# Jane Clifton
**Jane Clifton** (born 1949) is a Gibraltar-born Australian actress, singer, writer, poet, painter, and registered civil celebrant, best known for playing Margo Gaffney in the television drama *[Prisoner](https://www.edgepedia.org/prisoner-tv-series)* (Cell Block H) and for fronting the 1970s band Stiletto[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0166745/bio/) • [2](https://www.3cr.org.au/introducedby/episode/and-ones-introduced-jane-clifton-introduces-songs-retrospective-her-work). Her career spans five decades across television, stage, recorded music, crime fiction, memoir, and poetry[3](https://www.janeclifton.com.au/about). She should not be confused with a New Zealand political journalist of the same name, a longtime columnist for the *NZ Listener* and the *New Zealand Herald*[4](https://muckrack.com/jane-clifton).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1949, Gibraltar, to British army parents[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0166745/bio/) |
| Breakout role | Margo Gaffney in the Australian drama *Prisoner*[2](https://www.3cr.org.au/introducedby/episode/and-ones-introduced-jane-clifton-introduces-songs-retrospective-her-work) |
| Music | Joined the band Toads in 1975, then Stiletto; top 10 pop singles "Girl on the Wall" (solo) and "Taxi Mary" (with Jo Jo Zep)[2](https://www.3cr.org.au/introducedby/episode/and-ones-introduced-jane-clifton-introduces-songs-retrospective-her-work) • [3](https://www.janeclifton.com.au/about) |
| Books | Crime novels *Half Past Dead* (2002), *A Hand in the Bush* (2005), *Flush* (2013); memoir *The Address Book* (2011); poetry *A Day at a Time in Rhyme* (2019)[3](https://www.janeclifton.com.au/about) |
| Education | B.A., Monash University, 1972[3](https://www.janeclifton.com.au/about) |
| Celebrant | Registered civil marriage celebrant since 2009; has married more than 300 couples[5](https://janetheproject.com/jane/jane-clifton/) |
| Hometown | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia[5](https://janetheproject.com/jane/jane-clifton/) |
## Early life
Clifton was born in [Gibraltar](https://www.edgepedia.org/gibraltar) and spent most of her childhood in Germany, then Malaysia, with frequent trips to Britain[5](https://janetheproject.com/jane/jane-clifton/). When her father left the army the family emigrated from Cardiff to Perth in 1961, and moved again to Melbourne in 1965 after a promotion; she has lived in Melbourne since[5](https://janetheproject.com/jane/jane-clifton/). She has lived in more than 30 homes in her life, a fact that became the subject of her memoir[6](https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/lifematters/jane-clifton-the-address-book/3691780).
She enrolled at [Monash University](https://www.edgepedia.org/monash-university) in 1968 with the plan of becoming an English teacher and graduated with a B.A. in 1972[3](https://www.janeclifton.com.au/about) • [5](https://janetheproject.com/jane/jane-clifton/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0166745/bio/). By graduation she had instead been drawn into Melbourne's alternative theater and music scene: theater at La Mama and the Pram Factory in Carlton, and singing with bands in the Fitzroy-Carlton circuit[3](https://www.janeclifton.com.au/about). She never became a teacher[5](https://janetheproject.com/jane/jane-clifton/).
## Acting career
Her early screen work included parts in the cult films *Stork* (1971) and *Pure Shit* (1975)[2](https://www.3cr.org.au/introducedby/episode/and-ones-introduced-jane-clifton-introduces-songs-retrospective-her-work), and a string of minor roles in early Australian television series from *Division 4*, *Homicide*, *Ryan*, and *Bluey* to *Holiday Island*[3](https://www.janeclifton.com.au/about). One profile places her appearances as ranging "from *Division 4* to *Round the Twist*"[7](https://www.mixcloud.com/suzanne-donisthorpe/artswank-meet-jane-clifton-singer-actor-writer-and-now-poet/). The role for which she is best remembered is Margo Gaffney in *Prisoner*, the cult Australian prison drama broadcast as *Prisoner: Cell Block H* internationally[2](https://www.3cr.org.au/introducedby/episode/and-ones-introduced-jane-clifton-introduces-songs-retrospective-her-work). IMDb also credits her with *As Time Goes By* (1988) and *Lost Gully Road* (2017)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0166745/bio/).
