Dame Harriet Walter

Harriet Walter delves into her family history, discovering ancestors who are just as colourful as some of fictional characters she has played on stage and screen. In a journey that takes her from Whitehall to Italy to Australia, she follows in the footsteps of her ancestors, including her flamboyant Italian great-great-grandfather Girolamo Carindini, an Italian aristocrat who fled into exile and settled in Tasmania. Here, he married Australia’s first opera diva. But drama and trouble followed Girolamo as he made as many headlines for his appearances in the debtor’s court as he did for his theatrical performances.