# Simmone Jade Mackinnon
**Simmone Jade Mackinnon** (born 1973) is an Australian actress and producer best known for playing Stevie Hall on the drama series *McLeod's Daughters* from 2003 to 2009 and for appearing in the American series *Baywatch* from 1999 to 2000.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0533576/) In 2024 she returned to television as a contestant on the reality competition series *The Summit*, which she won.[2](https://9now.nine.com.au/the-summit/simmone-jade-mackinnon-mcleods-daughter-success-three-year-struggle-land-rover/52fe5d10-eb21-4ff3-9946-98ccb11f8afe)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1973, Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0533576/) |
| Signature role | Stevie Hall (later Stevie Hall Ryan) on *McLeod's Daughters*, 2003–2009, 154 episodes[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0533576/) |
| Other series roles | Allie Reese on *Baywatch* (1999–2000, 24 episodes); N'Kara and Ildico in the miniseries *Attila* (2001); Zoe Alexander on *Neighbours* (2012)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0533576/) |
| Recognition | Logie Award nominations for her *McLeod's Daughters* role, including the Gold Logie for most popular personality on Australian television[3](https://7news.com.au/the-morning-show/story-info/how-a-mcleods-daughters-star-found-real-life-inspiration-from-her-on-screen-role-c-6917775.amp) |
| Reality television | Winner of *The Summit* 2024 (Season 2), taking home $100,000 of a $536,000 trio prize[2](https://9now.nine.com.au/the-summit/simmone-jade-mackinnon-mcleods-daughter-success-three-year-struggle-land-rover/52fe5d10-eb21-4ff3-9946-98ccb11f8afe) |
| Later career | Runs Wandering Ozzie, a travel and clothing business; works as a real-life jillaroo[4](https://spettacolomusicasport.com/2024/12/18/intervista-con-simmone-jade-mackinnon-inseguite-sempre-i-vostri-sogni-qualsiasi-essi-siano/) • [5](https://amp.nine.com.au/article/0e92a613-268a-47b2-9fae-6ff786df049d) |
| Family | One son, Madigan, born 2010[6](https://www.mamamia.com.au/mcleods-daughters-cast-where-are-they-now/) |
## Early career and Baywatch
Mackinnon originally trained toward a career in dance but moved into acting for financial reasons; she has said that a television commercial could pay around $6,000 for two hours of work. After appearing in about a dozen commercials she secured an agent and began landing minor roles.[7](https://www.mamamia.com.au/simmone-jade-mackinnon-now/) She also performed as a dancer and later took the lead in the Australian stage production of the musical *Cats*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0533576/)
**Baywatch.** In 1999, in her mid-twenties, she auditioned for *Baywatch* and was cast as Allie Reese, appearing in 24 episodes from 1999 to 2000 and relocating to the United States for filming in Hawaii.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0533576/) • [7](https://www.mamamia.com.au/simmone-jade-mackinnon-now/) She has described the audition as unlikely on paper, since the cast was largely blonde and she was red-haired at the time, but producers were looking for something different.[7](https://www.mamamia.com.au/simmone-jade-mackinnon-now/) Her screen credits from this period also include the miniseries *Attila* (2001), in which she played N'Kara and Ildico, and the films *Python 2*, *Dark Waters*, and *Deep Shock* (all 2002–2003).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0533576/)
## McLeod's Daughters
Mackinnon joined the Australian drama *McLeod's Daughters* near the end of its third season as Stevie Hall, a horse trainer hired as an overseer at the fictional property Drovers Run.[3](https://7news.com.au/the-morning-show/story-info/how-a-mcleods-daughters-star-found-real-life-inspiration-from-her-on-screen-role-c-6917775.amp) • [8](https://www.nowtolove.com.au/entertainment/tv/mcleods-daughters-where-are-they-now-35945/) The character became a fan favorite, and Mackinnon remained with the show until its end, appearing in 154 episodes between 2003 and 2009.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0533576/) • [9](https://www.marieclaire.com.au/life/entertainment/mcleods-daughters-cast-now/) In the story, Stevie married Alex Ryan before his death.[8](https://www.nowtolove.com.au/entertainment/tv/mcleods-daughters-where-are-they-now-35945/)
