Kiruna Stamell is a professional dancer and stellar actress famous for her roles in the Moulin Rouge and East Enders.
And the 36-year-old wants those feats to be what she’s remembered for – not her short stature.
Born in Sydney to Kerry and George Stamell in 1981, it wasn’t immediately clear that Kiruna had a rare form of dwarfism that would leave her standing at just over one metre tall.
‘I have sought councilling in the past,’ she explained to the ABC. ‘Because there is still energy involved in not giving a f***’
Incredible footage from her childhood shows a three-year-old girl twirling and inventing her own choreography – moves that likely framed her later performance as La Petite Princess in the Moulin Rouge (pictured)
Born in Sydney to Kerry (pictured) and George Stamell in 1981 it wasn’t immediately clear that Kiruna (also pictured) had a rare form of dwarfism that would leave her standing at just over one metre tall
After performing in the Baz Luhrmann directed film Kiruna moved to Britain in the hopes of securing more of those coveted movie roles and broadening her artistic horizons
On ABC’s Australian Story, the established professional opened up about all aspects of her life – from one doctor’s advice that all of her bones be broken, to how she deals with minute-by-minute stares and strangers taking photos of her.
The latter was captured on camera as Kiruna takes a young man to task over his flippant and tasteless photography session while she wasn’t looking.
‘Thank you for deleting it but you should know that photographing someone because of how they look is really inappropriate,’ she says, meeting his gaze with a steely expression.
On ABC’s Australian Story the established professional has opened up about everything from one doctor’s advice that all of her bones be broken and reset to how she deals with minute-by-minute stares and strangers taking photos of her (pictured with her father George)
The latter was captured on camera as Kiruna takes a young man to task over his flippant and tasteless photography session while she wasn’t looking
Despite the unseemly reactions she sometimes gets from strangers, her parents were never ones to ‘mollycoddle’ her and frequently taught Kiruna how to climb on cupboards and dressers to reach things just out of her reach.
They also taught her how to pick her battles.
‘I have sought councilling in the past,’ she explained to the ABC. ‘Because there is still energy involved in not giving a f***.’
Despite the unseemly reactions she sometimes gets from strangers, her parents were never ones to ‘mollycoddle’ her and frequently taught Kiruna how to climb on cupboards and dressers to reach things just out of her reach
And even though romance was never something she actively sought out, Kiruna met her husband Gareth Berliner at one of his comedy shows and knew it was something more than a chance encounter
What kept her sane besides an unfailing belief in her own abilities was Kiruna’s incredible love of movement and dance
What kept her sane besides an unfailing belief in her own abilities was Kiruna’s incredible love of movement and dance.
Incredible footage from her childhood shows a three-year-old girl twirling and inventing her own choreography – moves that likely framed her later performance as La Petite Princess in the Moulin Rouge.
After performing in the Baz Luhrmann directed film Kiruna moved to Britain in the hopes of securing more of those coveted movie roles and broadening her artistic horizons.
That included time spent as Sandra Fielding in the soap opera EastEnders, the Ricky Gervais comedy Life’s Too Short, the Geoffrey Rush movie The Best Offer and three productions at London’s prestigious National Theatre.
Kiruna Stamell (pictured) is now a professional dancer and stellar actress famous for her roles in the Moulin Rouge and East Enders
And even though romance was never something she actively sought out, Kiruna met her husband Gareth Berliner at one of his comedy shows and knew it was something more than a chance encounter.
Gareth, who admits he sometimes gets mistaken for Kiruna’s carer, only sees his wife as ‘a really clever, beautiful woman who’s a very talented actress, and that’s bottom line.’
Despite his ‘clucky’ nature though, motherhood isn’t something the 36-year-old actress has ever given serious thought.
She believes her ‘quest’ in life is important but that being a mum may not be apart of that.
She is currently rehearsing at the Belvoir St Theatre for a role as a maid in the show The Rover.