On stage she appeared in *A Pack of Women*, *Mum's the Word*, and *Menopause the Musical*, the last two described by her own site as smash-hit shows[3](https://www.janeclifton.com.au/about) • [7](https://www.mixcloud.com/suzanne-donisthorpe/artswank-meet-jane-clifton-singer-actor-writer-and-now-poet/).
## Music
In 1975, Clifton started out in music with the band Toads and then moved on to Stiletto, with the late Chris Worrall playing guitar in both outfits.[2](https://www.3cr.org.au/introducedby/episode/and-ones-introduced-jane-clifton-introduces-songs-retrospective-her-work) She has described Stiletto as a "feminists-on-Countdown" band, which she fronted[3](https://www.janeclifton.com.au/about). IMDb records her as Stiletto's lead vocalist and co-writer of their 1978 single "Goodbye, Johnny"[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0166745/bio/). Other bands she sang with included Scumbag and Lipp and the Double Dekker Brothers[3](https://www.janeclifton.com.au/about) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0166745/bio/).
She has maintained a long-standing collaboration with Joe Camilleri, lending her voice to several Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons releases[2](https://www.3cr.org.au/introducedby/episode/and-ones-introduced-jane-clifton-introduces-songs-retrospective-her-work). Her two top 10 pop singles were "Girl on the Wall" (solo) and "Taxi Mary" (with Jo Jo Zep)[3](https://www.janeclifton.com.au/about). Her solo album *The Marriage of Style* is dated April 2003 on her own website[3](https://www.janeclifton.com.au/about), while 3CR radio describes her solo career as launched with the same album in 1993.[2](https://www.3cr.org.au/introducedby/episode/and-ones-introduced-jane-clifton-introduces-songs-retrospective-her-work) In recent years she has sung weekly at Claypots Evening Star in South Melbourne[3](https://www.janeclifton.com.au/about).
## Writing
Clifton's published books are three crime novels, *Half Past Dead* (Text, 2002), *A Hand in the Bush* (Text, 2005), and *Flush* (Clandestine Press, 2013); the memoir *The Address Book* (Penguin, 2011); and the poetry anthology *A Day at a Time in Rhyme* (Littlefox, 2019)[3](https://www.janeclifton.com.au/about). *The Address Book* recounts her visits to the houses she has lived in around the world; in a 2018 project she wrote a poem every day for a year, and the collection of all 365 became *A Day at a Time in Rhyme*[5](https://janetheproject.com/jane/jane-clifton/) • [8](https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/thefridayrevue/jane-clifton-postcard-to-wilsons-prom/12678598). She has been working on a second memoir, *A Very Civil Celebrant*[3](https://www.janeclifton.com.au/about).
## Celebrant and painting
In 2009 she became a registered civil marriage celebrant and has since married more than 300 couples, officiating at weddings, funerals, naming ceremonies, and vow renewals[5](https://janetheproject.com/jane/jane-clifton/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0166745/bio/). She took up painting during the COVID-19 lockdown and has since held two solo exhibitions at Marios' Café in Fitzroy, the first opening on 9 April 2024 and the second from 11 February 2025[3](https://www.janeclifton.com.au/about) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0166745/bio/).
## References
1. [Jane Clifton – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0166745/bio/)
2. [And This One's Introduced By... Jane Clifton introduces the songs from a retrospective of her work, 3CR Community Radio](https://www.3cr.org.au/introducedby/episode/and-ones-introduced-jane-clifton-introduces-songs-retrospective-her-work)
3. [About Me, janeclifton.com.au](https://www.janeclifton.com.au/about)
4. [Jane Clifton's Profile, New Zealand Herald journalist, Muck Rack](https://muckrack.com/jane-clifton)
5. [My Name is Jane Clifton, Jane the Project](https://janetheproject.com/jane/jane-clifton/)
6. [Jane Clifton: The address book, ABC Radio National, Life Matters](https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/lifematters/jane-clifton-the-address-book/3691780)
7. [ArtSwank: Meet Jane Clifton, singer, actor, writer and now poet, interview by Suzanne Donisthorpe, 94.9 MAINfm](https://www.mixcloud.com/suzanne-donisthorpe/artswank-meet-jane-clifton-singer-actor-writer-and-now-poet/)
8. [Jane Clifton's postcard to Wilsons Promontory, ABC, The Friday Revue](https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/thefridayrevue/jane-clifton-postcard-to-wilsons-prom/12678598)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Broadcasting and journalism › Broadcast organizations and stations › Public, community, and specialty broadcasting › Community, campus, and student broadcasting › Community, campus, and pirate broadcasting (overview)*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 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