House, Orange Civic Theatre, Playhouse Canberra, Ford Theatre, Geelong, Playhouse, Melbourne, Theatre Royal, Hobart with Bell Shakespeare |
| 2003 | As You Like It | Playhouse, Melbourne with Bell Shakespeare | |
| 2004 | Twelfth Night | Maria | Sydney Opera House, Playhouse, Melbourne, Playhouse Canberra, Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, Orange Civic Theatre with Bell Shakespeare |
| 2005 | Death Variations | Seymour Centre with East Coast Theatre Company | |
| 2006 | Romeo and Juliet | Lady Capulet | Playhouse, Canberra, Playhouse, Melbourne, Sydney Opera House with Bell Shakespeare |
| 2007 | Macbeth | Lady Macbeth | Australian national tour with Bell Shakespeare |
| 2009 | Poor Boy | Viv | Southbank Theatre, Sydney Theatre with MTC / STC |
| 2011 | And No More Shall We Part | Pam | Stables Theatre, Sydney with Griffin Theatre Company |
| 2012 | The Mousetrap | Mrs Boyle | Sydney Theatre, Playhouse Canberra, His Majesty's Theatre, Perth, Comedy Theatre, Melbourne, Dunstan Playhouse, St. James Theatre, Wellington, QPAC |
| 2014 | Nora | Helen | Belvoir Theatre, Sydney |
| 2014 | Ghosts | Helene Alving | MTC |
| 2015 | Elektra / Orestes | Clytemnestra | Belvoir Theatre, Sydney |
| 2018 | The Architect | Helen Pyefinch | Southbank Theatre, Melbourne with MTC |
| 2019 | Australian Realness | Mother | Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne |
| 2021–2022 | Grand Horizons | Nancy | Roslyn Packer Theatre, Sydney |
| Arcadia | STC | ||
| Great Expectations | STC |