# Adelaide Clemens
**Adelaide Clemens** (born 1989) is an Australian actress known for playing Tawney Talbot in the Sundance TV drama *Rectify*, Valentine Wannop in the HBO/BBC miniseries *Parade's End*, and Rebecca Pyre in FX's *Under the Banner of Heaven*. Born in Brisbane, Queensland, she began acting on Australian television while in high school and relocated to Los Angeles in 2009.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2573997/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1989, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2573997/) |
| Breakout role | Tawney Talbot in *Rectify* (Sundance TV, 2013–2016), a Peabody Award-winning drama[2](https://www.detpress.com/abc/bios/adelaide-clemens-1/) |
| Early recognition | Graham Kennedy Award nomination for Most Outstanding New Talent at the 2008 Logie Awards, for *Love My Way*[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2573997/) |
| Notable miniseries | Valentine Wannop in *Parade's End* (2012, HBO/BBC Two); Rebecca Pyre in *Under the Banner of Heaven* (2022, FX)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2573997/) • [2](https://www.detpress.com/abc/bios/adelaide-clemens-1/) |
| Film roles | Heather Mason in *Silent Hill: Revelation* (2012); Catherine in *The Great Gatsby* (2013)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2573997/) |
| Stage work | Essie in *Hold On to Me Darling* (Atlantic Theater Company, 2016; Lucille Lortel Theatre, 2024); Hilary in *The Hard Problem* (Lincoln Center, 2018)[3](https://atlantictheater.org/bio/adelaide-clemens/) |
| Current role | Catherine Delacroix on ABC's *R.J. Decker* (2026)[2](https://www.detpress.com/abc/bios/adelaide-clemens-1/) |
## Early life
Clemens was born in Brisbane, Queensland, the daughter of a British father.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2573997/) Her family moved frequently during her childhood: she was raised in Japan, France, and Hong Kong before returning to Australia at age 12.[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/35885/adelaide-clemens) In an interview, she recalled entering a Shakespeare festival every year at her Sydney school, and said that the actor John Bell told her drama teacher she should take acting seriously.[5](https://www.ivoox.com/my-drama-teacher-mailed-my-audition-out-on-audios-mp3_rf_173712299_1.html)
## Australian television beginnings
Clemens began working as an actress on Australian television while still in high school. She guest-starred in a 2006 episode of *Blue Water High* as Juliet, and in 2007 took a starring role in the children's series *Pirate Islands: The Lost Treasure of Fiji* as Alison.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2573997/) That year she also took on the recurring part of Harper, appearing in eight episodes of the Showtime drama *Love My Way*, and this performance earned her a nomination for Most Outstanding New Talent in the Graham Kennedy Award category at the 2008 Logie Awards.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2573997/) The Atlantic Theater Company's biography describes *Love My Way* as the series in which she came to prominence.[3](https://atlantictheater.org/bio/adelaide-clemens/)
She appeared in the 2008 MTV Networks Australia television film *Dream Life* alongside [Sigrid Thornton](https://www.edgepedia.org/sigrid-thornton), Xavier Samuel, Linda Cropper, and Andrew McFarlane, and had small roles in the series *All Saints* and the film *X-Men Origins: Wolverine* in 2009. That year she also became the face of the jewelry brand Jan Logan.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2573997/) An SBS News profile noted that she was unusual among young Australian actors in Hollywood in having never appeared in the soap operas *Home and Away* or *Neighbours*.[6](https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/clemens-star-on-the-rise/3er9z8z64)
## International film and television
Clemens relocated to Los Angeles in 2009 and starred as Xandrie in the 2010 film *Wasted on the Young*, which was also her feature film debut and a reunion with her *Pirate Islands* era contemporary Alex Russell, who made his own feature debut in the same film.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2573997/) • [7](https://miffindustry.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Rabbit-FINAL-Press-Kit-Short-Version.pdf) In 2012 she starred in *Camilla Dickinson*, an adaptation of [Madeleine L'Engle](https://www.edgepedia.org/madeleine-lengle)'s 1951 novel, and portrayed teenager Heather Mason in the horror film *Silent Hill: Revelation*, based on the video game *Silent Hill 3* (2003) and a sequel to *Silent Hill* (2006).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2573997/) Also in 2012 she played the young suffragette Valentine Wannop in *Parade's End*, Tom Stoppard's miniseries adaptation of [Ford Madox Ford](https://www.edgepedia.org/ford-madox-ford)'s tetralogy, co-produced by HBO and [BBC Two](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-two) and directed by Susanna White, opposite Benedict Cumberbatch and Rebecca Hall.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2573997/) • [3](https://atlantictheater.org/bio/adelaide-clemens/)
