Marta Dusseldorp: Biography, Husband & Net Worth

There is a particular satisfaction in watching someone graduate from performing a role to being the person who decides the story gets told at all. Marta Dusseldorp has made that leap over the past decade, moving from the leading lady of two of Australian television’s most-loved dramas to co-founding her own production company in Tasmania. Along the way she has picked up an AACTA Award, built a family with fellow actor Ben Winspear, and created the crime-comedy series Bay of Fires — now in its second season.

Born: 1 February 1973 (age 52) ·
Nationality: Australian ·
Known for: A Place to Call Home, Janet King ·
Spouse: Ben Winspear (m. 2001) ·
Children: 3

Eight key facts about Marta Dusseldorp, from birth to her current dual role as star and producer:

What is Marta Dusseldorp doing now?

Bay of Fires Season 2

• Dusseldorp stars as the lead in Bay of Fires, a Tasmanian crime-comedy drama she co-created with her husband Ben Winspear through Archipelago Productions (AACTA Festival).
• Season 1 premiered on ABC on 16 July 2023 (AACTA Festival).
• Season 2 debuted on 15 June 2025 on ABC iview and ABC TV in Australia (Wikipedia). Screen Australia lists the season as 8 episodes of 53 minutes each, with status completed (Screen Australia, the federal screen agency).
• In New Zealand, the second season streams on TVNZ+ (Now To Love NZ).

Archipelago Productions

• Dusseldorp co-founded Archipelago Productions with Ben Winspear after the family moved to Hobart, Tasmania, in 2018 (Wikipedia).
• The company describes her as “one of Australia’s most recognised actresses” and notes she served as Associate Producer on Janet King before fully stepping into production (Archipelago Productions).

Recent theatre and film work

• Dusseldorp plays Sharon and serves as executive producer on the film With or Without You, which premiered at the 2024 Adelaide Film Festival and was released in Australian cinemas in May 2025 (Wikipedia).
• She continues to take stage roles alongside her screen work, maintaining the theatre roots that launched her career.

The pattern: Every major project Dusseldorp undertakes now carries her name as producer or co-creator. The transition from performer to creative stakeholder is complete, and the Tasmanian production ecosystem is the clear beneficiary.

What TV show made Marta Dusseldorp famous?

A Place to Call Home

• Dusseldorp gained national recognition playing Sarah Adams in the Seven Network / Foxtel period drama A Place to Call Home, which ran from 2013 to 2018 (Archipelago Productions, the actor’s production company).
• The series became one of Australian television’s most-watched dramas during its run and established Dusseldorp as a household name. Her television credits also include BlackJack, Crownies, Jack Irish, Wentworth, and Stateless (Wikipedia).

Janet King

• Dusseldorp played the title role in Janet King (2014–2017), a spin-off from Crownies focused on a Crown prosecutor navigating high-stakes legal cases. She earned the AACTA Award for Best Lead Actress in a TV Drama for the role and also served as Associate Producer on the series (Archipelago Productions).

Crownies

• Before Janet King, Dusseldorp first portrayed the character Janet King in the ABC legal drama Crownies (2011), which laid the groundwork for the spin-off. The character proved strong enough to carry its own series, a rare feat in Australian television.

Where does Marta Dusseldorp live now?

Sydney, Australia

• Dusseldorp lives in Sydney with her husband Ben Winspear and their three children. The family maintains a private home and Dusseldorp has not shared the precise suburb or address in public interviews, choosing to keep residential details out of media coverage.

Privacy of family life

• The family moved to Hobart, Tasmania, in 2018 — a relocation that directly led to the founding of Archipelago Productions (Wikipedia). While they now divide time between Sydney and Hobart for work, Dusseldorp has kept the family’s day-to-day life largely out of the public eye.

Why this matters: The move to Tasmania was not just a lifestyle choice — it became the catalyst for Dusseldorp’s production company and the creation of Bay of Fires, which is set and filmed in the state. Geographic relocation directly reshaped her career trajectory.

How did Marta Dusseldorp meet her husband?

Meeting Ben Winspear at drama school

• Dusseldorp met Ben Winspear while both were studying at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney (Wikipedia). The couple married in 2001 and have been together for more than two decades.

The trade-off: Two actors in the same household means competing schedules, but Dusseldorp and Winspear turned that constraint into a creative partnership. Archipelago Productions was built on the foundation of their working relationship as much as their marriage.

Who is Marta Dusseldorp’s husband?

Ben Winspear

• Ben Winspear is an Australian actor with stage and television credits spanning two decades, including appearances in All Saints, Home and Away, and various Sydney Theatre Company productions (Wikipedia).
• Together with Dusseldorp, he co-founded Archipelago Productions and co-created Bay of Fires, shifting from performer to writer-producer. The couple has three children.

Family and collaboration

• The partnership is both personal and professional. Winspear and Dusseldorp have built a small production house in Tasmania that allows them to create local stories while raising their family away from the Sydney television hub. Archipelago Productions describes the company as a vehicle for “authentic Tasmanian storytelling.”

“Dusseldorp brings a quiet authority to every role she takes — whether she’s playing a postwar nurse or a high-powered prosecutor, there’s a groundedness that makes you believe she’s lived that life.”

— Review excerpt, Sydney Morning Herald (critic)

“Creating Bay of Fires was about telling a story that could only happen in Tasmania. We wanted to make something that felt specific to this place, not a generic crime drama that could be set anywhere.”

— Marta Dusseldorp, speaking about the origins of Bay of Fires (Now To Love NZ, 2025)

“What people don’t always see is how much work goes into building the infrastructure around a production. Being a producer means you’re thinking about budgets, locations, and crew welfare — not just your character’s motivation.”

— Marta Dusseldorp, interview on the transition from acting to producing

For Australian audiences who have watched Dusseldorp’s career across two decades, the shift from performer to producer is not a side project — it is the main act. Bay of Fires Season 2 is streaming now, and Archipelago Productions is positioned as a serious independent producer in the Tasmanian screen sector. The implication for viewers is clear: Dusseldorp is no longer just the face of the show — she is the reason it exists at all. For Australian television, the bet on regional production has paid off with a distinctive voice that would not have emerged from a Sydney or Melbourne studio.