Tammin Sursok

Tammin Sursok is a South African-born Australian actress and musician. She is known for the roles of Dani Sutherland on Home and Away and Colleen Carlton on The Young and the Restless. She also launched a singing career (under the name Tammin), with her debut single, "Pointless Relationship", released on November 14, 2004 and debuting in the top 10 of the Australian singles chart the following week.

Music is in Tammin's DNA. Her mother, Julie, is an award-winning singer who collected a Springbok award (ARIA equivalent) in South Africa for Best New Talent prior to emigrating to Australia. I've kind of been brought up in the music industry, says Tammin. Mum is a classically trained pianist and guitar player, and still teaches guitar. Plus there were always old records by Michael Jackson and The Beatles playing in our house. So I guess I've been exposed to music all my life.

Tammin's first public performance as a singer was as a 12 year old in a musical production at school, where, even then, she stood out from the crowd. Everyone else was singing these tame classical numbers, recalls Tammin. And I got up and sang ?Big Spender' dressed in a little black dress with knee high boots. My headmistress nearly had a heart attack!, she laughs.

Tammin spent the next four and a half years performing in school musicals, which served to hone both her singing and her acting skills. When she turned 16, Tammin auditioned for the role of Danni Sutherland in Home & Away. Four and a half years - and a Best New Female Logie Award - later, it was time to move on. This time, back to the musical roots she never abandoned, despite that show's gruelling 18 hour production schedule: it's a fact that throughout Tammin's entire period on Home & Away, she continued to practice her singing and song-writing skills.