In , she was the lead in Nadia Tass 's drama Amy. Onstage, Griffiths appeared in a Melbourne-based production of Proof in , which earned her a Helpmann Award , and later made her Broadway debut in a critically acclaimed production of Other Desert Cities. In addition to acting, she made her directorial debut with the short film Tulip in , and directed several episodes of the Australian television series Nowhere Boys in Griffiths was born on 18 December in Melbourne, Australia, and spent her early childhood on the Gold Coast.
She is the daughter of Anna and Edward Martin Griffiths. Griffiths was raised Roman Catholic. Griffiths portrayed Rhonda Epinstall, the best friend of Toni Collette 's titular character, in the film Muriel's Wedding. She followed in with the role of an earthy, ill-mannered pig farmer's daughter in Michael Winterbottom 's Jude. In , Griffiths sparked controversy after attending uninvited the opening of the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia, while topless.
She stated a wish to protest the views taken by the media and state government towards the new casino, inspired by the story of Lady Godiva.
Griffiths joined forces again with Muriel's Wedding director P. That same year she starred in My Son the Fanatic , a British film in which she portrayed a tough Yorkshire prostitute who becomes involved with a considerably older Pakistani taxicab driver, played by Om Puri. In , Griffiths appeared opposite Natasha Richardson in the English comedy Blow Dry , [ 23 ] playing a lesbian hairdresser who enters a hairstyling competition with her lover, followed by the Ted Demme -directed Blow opposite Johnny Depp and Ray Liotta , in which she played the mother of Boston cocaine magnate George Jung.
Her performance as emotionally scarred massage therapist , Brenda Chenowith , earned her Golden Globe [ 25 ] and Screen Actors Guild Awards, [ 26 ] [ 27 ] as well as two Emmy Award nominations [ 28 ] over the series' five season-run. In the third season, she missed four episodes due to her first pregnancy; her second pregnancy was written into the show's final season and she appeared in almost every episode of the series.
