Basia Bonkowski

Basia Rendall (nee Bonkowski) was born and grew up in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. She was one of four children born to Polish immigrants Maria and Jerzy Bonkowski. She attended Cabra College and was attracted to writing and performing from an early age. She studied Law at the University of Adelaide before becoming ill with Hodgkins Lymphoma; causing a switch to Flinders University where she majored in English Literature and Drama. After teaching drama she moved to Sydney to pursue a career in television, where she pioneered "Rock Around the World" and "Continental Drift" at SBS and presented "The Big Byte" and evening line-up updates. She also hosted music videos for Network 10 before working behind the scenes as a television writer and producer. In 1982, Basia married director Kimble Rendall, adopting two children, William and Camille. Basia released "Jesse's World", a book about overseas adoption, inspired by their experiences as adoptive parents. She completed a Master of Letters Degree at the University of Sydney in 2006. Her second book, "Shimmer", based on her mother's life, was released in 2009. Over the last decade (2010-) Basia worked as Executive Producer for "Screentime" and "Endemol Shine" where she produced "RBT" for Channel Nine. In 2019 she was awarded a "Distinguished Alumni Award" from Flinders University for her significant contribution to the creative arts as a television producer and presenter, author and movie reviewer.