Kiruna Stamell

Kiruna Stamell (born 13 March 1981) is an Australian-British actress. After appearing in various series and films including Moulin Rouge! (2001), All the Small Things (2009) and Cast Offs (2009), she presented the Australian children's educational series Play School from 2018 to 2020. Since 2023, she has portrayed the role of Kirsty Millar on the British soap opera Doctors. Early and personal life Stamell was born in Sydney as the eldest of three children to George and Kerry, both teachers who became information technology professionals. She was named after the Swedish city of Kiruna, where her parents had travelled to see the Northern Lights. She has dwarfism caused by the rare genetic condition Acromesomelic dysplasia, resulting in a height of ; her younger identical twin sisters also have dwarfism due to the same condition. She first learnt to dance at the age of three, when she learned ballet, contemporary dance and tap. Stamell said it took her until the age of eight to find a teacher who treated her properly as a dancer, rather than as someone with dwarfism. At the age of 14, she won the South Pacific Silver Star Tap Dancing Championships, and in 2000, she tap danced at the opening ceremony of the Sydney Olympics. Whilst growing up, Stamell believed that she could not have a normal relationship due to her dwarfism. She told off the first boy to try to kiss her as she thought there was a rule that he could not date her; she believed he would be teased. Stamell began a relationship with stand-up comedian Gareth Berliner after meeting him at a comedy club. They were married in 2012. In 2014, Stamell won a disability discrimination case against the post office on the grounds that its chip and pin machines were too difficult to reach for people with dwarfism and people in wheelchairs. Stamell is involved in the disability arts movement and was an original co-founder of Atypical Theatre Company in Australia. She was also the co-director of A Little Commitment Ltd, a production company run in conjunction with husband Berliner. Stamell remains based in England and is a British citizen.