Her portrayal earned her multiple Logie Award nominations, including the Gold Logie for most popular personality on Australian television.[3](https://7news.com.au/the-morning-show/story-info/how-a-mcleods-daughters-star-found-real-life-inspiration-from-her-on-screen-role-c-6917775.amp) She has said she prepared for the role by watching all 58 episodes aired at the time before shooting began.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0533576/) She tried to persuade the show's creator, Posie Graeme-Evans, and Channel Nine to let Stevie wear dreadlocks and tattoos, but the requests were declined.[5](https://amp.nine.com.au/article/0e92a613-268a-47b2-9fae-6ff786df049d)
While on the show she settled in [South Australia](https://www.edgepedia.org/south-australia)'s Barossa Valley, where episodes were filmed, and purchased a 32-hectare working stud farm on the outskirts of Williamstown, as recorded in a 2008 [South Australian](https://www.edgepedia.org/south-australian) parliamentary speech.[10](https://hansardsearch.parliament.sa.gov.au/daily/lh/2008-09-10/pdf/download)
## Life after the series
After *McLeod's Daughters* ended in 2009, Mackinnon's screen work became occasional: *Rescue Special Ops* (2009, five episodes), *The Cut* (2009), *City Homicide* (2010), and *Neighbours* (2012, as Zoe Alexander).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0533576/) She has said she largely stepped back from acting after having her son, and that her dreadlocks and distance from the city make casting difficult.[5](https://amp.nine.com.au/article/0e92a613-268a-47b2-9fae-6ff786df049d)
**A second career on the land.** In 2016 she set off with her son Madigan to travel around Australia, a childhood dream, and took up work as a jillaroo (a station hand) on a working cattle station in central [Queensland](https://www.edgepedia.org/queensland) run by the Hinman family, whom she had met through the horse-riding world.[5](https://amp.nine.com.au/article/0e92a613-268a-47b2-9fae-6ff786df049d) She later worked on a 2,173-hectare property inland of [Rockhampton](https://www.edgepedia.org/rockhampton) until drought cut the job short.[11](https://www.nowtolove.com.au/entertainment/tv/mcleods-daughters-simmone-jade-mackinnon-69210/)
She built a business, Wandering Ozzie, from the travel documentation she began posting online; during the pandemic she created the Wandering Ozzie Essentials range of clothing and travel goods, donating a percentage of profits to The Council of Single Mothers and Their Children.[4](https://spettacolomusicasport.com/2024/12/18/intervista-con-simmone-jade-mackinnon-inseguite-sempre-i-vostri-sogni-qualsiasi-essi-siano/)
## The Summit and personal disclosures
In 2024 Mackinnon competed in the second season of the Nine reality series *The Summit*, a trek through New Zealand's Southern Alps for a share of a $1 million prize. She joined the show while living in a caravan and shed at her father's property and facing financial hardship, and she spoke during the season about severe anxiety, back-to-back panic attacks, and resulting hair loss that led her to shave her head.[12](https://9now.nine.com.au/the-summit/2024-exclusive-meet-simmone-mackinnon-mcleods-daughters/88f0f8a7-f818-4fcf-96e2-761772669afd) • [13](https://9now.nine.com.au/the-summit/2024-simmone-jade-mackinnon-hair-loss-panic-attacks/08d97f2f-436e-4836-a216-c7770843ef91)
She was one of three contestants to reach the summit, alongside former NRL player Mat Rogers and a midwife named Charlotte. The trio's prize of $536,000 was split unevenly at Charlotte's discretion: Mackinnon and Rogers each received $100,000 and Charlotte $336,000. Mackinnon said the money would help but that she could not build the shed house she had planned.[2](https://9now.nine.com.au/the-summit/simmone-jade-mackinnon-mcleods-daughter-success-three-year-struggle-land-rover/52fe5d10-eb21-4ff3-9946-98ccb11f8afe) She has since expressed interest in reprising Stevie Hall in a possible *McLeod's Daughters* reboot, after earlier revival pushes in 2017 and 2020 did not proceed.[4](https://spettacolomusicasport.com/2024/12/18/intervista-con-simmone-jade-mackinnon-inseguite-sempre-i-vostri-sogni-qualsiasi-essi-siano/) • [6](https://www.mamamia.com.au/mcleods-daughters-cast-where-are-they-now/)
