Dinka Džubur

Dinka Džubur
Dinka Džubur at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014
Born	Slavonski Brod, Croatia
Residence	Los Angeles, California
Nationality	Australian
Occupation	Actress, Model, Film Producer, Screenwriter, Humanitarian
Height	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Website	www.dinkadzubur.net

Dinka Džubur (English pronunciation: /dʲɪˈnʲkɑː d͡ʒuˈɕːur/) is a Croatian-born Australian actress, model and filmmaker.^[1] She is known for her work in the Golden Globe winning HBO television series True Blood, and films Battle of the Sexes (film) and Turkey Shoot (2014 film).

Early life and education

Born in Slavonski Brod, Croatia, the daughter of Ramiz, an innovator in the technical engineering field and Katarina, a businesswoman. On her father's side, Dinka is of Bosnian descent and on her mother's, she is Croatian. Dinka was a professional gymnast growing up.^[2] After the outbreak of the Balkan war during Dinka's childhood, Dinka moved frequently, with stints living in different parts of Croatia and Germany. She changed 10 schools before finally settling in Australia at age 11. Dinka referred to this period stating that her "sports mindset helped her overcome the difficulties of a fast-changing reality and a childhood affected by war".^[3] She attended Keebra Park State High School on the Gold Coast in Queensland. Dinka obtained a scholarship to study Journalism at the University of Queensland graduating in 2003 before being accepted into Queensland University of Technology Acting Department in Brisbane where she graduated with a Fine Arts in Acting degree in 2007. ^[4] Dinka is bilingual and speaks fluent Croatian, German and has a fair knowledge of Italian, French, Slovak and Russian.

Career

Modeling

Aged 16, Dinka was noticed by fashion scouts and first signed with Elite Model Management in Australia.^[5] She received considerable commercial exposure after a series of Australian print and TV ads for brands such as Billabong, The Corner Shop, Olympus,^[6] Mastercard, She Swimwear amongst others.^[7] This increased her profile in the Australian market, after which Džubur relocated to Los Angeles.

In Los Angeles, Džubur had a multitude of runway appearances and was booked for various TV and print campaigns for major labels, including Tom Ford, Lancome, Project Runway's Kini Zamora and Gordana Gehlhausen.^[8]

Džubur was also booked for print in magazines such as Croatian Elle, Bosnian Gracija and Azra Magazines,^[9] gracing the cover of Los Angeles Divulge Magazine in 2012.^[10]

In 2015, Dinka participated in Los Angeles and Style Fashion Weeks.^[11] also collaborating with photographer Nelly Putnam on numerous Royal-themed editorials for Los Angeles-based magazine IMirage.

Dinka appeared in music videos by recording artists such as Bob Dylan, David Guetta and Nelly Furtado.^[12][13]

Džubur at the 2015 AACTA Awards

Acting

Dinka started off her TV career on HBO's True Blood, followed by Australian drama series Secrets and Lies and Croatian telenovela for MediaPro Pictures Larin izbor. In 2016, Dinka starred in the sports comedy-drama Battle of the Sexes (film) portraying a journalist alongside Oscar nominees Emma Stone and Elisabeth Shue directed by esteemed duo Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. In 2015, Dinka played Nurse Raya in John Jarratt's Australian psychological thriller StalkHer. Dinka starred in biopic the action-adventure movie Turkey Shoot (2014 film) alongside Dominic Purcell and Viva Bianca directed by Jon Hewitt. For the role of Russian murderess, Olga Reshenko, Dinka performed all her stunts and fight sequences.^[14] In 2012, Dinka starred in Joe Rubalcaba's comedy Sharkproof alongside Jon Lovitz. Dinka co-wrote, starred and executively produced the short film Little Hands (2011 Film), directed by Claire McCarthy, the first Australian film to be filmed entirely in Bosnia & Herzegovina also starring Miraj Grbić and Manon Bennett.^[15] Dinka won the International Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Mia in Little Hands. ^[16]

Dinka has named Jasmila Žbanić, Jane Campion, Cate Shortland, Katharine Hepburn, Angelina Jolie, Cate Blanchett and Marion Cotillard to have influenced her.^[17][18]

Public image

Dinka has been cited in Top 10 "Most Beautiful Croatian Actresses".^[19] Bosnian media portal Hercegovina addressed Dinka's sex appeal as "aristocratic" likening her to actress, Audrey Hepburn.^[20]

Humanitarian work

Dinka returned to her native country witnessing the aftermath of war during filming and development of Little Hands (2011). Upon her arrival to Bosnia & Herzegovina, she contacted the Ljubica Ivezić and Egipatsko Selo orphanages to learn more about the post-war effect on women and children. She spent three months on field in Mostar city, Bosnia & Herzegovina; Dinka later expressed she was overwhelmed by the sheer "energy, talent, unbreakable spirit and courage" of the youth in Mostar whilst residing in Bosnia & Herzegovina. To that end, her 2011 field visits were chronicled in the screenplay "Little Hands" in conjunction with the release of the humanitarian drama.^[21]

Three years later, Dinka returned to Croatia on a field mission, meeting with displaced people due to severe flooding in Croatia and Bosnia regions in 2014. In conjunction with the organisation Kino Croatia that raised over $13,000, Dinka met with the victims of floods in Bosnia and Croatia donating the funds to families in response to an emergency appeal.^[22][23]

Filmography

Actor

Screenwriter

• 2011: Little Hands (2011 Film) (Short film)
• 2009: Warning (Short film)

Producer

• 2016: Blind Date (Short Film)
• 2011: Little Hands (2011 Film) (Short film)
• 2009: Warning (Short Film)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Dinka Dzubur at the Internet Movie Database