Angela Punch McGregor (born 21 January 1953) is an Australian stage and film actress.
Punch McGregor fell in love with theatre, while acting in school plays from the age of 13. Her first role was as the 'Spoon' in The Owl and the Pussy-Cat.
Punch McGregor studied at Sydney's National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), graduating with a Bachelor of Dramatic Art (Acting) in 1973.
Punch McGregor has starred in numerous television series including a regular role as Jane Potter in Class of '75 (1975). She played Ros Parrish (mother of series regulars Shane and Nick Parrish) in soap opera Home and Away from 1994 to 1995. Other roles included guest appearances in Rafferty's Rules (1988), crime series Halifax f.p. (1994), Fire (1995), medical drama All Saints (1998), police procedural series White Collar Blue (2002), drama Love My Way (2004âÂÂ2005) and miniseries The Principal (2015).
Her film credits include The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith (1978) and Newsfront (1978), both of which won her AFI Awards. She also received AFI nominations for her roles in We of the Never Never (1982) and Annie's Coming Out (1984). She appeared in The Delinquents (1989) with Kylie Minogue, Spotswood (1991) opposite Anthony Hopkins, Ben Mendelsohn and Russell Crowe, Tom White (2004) alongside Colin Friels and Savages Crossing (2010) with John Jarratt. She also appeared in the TV biopic ' (2015), about the courtship of Australian Mary Donaldson and Frederik X of Denmark (who at the time was Crown Prince).
Punch McGregor has also worked for most of Australia's major theatre companies, in plays including The Importance of Being Earnest (1975/1993), Othello (1976), A Midsummer NightâÂÂs Dream (1985), Les Liaisons Dangereuses (1987âÂÂ1988), A Streetcar Named Desire (1988), Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (1991), Dial M For Murder (1991âÂÂ1992), Long Day's Journey into Night (2004), Festen (2005) and Equus.
She played Juliet to Mel GibsonâÂÂs Romeo in a 1979 production of Romeo and Juliet, fresh off the heels of Gibson's success in Mad Max. In 2002, she played Miss Havisham in an adaptation of Charles Dickensâ Great Expectations.
In 1995, she was appearing in Nick EnrightâÂÂs play Blackrock, when she fell ill. Her illness, combined with insecurity and burnout led her to take a hiatus from acting, during which time she studied a four-year course in natural medicine. For a year, she practised Orthomolecular medicine full-time and she still runs a clinic part-time from her home.
Punch McGregor was Lecturer in Acting at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts from 2006 to 2014. She also taught young people getting into the theatrical business at The HubStudio in Sydney. One of her classes was titled Angela Punch McGregor Master Class â Series 1.
Punch McGregor is married to director and screenwriter Ross McGregor, who is also her former drama teacher. Together, they have a son.