23 Facts About Kiruna Stamell

Kiruna Stamell was born on 13 March 1981 and is an Australian-British actress.

Kiruna Stamell was named after the Swedish city of Kiruna, where her parents had travelled to see the Northern Lights.

Kiruna Stamell has dwarfism caused by the rare genetic condition Acromesomelic dysplasia, resulting in a height of 1.06 metres ; her younger identical twin sisters have dwarfism due to the same condition.

Kiruna Stamell first learnt to dance at the age of three, when she learned ballet, contemporary dance and tap.

Kiruna 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.

Whilst growing up, Kiruna Stamell believed that she could not have a normal relationship due to her dwarfism.

Kiruna Stamell 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.

Kiruna Stamell began a relationship with stand-up comedian Gareth Berliner after meeting him at a comedy club.

In 2014, Kiruna 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.

Kiruna Stamell is involved in the disability arts movement and was an original co-founder of Atypical Theatre Company in Australia.

Kiruna Stamell was the co-director of A Little Commitment Ltd, a production company run in conjunction with husband Berliner.

Kiruna Stamell remains based in England and is a British citizen.

Kiruna Stamell acted in a number of short plays at the university.

Kiruna Stamell's initial casting as an extra led to the part of La Petite Princess being created especially for her.

Kiruna Stamell then auditioned for Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art, but was rejected because the institution felt there were not enough roles for people with short stature.

Kiruna Stamell appeared in the Australian short film Love Hurts as Cupid.

Kiruna Stamell graduated from the University of New South Wales in 2003.

In 2005, Kiruna Stamell returned to England after receiving funding from the Australia Council for a three-month secondment with the Graeae Theatre Company.

Kiruna Stamell was generally well reviewed for her work in Graeae Theatre Company's production of Whiter Than Snow playing a young actress who wanted to break with stereotype and play the role of Snow White.

Kiruna Stamell debuted on British television in 2009 when she appeared as Phoebe Tunstall in the six-part BBC drama series All the Small Things, and has made appearances on EastEnders as Sandra Fielding, starred in Cast Offs for Channel 4, and in 2011 as Amy in Life's Too Short for BBC 2.

Kiruna Stamell was unanimously voted through the first round, but got no further.

In January 2023, Kiruna Stamell began appearing as receptionist Kirsty Millar in the BBC soap opera Doctors.

Alongside co-stars Richard Atwill and Isaac Benn, Kiruna Stamell was nominated for the Best Family accolade at the 2023 British Soap Awards.