Maria Mercedes (actress)
Maria Moutsidis, known professionally as Maria Mercedes, is a Greek-descended Australian television, film and stage actress, performer and singer. She is a mezzo soprano
Early life
Mercedes was born in Melbourne to parents George and Dionisia Moutsidis, a working class couple who emigrated via ship to Australia from Greece, seeking better prospects. Her father had been as aspiring actor in Greece. She attended Brunswick High School in Melbourne.Career
Early career
Mercedes' performing career began in 1973 after winning singing contests on both Young Talent Time and New Faces. After subsequently performing on The Graham Kennedy Show, she was persuaded to change her last name from 'Moutsidis' to the stage name of 'Mercedes', after Kennedy struggled to pronounce her name. By the age of 16, she was singing around Australia, in concerts and variety shows.In 1981, she released a cover version of The Crystals' "Then He Kissed Me", which she performed live on Countdown and Hey Hey It's Saturday.
Stage
Mercedes has appeared in numerous musical stage productions, having played Luisa Contini in Nine, Grizabella in Cats, Svetlana in Chess, Mama Morton in Chicago, Miss Sherman in Fame, the Wife in Seriously – Pet Shop Boys Reinterpreted, Power woman in Menopause The Musical, Madame Giry in Andrew Lloyd Webber's sequel to Phantom of the Opera – Love Never Dies and Melina Mercouri in Greek Goddess.From 1996 to 1997, Mercedes received critical acclaim starring as the alternate Norma Desmond in the original Australian production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard opposite Hugh Jackman. She eventually took over the role, giving almost 100 performances. In 2004, Mercedes was the first woman in the world to play Frank N Furter in The Rocky Horror Show. The performance was a charity show for "Variety", performed with the cast of Neighbours. She had previously toured Australia, playing the role of Magenta in a 1985 production.
Together with Kiyomi Vella, Susie Ahern and Ben Mingay, Mercedes performed in The Songs of James Bond, a two-hour concert featuring twenty two songs from the James Bond films.
In 2014 and 2015, Mercedes played opera star Maria Callas in the Terrence McNally play Master Class in Melbourne and at the Hayes Theatre in Sydney. In 2016, she joined the cast of the Greek-Australian migration play Taxithi by Helen Yotis Patterson, allowing her, for the first time in her theatrical career, to sing in Greek. In 2023, Mercedes took on the role of The Witch in a production of Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods with the West Australian Opera.
Film and television
Mercedes' film roles include Nurse Panicale in 1978 cult thriller Patrick and Tasia in 1998 LGBTQ independent film Head On. She was in 2004 film Dreams for Life playing the lead role of Ellen, a Greek woman hoping to make it as a dancer, much to the disapproval of her parents. She reprised her lauded stage role of Madame Giry in a 2012 film version of Love Never Dies. The following year, she appeared in the 2013 remake of Patrick, this time playing the role of the doctor. In 2018, she played Helen in 2018 film The Taverna.Mercedes' television credits include two recurring roles as Irene Zervos and Yemmi Bakarta in cult series Prisoner and also appeared as Detective Ayoub in its reimagining Wentworth. She appeared in a recurring capacity as Shirley Maclaine in soap opera E Street in 1993, and then featured in two TV movies – 1995's Cody: The Wrong Stuff and 1996's Whipping Boy. Mercedes played recurring roles in long-running soap opera Neighbours, firstly from 2004 to 2005 as Lucia Cammeniti, then in 2007 as Estelle Petrides. That same year, she starred as Dora Mavros in SBS miniseries Kick.
Mercedes had guest roles in several police procedural series Division 4, Homicide, Bluey and Cop Shop. She guested in drama Patrol Boat, police series Special Squad, sci-fi series Thunderstone, detective mystery Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries and its spin-off Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries and comedy drama House Husbands. Mercedes also had guest roles in the Underbelly spin-off Fat Tony & Co., comedy web miniseries Footballer Wants a Wife, sci-fi mystery-drama Bloom and drama-thriller The Tourist.
Mercedes has also performed as a singer on numerous variety shows including Young Talent Time, New Faces, In Melbourne Tonight, The Don Lane Show, Good Morning Australia, The Midday Show, Bandstand, The Mike Walsh Show, Countdown, Hey Hey It's Saturday and Greeks on the Roof. She continues to perform in concerts and at events, and also mentors emerging performance artists. She cites her musical influences as being Shirley Bassey and Cher.