AWGIE-nominated scriptwriter Mia Tolhurst has died in Melbourne as a result of complications following heart surgery. She was 36.
Mia grew up in Launceston and got her first TV job in year 10 when she compiled a report for the ABC about her high school leavers’ dinner. She studied at RMIT and was awarded the RMIT Award in 1999 for the most outstanding student.
Early in her career she worked as a research consultant for Cinemedia, an associate producer for ABC Education online and project co-ordinator/writer for the Village Roadshow/Network online entertainment service Scape.
Her screenwriting credits included Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (seasons 1 & 2), City Homicide and episodes of Neighbours. She was nominated for an AWGIE in 2011 for her City Homicide episode Last Man Standing.
“Mia loved television, both working in it and watching it,” said her partner Andrew Barnett. “More than that, she was addicted to great stories. Story telling was her passion and it drove her to overcome very severe health problems in order to keep working. She always wanted to tell interesting stories about Australians and their lives.”
She died on September 27, surrounded by her family. She is survived by Andrew Barnett and her two-year-old daughter Hazel.