**The Great Gatsby and Rectify.** In Baz Luhrmann's 2013 film adaptation of *The Great Gatsby*, Clemens played Catherine, the sister of Myrtle Wilson, opposite [Joel Edgerton](https://www.edgepedia.org/joel-edgerton), Isla Fisher, Leonardo DiCaprio, and [Carey Mulligan](https://www.edgepedia.org/carey-mulligan).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2573997/) • [3](https://atlantictheater.org/bio/adelaide-clemens/) From 2013 to 2016 she starred as Tawney Talbot in *Rectify*, the Sundance Channel series created by Ray McKinnon; her performance as Tawney earned widespread critical praise and is described in her ABC press biography as her breakout role.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2573997/) • [2](https://www.detpress.com/abc/bios/adelaide-clemens-1/) Speaking to ELLE about the character, Clemens said that a person entrenched in religion day in and day out, like Tawney, would draw parallels between the show's character Daniel and the rising of Jesus.[8](https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/news/a18712/adelaide-clemens-interview-recitfy/)
Her subsequent television work includes the voice role of Merla in *Voltron: Legendary Defender* (2018), Pirate Jenny in *Watchmen* (2019), Blake Sullivan in the CBS series *Tommy* (2020), Rebecca Pyre in *Under the Banner of Heaven* (2022) opposite [Andrew Garfield](https://www.edgepedia.org/andrew-garfield) and [Daisy Edgar-Jones](https://www.edgepedia.org/daisy-edgar-jones), and Sandy Stanton in *Justified: City Primeval* (2023) opposite [Timothy Olyphant](https://www.edgepedia.org/timothy-olyphant).[2](https://www.detpress.com/abc/bios/adelaide-clemens-1/)
**Independent film.** Clemens's film work in this period includes *The Automatic Hate* (2015), which premiered at SXSW, *To the Stars* (2019), directed by Martha Stephens, and *The Swearing Jar* (2022), which premiered at the [Toronto International Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/toronto-international-film-festival) and in which she was also the performer of several songs on the soundtrack.[2](https://www.detpress.com/abc/bios/adelaide-clemens-1/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2573997/) Director Justin Lerner cast her in *The Automatic Hate* a day after seeing her audition tape.[9](https://moveablefest.com/adelaide-clemens-automatic-hate/) She played Freya Wells in *Kangaroo Island* (2024), which had its world premiere at the 2024 Adelaide Film Festival.[10](https://culturemixonline.com/review-kangaroo-island-2025-starring-rebecca-breeds-adelaide-clemens-joel-jackson-and-erik-thomson/)
## Stage work
Clemens made her Off Broadway debut as Essie in [Kenneth Lonergan](https://www.edgepedia.org/kenneth-lonergan)'s *Hold On to Me Darling* at the [Atlantic Theater Company](https://www.edgepedia.org/atlantic-theater-company) in 2016, and reprised the role at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in 2024, this time opposite [Adam Driver](https://www.edgepedia.org/adam-driver).[3](https://atlantictheater.org/bio/adelaide-clemens/) • [2](https://www.detpress.com/abc/bios/adelaide-clemens-1/)
## Recent work
Clemens plays Catherine Delacroix on ABC's *R.J. Decker*, which began airing in 2026, and recently wrapped production on the pilot *Cuba Confidential*, from Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon, opposite [Jake Lacy](https://www.edgepedia.org/jake-lacy) and [Peter Sarsgaard](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-sarsgaard).[2](https://www.detpress.com/abc/bios/adelaide-clemens-1/) She currently resides in New York.[2](https://www.detpress.com/abc/bios/adelaide-clemens-1/)
## References
1. [Adelaide Clemens, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2573997/)
2. [Adelaide Clemens biography, ABC Press (Disney)](https://www.detpress.com/abc/bios/adelaide-clemens-1/)
3. [Adelaide Clemens, Atlantic Theater Company](https://atlantictheater.org/bio/adelaide-clemens/)
4. [Adelaide Clemens, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/35885/adelaide-clemens)
5. [My Drama Teacher Mailed My Audition Out on VHS When I Was 14, Adelaide Clemens Interview, The McAuley Tucker Show](https://www.ivoox.com/my-drama-teacher-mailed-my-audition-out-on-audios-mp3_rf_173712299_1.html)
6. [Clemens's star on the rise, SBS News](https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/clemens-star-on-the-rise/3er9z8z64)
7. [Rabbit press kit, Melbourne International Film Festival Industry](https://miffindustry.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Rabbit-FINAL-Press-Kit-Short-Version.pdf)
8. [Interview with Adelaide Clemens on Rectify, ELLE](https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/news/a18712/adelaide-clemens-interview-recitfy/)
9. [Interview: Adelaide Clemens on Tackling Taboos in The Automatic Hate, The Moveable Fest](https://moveablefest.com/adelaide-clemens-automatic-hate/)
10. [Review: Kangaroo Island (2025), Culture Mix](https://culturemixonline.com/review-kangaroo-island-2025-starring-rebecca-breeds-adelaide-clemens-joel-jackson-and-erik-thomson/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › Australian actors › Surnames A to D*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license