Alin Sumarwata
Australian actress
title: "Alin Sumarwata" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["living-people", "iranian-emigrants-to-australia", "australian-women-accountants", "australian-accountants", "australian-people-of-iranian-descent", "macquarie-law-school-alumni", "year-of-birth-missing-(living-people)", "australian-soap-opera-actresses", "21st-century-australian-women-lawyers", "macquarie-university-alumni", "actresses-from-tehran"] description: "Australian actress" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alin_Sumarwata" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Australian actress ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Alin Sumarwata |
| birth_place | Tehran, Iran |
| occupation | Actress |
| yearsactive | 2004–present |
| spouse | Don Hany (2011–) |
| children | 2 |
| :: |
| image = | imagesize = | name = Alin Sumarwata | birth_place = Tehran, Iran | occupation = Actress | yearsactive = 2004–present | spouse = Don Hany (2011–) | children = 2 Alin Sumarwata is an Iranian-born Australian actress, whose roles include May Stone in soap opera Home and Away, Sophia Angleton in East West 101 and Vanessa Villante in Neighbours, a role she played from 2012 to 2013, 2015 and 2019. She has also starred in Strike Back: Retribution, Strike Back: Revolution and Strike Back: Vendetta as Gracie Novin.
Early life
Sumarwata was born in Tehran, Iran. She moved to Australia with her family at the age of seven. Sumarwata gained a scholarship to the Australian Theatre for Young People and later attended the Newtown High School of the Performing Arts. She worked part time in a law firm and an accounting firm, while she graduated from Macquarie University with a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Laws.
Career
One of Sumarwata's early acting jobs was a role on Indonesian television soap opera Kenapa Ada Cinta. In 2009, Sumarwata starred as Yasmin Van Koors in the mini-series, False Witness. She joined the cast of Home and Away in the recurring role of May Stone, before moving onto roles in Rescue Special Ops and East West 101.
Sumarwata stars as Isabella Fortino in short film, Dark Horse. For her portrayal of Isabella, Sumarwata won the "Best Female Actor in a Short Film" award at the Melbourne Underground Film Festival. The following year, Sumarwata appeared in Sea Patrol and Tangle.
On 5 December 2011, it was announced Sumarwata had joined the cast of Neighbours in the regular role of Vanessa Villante. Sumarwata and her family relocated from Sydney to Melbourne, so she could film her scenes. Sumarwata's character was written out in 2013. She made three guest appearances in 2015, and she reprised the role again in 2019.
In 2016, Sumarwata joined the cast of Strike Back as Gracie Novin for the show's sixth series, which began airing in 2017. She reprised the role for the seventh series Strike Back: Revolution, which aired in 2019. Sumarwata reprised the role for the final season, Strike Back: Vendetta which started airing on February 14, 2020.
Personal life
Sumarwata is married to actor Don Hany. They have two daughters.
Filmography
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | 2004 | 2005 | 2007 | 2008 | 2008 | 2009 | 2009 | 2009 | 2009 | 2009 | 2010 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012–2013, 2015, 2019 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2019 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soul Traces: The Introduction | Clara Woods | TV movie | |||||||||||||||||||||
| The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant | Nani | 2 episodes | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Death's Requiem | Sarah | Short film | |||||||||||||||||||||
| The Terrorist | Short film | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Octopus | Jane | Short film | |||||||||||||||||||||
| False Witness | Yasmin Van Koors | Also known as The Diplomat | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Home and Away | May Stone | Recurring role | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Rescue Special Ops | Brooke Henley | Episode: "Rescue in the Blue Mountains" | |||||||||||||||||||||
| East West 101 | Sophia Angleton | Recurring role | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Dark Horse | Isabella Fortino | Short film | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sea Patrol | Sylvanna Gorski | Episode: "In Too Deep" | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Tangle | Julie | Episode: "Sleepwalking" | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Burning Man | Nurse | Film | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Neighbours | Vanessa Villante | Main cast | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Mary: The Making of a Princess | Princess Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg | TV movie | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Jack Irish | Galerry Owner | 2 episodes | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Strike Back: Retribution | Lance Corporal Gracie Novin | Main cast | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Strike Back: Revolution | Lance Corporal Gracie Novin | Main cast | |||||||||||||||||||||
| My Life Is Murder | Morgana Finch | Episode: "Feet of Clay" | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Strike Back: Vendetta | Lance Corporal Gracie Novin | Main cast | |||||||||||||||||||||
| :: |
References
References
- Huang, Bryan. (2 March 2018). "Strike Back's Alin Sumarwata talks benefits of knowing multiple languages". [[Yahoo! Lifestyle]].
- Nolen, Kelsey. (4 April 2018). "Interview with Alin Sumarwata". TV Series Hub.
- "Kenapa Ada Cinta - Tabloid Nova".
- Stanley, Alessandra. (23 January 2009). "Chases, Gunplay and Terrorism, Without the Familiar Landmarks". [[The New York Times]].
- "Season One, Episode One - "Blue Mountains"". [[Ninemsn]].
- "East West 101 - The characters". Knapman Wyld Television Pty. Ltd..
- (31 August 2010). "MUFF rewards Joseph Sim's Bad Behaviour". Focal Attractions.
- Kilkelly, Daniel. (5 December 2011). "'Neighbours' casts new female regular Vanessa". [[Hearst Magazines UK]].
- (7 December 2011). "New chef to become a famous neighbour". [[The Herald and Weekly Times]].
- (6 December 2011). "Trouble brews for new Neighbour". [[Press Association]].
- (5 December 2011). "Neighbours newcomer set to cook up a storm". [[Northern & Shell]].
- (31 August – 6 September 2013). "Vanessa axed!". [[TV Week]].
- Klompus, Jack. (27 February 2015). "Alin Sumarwata talks Neighbours return: 'It's nice to see a happy ending'". [[Digital Spy]].
- (12 September 2015). "Backstage with Scott Major aka Lucas Fitzgerald". [[Tenplay.com.au]].
- (5–19 November 2015). "The guides". TV Soap.
- Dainty, Sophie. (8 February 2019). "Neighbours is bringing back Vanessa Villante for Sonya's exit storyline". [[Digital Spy]].
- Andreeva, Nellie. (8 December 2016). "'Strike Back' Reboot Gets Series Order By Cinemax & Sky, Sets Core Cast".
- Hahn, Kate. (24 January 2019). "'Strike Back's Alin Sumarwata Says 'the Stakes are Higher' in Season 6". [[TV Insider]].
- Steves, Ashley. (10 April 2018). "'Strike Back' Star Alin Sumarwata on Finding Your Characters Through Yourself (and Vice Versa)". [[Backstage (magazine).
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