Australian Celebrities Born In February

Australian Steve Irwin was a world famous, high-spirited, lively host of The Crocodile Hunter television series. A conservationist, he was also part of other shows and documentaries on wildlife and environment. He was known for close encounters with some of the most dangerous and endangered animals in various jungles. He died after being pierced in the chest by a stingray barb while filming in Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

Australian actress Isla Fisher attained widespread fame in 2005 when she starred in the commercially successful Hollywood film Wedding Crashers. Some of her other notable films are The Great Gatsby, Now You See Me, I Heart Huckabees, Bachelorette, Rango and Rise of the Guardians. She has also acted in television series and is an author of children’s books.

Australian singer-songwriter, model, and actress Natalie Imbruglia aspired for a career in the show business since her youth. Beginning her career with minor roles in commercials, she worked hard to make a name for herself in the entertainment industry. She has acted in many hit films and is also active as a singer with many records to her credit.

Born to a filmmaker/lecturer father and an art therapist mother in Australia, Samara Weaving grew up in places such as Fiji and Singapore. Initially known for her roles in series such as Out of the Blue and Home and Away, she gained international fame with films such as Ready or Not.

Cathy Freeman is a former sprinter known for her achievements in the 400 meters events. Her personal best of 48.63, set at the 1996 Olympics, makes her the eighth-fastest woman of all time. She gave Australia an Olympic gold at the 2000 Olympics. Also a humanitarian, Freeman is credited with founding the Cathy Freeman Foundation.

Australian actor and singer Jesse Spencer is best known to fans as Dr. Robert Chase from House and as Billy Kennedy from Neighbours. Though born into a family of medical professionals, Spencer showed an early interest in music, excelling in the violin, and often plays at charity events these days.

Remembered for the legendary poems Waltzing Matilda and The Man from Snowy River, Andrew Barton “Banjo” Paterson was an Australian bush poet who depicted rural life through his works. Initially a law clerk and a journalist, he later adopted the pseudonym Banjo, which was his favorite horse’s name.

Jim Jefferies is an Australian-American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer best known as the creator of the FX sitcom Legit and the Comedy Central late-night show The Jim Jefferies Show. He trained at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts before beginning his career. Besides his TV shows, he has also appeared in films and performed at festivals. 

James Wan is an Australian screenwriter, film director, comic book writer, and producer. He is credited with creating or co-creating the popular Insidious, Saw, and The Conjuring Universe franchises. An exponent of the horror genre, James Wan established the Atomic Monster Productions, which produces television and film projects. He is also one of the most successful filmmakers of his generation.

Nobel Prize- and two-time Booker Prize-winning author J. M. Coetzee had started his career as a Fulbright scholar. After teaching English in the U.S. and South Africa, he now lives and teaches in Australia. He is best known for his colonial settings in novels such as Waiting for the Barbarians.

Charles Kingsford Smith, also known as Smithy, was an Australian pilot who had been part of many first-time endeavors, the most notable being the first transpacific flight from the U.S. to Australia. While passing over Calcutta, on a flight from London to Australia in 1935, he and his co-pilot disappeared.

Judith Anderson was an Australian actress who dominated the American and Australian theater scene during her career. Regarded as the greatest stage actress of her generation, Anderson won a Tony Award for her title role in Robinson Jeffers' Medea. Judith Anderson also achieved popularity as a TV and film actress; she received an Academy Award nomination and two Emmy Awards.

Ylona Garcia is a Filipino-Australian television personality, singer, and actress. After finishing third in the Philippine version of Big Brother, Garcia went on to establish herself as a popular actress and singer. Over the years, she has also won many prestigious awards, such as the Awit Awards, MOR Choice Awards, MYX Music Award, and Wish Music Award. 

Australian Twitch and YouTube star Kathleen Belsten, better known as Loserfruit, soared to fame with her Fortnite videos and livestreams. Part of the content creators’ group Click Crew, she was initially a budding journalist. She is the second person to get an exclusive Fortnite skin, the Loserfruit Cosmetic and Bundle.

