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Reach for the stars One of New Zealand’s leading actors made her start at Queen Margaret College at the turn of the 21st century. Antonia Prebble attended QMC from 1997–2001, Year 9–13, following in the footsteps of her older sister Rebecca. The proud Glamis supporter was Arts Prefect and Proxime Accessit in her final year of school. “I also received a few Silver Fern prizes to recognise the acting work I was doing out of school,” Antonia says. While at QMC, Antonia was encouraged to follow her passion for acting and her favourite memories of school include her starring roles in school productions. “I got to play St Joan in fifth form, which was a wonderful experience, and in seventh form I was Sarah in Guys and Dolls . I remember loving every single minute of every rehearsal and every performance.” “Acting was the only thing I ever wanted to do and I was so grateful for all the support I received from the school, such as being allowed to come to school with purple hair for months at a time due to the requirements of a TV show I was in.” After finishing school Antonia went on to host children’s TV show What Now , while studying a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature at Victoria University part time. In 2005 Antonia won the role of LorettaWest in New Zealand drama Outrageous Fortune becoming a household name across the country. “Being part of Outrageous Fortune for six years was a turning point for me and really set up my career in New Zealand,” she says. Since then she has worked on the show’s prequel Westside and a number of other projects locally and overseas including Sisters , ANZAC Girls and The Blue Rose . Westside is now in its fifth season. Her advice to current students is to follow their passions when they are not sure of the next step. Antonia Prebble attended QMC from 1997–2001, Year 9–13. “To me, a Queen Margaret College woman is one who is independent and who knows who she is. “Don’t worry if you don’t know what it is that you want to do yet, there is no hurry to figure it out. Follow the path of what interests you and the next steps will present themselves.” OUR COMMUNITY 61 Queen Margaret Calling :: ISSUE 63 :: May 2019