Asher Keddie has grown up on our screens. The Melbourne-born actress started out in 1985’s Five Mile Creek and has since won Australia’s top acting award, the Gold Logie, for her turn as vulnerable obstetrician Dr Nina Proudman in seven seasons of Offspring.
More recently she’s been in wellness-retreat drama Nine Perfect Strangers with Nicole Kidman; Fake, a cautionary psychological thriller on re-entering the dating scene; and Strife, about juggling work-life balance. She’s also a force behind the scenes as a producer, bringing new works to the screen.
They’re the highlights of a much longer list that deserves the accolades the star has gathered over the decades. We feel we know her multi-faceted, resilient characters, yet the public perception of the real person behind those roles hasn’t necessarily run deep.
We can never really know anyone by what they present in press and online and they certainly don’t owe us anything, yet previously Keddie has been described as confident but guarded, and even (God forbid a woman ask for what she wants) on occasion, demanding.
On the day I speak to Keddie however, she is relaxed, warm and generous with her thoughts about why those pervasive notions exist. We are connecting over her role as the newest brand partner for L’Oréal Paris in Australia and New Zealand, where she joins the likes of Andie MacDowell, Helen Mirren, Viola Davis and Gillian Anderson in amplifying the French beauty house’s ‘I’m Worth It’ messaging.
Keddie says carving out her place in the industry has long demanded an outward confidence, but that strong exterior wasn’t always a reflection of how she felt inside.
“If I’m honest with myself that was performative,” she admits, but says she’s found it innately now, at 51, which is why the new ambassador role felt like the right fit.
“I don’t know that I ever really believed in my own self-worth, personally, maybe until my late 40s, early 50s,” she muses. “It took a long time. I think I do have a deeper understanding of it, and I can honestly say I’m living it now. I am embracing it.”
Stepping into her power
She says tying worth to confidence in different areas, particularly work, had felt important, but now it comes more naturally in all areas.
Stepping into her power sounds cliché, but it seems that Keddie, who shares her life with artist husband Vincent Fantauzzo, 49, and sons Luca, 16, and Valentino, 11, has gained the enlightenment that often comes to women in mid-life when they re-evaluate past mistakes and go after what they want.
She puts her growth down to lived experience and brushing off fear to dive into new challenges, but recalls plenty of times that façade felt necessary to stave off imposter syndrome.
Walking into a new project feeling undeserving or out of place is a feeling she admits can be persistent, but it’s ultimately “a waste of energy”.
“The first time I didn’t feel it [imposter syndrome], which surprised me, was when I started producing my own work. I was collaborating with people that I knew really backed me and backed my creative voice,” she explains. “It was revelatory to me,” she says, admitting being brave enough to extend herself beyond that initial role as a performer was key. She worked hard, and still does, on fending off niggling doubts.
She uses self-talk to remind herself there are better uses of her brainpower: “I have moments where I wobble, but they’re short-lived these days and I’m able to kind of reinforce that self-belief fairly quickly and just get on with it. I just can’t be bothered wasting time on that kind
of anxiety anymore.”
She points out it’s not self-serving and doesn’t help anyone around you, either. “There’s plenty more exciting things to invest [that headspace] in.”
For anyone facing similar feelings, she says improving the situation is an “inside job”, and advises to sit in the discomfort of those feelings and address where they stem from.
“Face yourself – a little earlier than I did, perhaps – instead of performing for external validation and all those things we all do, no matter what our industry is, or our role in life is.”
She believes doing the work early means coming to a place where you can find your voice and passion, as opposed to living in self-doubt. “Which is what comes from being performative and giving people what you think they want, rather than the real you,” says Keddie.
She very much wants this for the next generation.
“I hope that young women now don’t have to spend quite as much time thinking, ‘Oh, I don’t feel equal in this situation at work, I don’t feel like my voice is going to be heard’. I’m talking to young actors and their voices are much stronger than mine ever was in their 20s and 30s. And I think that’s thrilling, you know?”
