Joy has just arrived on Netflix and the inspirational film follows three pioneers as they discover IVF treatment. New Zealand actress Thomasin McKenzie plays English embryologist Jean Purdy in the film.
The 24-year-old star, from Wellington, had a minor role in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies before rising to prominence in Leave No Trace. She went on to gain recognition in Jojo Rabbit and Eileen.
Her parents are actress and acting coach Dame Miranda Harcourt, and director Stuart McKenzie. Miranda’s acting career began on Radio New Zealand in the 1970s and she is best known for her role as Gemma in the drama series Gloss.
She is also a director and producer, and works as an acting coach and teacher. In the 2023 New Year Honours, Harcourt was promoted to Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the screen industry and theatre.
When she was 17, Thomasin spoke in an interview with Issue Magazine about why she decided to become an actor. She admitted it was not always something she had her heart set on.
Thomasin McKenzie as Jean Purdy in Joy (Image: NETFLIX)
She said: “I’m in an acting family. My dad’s an actor, writer, director, acting coach, corporate coach. My mom’s an actress, an acting coach, and a director.
“My grandma is an actress as well. My granddad was in the film industry. My brother’s done it. My big sister’s done it. My little sister’s done it.
“But at first, I did not want to do it at all. I was dead set against it as the last thing I wanted to do because I’d been surrounded by it my whole life.
“But then when I did Consent, it made me realize that acting gives me an opportunity to tell stories that need to be heard, and it means I can make a difference. That’s how I kind of got into it.”
Her maternal grandmother is Kate Harcourt, a 97-year-old actress who has worked in comedy as well as drama in theatre, film, TV and radio.
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Thomasin McKenzie at the premiere of the film ‘Joy’ (Image: Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
In 1998 she performed on stage alongside her daughter Miranda in the biographical Flowers from my Mother’s Garden at the New Zealand Festival of the Arts.
Like her daughter, she was appointed a Damehood in 1996 for her services to theatre.
Thomasin moved to London in June 2023 and at the time she said it was a totally different experience to New Zealand life.
Speaking to Hero Magazine she said: “The apartment I’ve moved into is on the top story of a townhouse, it’s only three stories but I’m up with the tree line, so I look out my window and all I can see is trees.
“It’s very quiet and the sun is really beautiful. There’s a nature reserve right behind the building, so luckily the place I’ve found to live provides that stillness for me.
“In Wellington, I really love the access to nature, but the whole of the city is quite still and quiet, which isn’t a bad thing at all, but I really like to know that things are going on around me. I like being the calm in the chaos.”
Joy is streaming on now