Tour de France-winning Australian cyclist Cadel Evans is also a four-time Olympian. His career took off when he earned a scholarship to the mountain biking program of the Australian Institute of Sport. An avid philanthropist, he has an adopted son from Ethiopia, along with a son from his second wife.

Peter Allen was an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, and entertainer. Best remembered for his flamboyant stage persona, Allen also enjoyed a concert and cabaret career. His life and career inspired a jukebox musical titled, The Boy from Oz ,which ran on Broadway. In 1993, Peter Allen was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.

Born in South Africa, Lauren Brant later moved to Australia. The former member of the children’s music group Hi-5 has also gained fame with her appearance in I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! She was also part of the traveling Humphrey Bear show. She is married to footballer Barry Hall.

Once accused of being anti-Christian, Australian artist and Art Nouveau veteran Norman Lindsay is remembered for his controversial cartoons and drawings, mostly erotic or politically charged. Some of his works were once burned for being pornographic. He also experimented with sculpture and was an amateur boxer, too.

Known as The Running God and The Golden Greek, Yiannis Kouros was the greatest ultramarathon runner from Greece. Born into poverty, he was forced into manual labor at age five and decided to run professionally at age 16 only. Often compared to Pheidippides, he later played the character in a movie.

Born in England, Gary Mehigan, celebrated chef and restaurateur, received his initial training in prominent London hotels before moving to Melbourne, Australia. After heading several well-known restaurants there, he opened his own establishment and currently co-owns The Boathouse, located in Moonee Ponds. Concurrently, he can also be seen on televisions productions like MasterChef Australia and Far Flung with Gary Mehigan.

Amanda Keller is an Australian media personality, journalist, writer, comedian, actor, and television and radio presenter. Keller is best known for hosting the award-winning lifestyle TV series The Living Room. Keller is equally popular as a radio host; she became one of the highest-paid radio personalities in Australia in 2017. She also supports a volunteer organization named The Sydney Kids Committee.

Jacqui Lambie is an Australian politician who was a senator for Tasmania from 2014 to 2017. she was re-elected in 2019. She was initially affiliated with the Palmer United Party (PUP). Following her resignation, she was an independent for a while. Today, she is the leader of her own political party, the Jacqui Lambie Network (JLN).

Australian disability activist, comedian, and broadcast journalist Stella Young had worked extensively for the ABC. Born with a genetic disorder called osteogenesis imperfecta, or the brittle bone disease, she spent almost her entire life on a wheelchair. She died of an aneurysm at age 32.

Daniel Merriweather is an Australian recording artist whose debut solo album titled Love & War peaked at number two position on the UK Albums Chart. Over the course of his career, Daniel Merriweather has won several prestigious awards like ARIA Awards and GQ Australia Award.

Herb Elliott is a former Australian athlete considered the world's greatest middle-distance runner of his era. He won the gold medal in the 1500 meters at the 1960 Rome Olympics. He achieved 36 wins over this distance and never lost a mile race. Following his retirement from athletics, he built a successful career in business. 

English-Australian plastic surgeon Fiona Wood pioneered the spray-on skin method of treating burn victims. Before stepping into a medical career, she had aspired to be sprinter. She later became the first woman from Western Australia to become a plastic surgeon. She was named the 2005 Australian of the Year.

Ron Clarke was an Australian athlete, politician, and writer. One of the most recognized middle and long-distance runners of the 1960s, Clarke is best remembered for setting 17 world records. He also won the bronze medal in the 10,000 meters event at the 1964 Summer Olympics. In 2000, Ron Clarke was honored with the prestigious Australian Sports Medal.

Australian geologist Ian Plimer taught mining geology and earth sciences at institutes such as the University of Adelaide. Apart from publishing over 120 research papers, he has also been a co-editor of the five-volume Encyclopedia of Geology and has penned the award-winning A Short History of Planet Earth.

Born to a farmer in Australia, Raymond Dart initially wished to become a medical missionary to China. However, he was later pushed by his father to study science. He later grew up to be a renowned anatomist and anthropologist, best known for discovering the first fossil of the Australopithecus africanus.