Living with Lupus
Like many people, she’s had to navigate health challenges just as she’s found top gear in what’s possible professionally, speaking publicly in 2025 for the first time about living with lupus. The autoimmune disease causes inflammation in different parts of the body and its symptoms can be different from person to person.
She calls her symptoms mild these days, but says she has worked incredibly hard for years to do what she can to minimise flare-ups. Her biggest priority is getting enough rest.
“I have a very strict, very disciplined sleep and rest routine that makes a real difference to me and my fatigue levels,” Keddie says, revealing she insists on 10 hours of shut-eye every night to try and stave off the exhaustion the health condition can cause. “I live in a house that is reasonably chaotic, but I have boundaries within that, and everyone appreciates it.”
She lives on her youngest child’s schedule, including heading to bed at 9pm, making everyone breakfast and getting everyone out the door, only deviating if a shoot schedule demands it.
“If I’m not here my husband sort of carries the load but the routine is pretty much the same every day.”
The same goes for her “very boring” diet. “I eat what I know I have to eat to reduce inflammation in my body, and it’s very rare that I feel inflamed or might feel occasionally sore.”
A more desirable aspect of her wellness approach is dedicating plenty of time to one of her favourite pastimes, reading. “It’s huge for me, that’s my meditation.” She has to do a significant amount for work as well, but getting into a “wonderful, escapist” novel is a joy every night. “I read to get my head in someone else’s story, out of my own, and escape in that way. I find that really relaxing.”
Asher’s favourites: L’Oréal Paris Revitalift Laser Serum; L’Oréal Paris Lumi Glotion; L’Oréal Paris Telescopic Lift Mascara; L’Oréal Paris True Match Foundation
New beauty discoveries
She points to more consistent skincare use as another, relatively new extension of her wellness routine. Previously dipping into a handful of products necessary as a result of her job, it has grown into a full-blown complexion routine, thanks to her new relationship with L’Oréal, one of the real perks of the partnership.
“I’m getting into how to use them properly, and they really work. Better late than never!”
She cleanses properly, and likes L’Oréal Paris Revitalift Laser X3 Day Cream but has recently added in the Revitalift Laser Serum morning and night, using the time as self-care, rather than obsessing over visual results.
“I use a facial contouring massage tool with the serum, so it really goes into your skin. It’s incredible when you move fluid around your face, how your face wakes up and sort of settles where it’s meant to.”
Her makeup routine is more changeable, and based on how she is feeling as well as her schedule each day.
“Some mornings, like everybody else, I wake up and I think, ‘Oh, you look good!’ Just add a bit of serum and moisturiser,” says Keddie.
She says she loves makeup but a very ‘done’ look is not her preference anymore. “I spent years going to events, for example, where I’ve had hair and makeup and I felt almost like I’m wearing a mask, and that’s an uncomfortable feeling for me.” Instead, she uses simple products that gently enhance rather than transform her features.
“I really love L’Oréal True Match Foundation because it is so fine and it has little light reflecting particles in it. L’Oréal Paris Lumi Glotion Natural Glow Enhancer is something I will use every day because even if you wear nothing else, you just feel lifted and enhanced and just a little bit glowy.”
Filling in her brows slightly, adding mascara and cream blush are the extent of her look if she’s wanting something more polished, but it’s not something she needs to leave the house.
New role, ‘being herself’
She filmed a couple of commercials for her work with L’Oréal and enjoyed being given free reign with the script and collaborating on its direction. “I could just be myself, which is not an easy thing to do when you’re an actor, you’re used to playing characters. It
was important to me that it did feel authentic and not forced.”
Recently she’s been spending more time off-screen, working with film producer Bruna Papandrea on the upcoming TV production of Sally Hepworth’s novel The Soulmate. Does this mean she’s retired from her acting career for good?
“Not at all!” she says emphatically. “I love acting more than I ever have at this point in life, and I think that comes from relaxation, really, and self-belief. I feel very excited about the roles to come, and really, more than ever ready to push myself into places I haven’t explored.”
