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Tanika Mei Anderson (born 8 January 1994) is an Australian actress and performer, best known as a former member of Australian children's musical group Hi-5 from 2014 to 2016.

She has also starred in the Australian stage productions of Frozen and Beauty and the Beast, as well as a guest role in the television series Fisk.

Early life

Anderson's mother is Chinese Singaporean and her father is Australian with a Scottish heritage. Anderson attended Model Farms High School, Baulkham Hills in New South Wales, until Year 10, when she departed to study at the Newtown High School of the Performing Arts. Anderson is also a graduate of the Brent Street Studios. Anderson began teaching at her own dance studio, 360 Dance, at the age of 17.

Career

Anderson performed for a year as a singer and dancer at Universal Studios Singapore.

In June 2014, Anderson joined the Australian children's musical group Hi-5, replacing Lauren Brant. She had already worked with the group as an understudy and puppeteer for the previous nine months. Anderson departed the group at the end of 2016. During a promotional tour to Myanmar in 2015, Anderson experienced young women living and working in poverty, which led her to found her own ethical fashion business, You & Mei. She returned to the group as a guest performer in December 2018 and November 2019.

Anderson was cast in her first musical production, Frozen, in March 2020, as Queen Iduna. The production was due to premiere in Sydney in July 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The production debuted at the Capitol Theatre, Sydney in December 2020.

Anderson joined the cast of Beauty and the Beast in February 2023. The production debuted at the Capitol Theatre, Sydney, in June 2023.

Personal life

Anderson married fellow former Hi-5 member Stevie Nicholson in November 2019. She gave birth to their daughter, Wild Mei Nicholson, in November 2022.

Theatre credits

Filmography

Notes

1. Anderson did not appear in the Perth run.

References

1. ^ Jordan, Bev (2021). "Frozen's Hills Link". Hills to Hawkesbury Community News. Archived from the original on 20 February 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
2. ^ Ranke, Angela (24 June 2014). "Tanika Anderson joins Hi-5, replacing Lauren Brant". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 6 December 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
3. Sams, Christine (16 June 2014). "Former puppeteer Tanika Anderson lands dream job". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 July 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
4. Hi-5 (4 December 2016). "SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!! 💕✨ Our beautiful friends Dayen, Mary and Tanika will be leaving Hi-5 at the end of this" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 9 December 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2020 – via Twitter.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
5. Moran, Jonathon (6 May 2017). "Tanika Anderson fashions business selling dresses handmade by young women in Myanmar". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 20 February 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
6. ^ Snee, Peter J. (15 March 2020). "Disney announces the full Australian Frozen cast". AussieTheatre.com. Archived from the original on 20 February 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
7. ^ McLoughlin, Sean (20 February 2023). "Disney announces the full Australian cast of Beauty and the Beast". AussieTheatre.com. Archived from the original on 20 February 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
8. McLoughlin, Sean (22 September 2023). "Beauty And The Beast to open in Brisbane and Melbourne!". AussieTheatre.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
9. "Disney's Beauty and the Beast the Musical announces Adelaide and Perth seasons". AussieTheatre.com. 22 October 2024. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
10. "ABC comedy Fisk returns for a new season in October". Media Week. 21 September 2022. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2023.

• Living people
• 1994 births
• Australian children's musicians
• Australian people of Chinese descent
• Australian people of Scottish descent
• People from Bangkok
• Thai people of Singaporean descent
• Thai people of Australian descent