Rhoda Roberts, an Australian Aboriginal arts director, died on March 21, 2026, aged 66.
She was an Australian theatre and arts director, arts executive, television presenter and actress who served as head of Indigenous programming at the Sydney Opera House from 2012 until 2021. Born in Canterbury, New South Wales, in 1959, she was a Bundjalung woman of the Widjabul/Wiyebal clan on her father’s side.
Roberts was a co-founder of the Aboriginal National Theatre Trust in 1987, founded the Festival of the Dreaming in 1997 and was a cultural adviser for the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics. She was also a respected Aboriginal elder known as Aunty Rhoda.
Rhoda Ann Roberts AO (8 July 1959 – 21 March 2026) was an Australian theatre and arts director, arts executive, television presenter, and actress. She was head of Indigenous programming at the Sydney Opera House from 2012 until 2021, among many other roles. She was also a highly respected Aboriginal elder, being afforded the title “Aunty” (Aunty Rhoda).