## Personal life
Mackinnon was engaged to actor [Jason Momoa](https://www.edgepedia.org/jason-momoa), whom she met while working on *Baywatch*; the engagement ended when Momoa met [Lisa Bonet](https://www.edgepedia.org/lisa-bonet).[6](https://www.mamamia.com.au/mcleods-daughters-cast-where-are-they-now/) Momoa's 2003–2004 exhibition at Adelaide's Kintolai Gallery, "The Brown Bag Diaries: My Obsession With Simmone Jade Mackinnon", took her as its subject.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0533576/) Her son Madigan was born in 2010, and she has spoken publicly about raising him as a single mother.[6](https://www.mamamia.com.au/mcleods-daughters-cast-where-are-they-now/) • [11](https://www.nowtolove.com.au/entertainment/tv/mcleods-daughters-simmone-jade-mackinnon-69210/) A longtime dog owner, she was named an RSPCA superhero and served as an ambassador for the organization.[14](https://www.dogslife.com.au/dog-news/life-with-dogs/dog-superhero-simmone-jade-mackinnon)
## References
1. [Simmone Mackinnon, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0533576/)
2. ['Pushed me to breaking point': McLeod's Daughters star Simmone Jade Mackinnon celebrates major win after three-year battle, 9Now](https://9now.nine.com.au/the-summit/simmone-jade-mackinnon-mcleods-daughter-success-three-year-struggle-land-rover/52fe5d10-eb21-4ff3-9946-98ccb11f8afe)
3. [How a McLeod's Daughters star found real-life inspiration from her on-screen role, 7NEWS](https://7news.com.au/the-morning-show/story-info/how-a-mcleods-daughters-star-found-real-life-inspiration-from-her-on-screen-role-c-6917775.amp)
4. [Intervista con Simmone Jade Mackinnon, SMS News Quotidiano](https://spettacolomusicasport.com/2024/12/18/intervista-con-simmone-jade-mackinnon-inseguite-sempre-i-vostri-sogni-qualsiasi-essi-siano/)
5. [Simmone Jade Mackinnon on her new look and new life after McLeod's Daughters, 9Entertainment](https://amp.nine.com.au/article/0e92a613-268a-47b2-9fae-6ff786df049d)
6. [The original McLeod's Daughters cast: Where are they now?, Mamamia](https://www.mamamia.com.au/mcleods-daughters-cast-where-are-they-now/)
7. [When Simmone Jade Mackinnon finished McLeod's Daughters, she never thought her life would be like this, Mamamia](https://www.mamamia.com.au/simmone-jade-mackinnon-now/)
8. [McLeod's Daughters: Where are they now?, Now To Love](https://www.nowtolove.com.au/entertainment/tv/mcleods-daughters-where-are-they-now-35945/)
9. [McLeod's Daughters Cast: Where Are They Now in 2025?, Marie Claire Australia](https://www.marieclaire.com.au/life/entertainment/mcleods-daughters-cast-now/)
10. [South Australian House of Assembly Hansard, 10 September 2008](https://hansardsearch.parliament.sa.gov.au/daily/lh/2008-09-10/pdf/download)
11. [McLeod's Daughters star Simmone Jade Mackinnon after the show, Now To Love](https://www.nowtolove.com.au/entertainment/tv/mcleods-daughters-simmone-jade-mackinnon-69210/)
12. [McLeod's Daughters star Simmone Jade Mackinnon opens up on the 'worst two years' of her life ahead of The Summit 2024, 9Now](https://9now.nine.com.au/the-summit/2024-exclusive-meet-simmone-mackinnon-mcleods-daughters/88f0f8a7-f818-4fcf-96e2-761772669afd)
13. ['Hid for years': Aussie TV star's personal health struggle, 9Now](https://9now.nine.com.au/the-summit/2024-simmone-jade-mackinnon-hair-loss-panic-attacks/08d97f2f-436e-4836-a216-c7770843ef91)
14. [Dog Superhero – Simmone Jade Mackinnon, Dogs Life](https://www.dogslife.com.au/dog-news/life-with-dogs/dog-superhero-simmone-jade-mackinnon)
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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 L to N*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 20, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 20, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license