Australian-Zimbabwean actress Charmaine Bingwa has officially been named as the winner of the 2018 Heath Ledger Scholarship.
Up against hundreds of candidates by a highly-acclaimed judging panel, the 33-year-old remarkably made history as the first black woman to win the coveted award.
And Charmaine took a moment on stage after her win to credit the late Heath Ledger in inspiring her to openly come out as gay.
‘That’s the power of performance’: Charmaine Bingwa (pictured) won the 2018 Heath Ledger Scholarship and credited the late actor in inspiring her to come out as openly gay
Referring to Heath’s iconic performance in Brokeback Mountain, the budding actress said: ‘It inspired me to live my life to the fullest and I came out as openly gay. That’s the power of performance.’
‘I think Heath believed in everyone having a fair go but the current state of screen diversity means that not everybody is able to have a fair go.
‘As a female, as a person of colour, as a gay person, I have the trifecta here,’ she added.
Winner: Up against hundreds of candidates by a highly-acclaimed judging panel, the 33-year-old remarkably made history as the first black woman to win the coveted award
Charmaine explained that, for her, Heath epitomises the ability of an artist to have a deep and lasting effect on others.
‘I remember him saying in interviews that he wanted the character’s mouth [in Brokeback Mountain] to feel like a clenched fist and have the words punching out of his mouth because the character was living a life of such pain,’ she warmly stated.
In honour of the beloved actor, the scholarship is often awarded to an ambitious and highly talented Australian as a way of encouraging and launching an immediate start to their career.
Homage: Referring to Heath’s iconic performance in Brokeback Mountain, the budding actress said: ‘It inspired me to live my life to the fullest and I came out as openly gay’
Charmaine was crowned as the 10th winner of the award – which also marked a decade since Heath’s tragic passing.
Heartbreaking moment: Charmaine was crowned as the 10th winner of the award – which also marked a decade since Heath’s tragic passing. Pictured: Heath Ledger
And the Perth-sider has already made her mark in the industry with stellar performances in films such as Glow, Last Words and Nekrotronic.
Charmaine has also previously received nominations for the Sydney Theatre Award and Broadway World’s Best Supporting Actress, thanks to her role in Doubt: A Parable.
Adding another notch to her already-successful belt, Charmaine created and co-directed LGBTI comedy series, Little Sista.
Success: The Perth-sider (pictured, third from right at back) has already made her mark in the industry with stellar performances in films such as Glow, Last Words and Nekrotronic
The prosperous show has won multiple awards including the LGBT Toronto Film Festival Award in 2017, OWF and Sicily Web Fest in 2018.
Multi-talented: Adding another notch to her already-successful belt, Charmaine created and co-directed LGBTI comedy series, Little Sista. Pictured: Charmaine (right) with Deborah Cox (left)-dAILYMAIL
