Genevieve Blanchett

Genevieve Amelie Blanchett (born 1971) is an Australian theatical costume and set designer. She was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia as the daughter of a Texan naval petty officer who came ashore in Melbourne and met her mother, a Melbourne schoolteacher. Her father, Robert, later worked in advertising after marrying her mother, June. He died of a heart attack when she was eight years old. She has two older siblings, the oldest, Robert, is an information systems engineer, and her older sister, Cate, is an actress.

Blanchett has worked extensively with the Sydney Theatre Company and other Australian theatre groups designing sets and costumes.

In 1993 she received a Diploma in Design from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney, Australia.

In 1998, the Australian Museum commissioned the head of its Theatre Unit, Yaron Lifschitz to create an exhibition entitled Thirst: reflections on water in Australia. He appointed Blanchett his production designer. 'I didn't want to make a typical exhibition with objects for viewing. I was more interested in emotional responses, a meditation on the subject.' she said. To do this she painted the large rectangular space black and placed a few large structures, some historical objects and some large-print text panels within it. She then enhanced the environment with a complex sound piece by Raffæle Marcellino using music and natural sounds to create a quasi-sonata about water.

In 1999 she designed the short film Bangers , which starred her sister Cate.

She is a yoga practitioner. She has supported political causes such as the opposition to mandatory sentencing in 2000 and has written credibly about political economy. Her theatre design activities have been shelved since 2002 while she studies political science and humanities as an undergraduate at the Australian National University.