Cariba Heine

Australian actress and dancer (born 1988)

Cariba Heine

Heine in 2012

Born|  (1988-10-01) 1 October 1988 (age 36)

Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa

Occupations|

* Actress
* dancer

Years active| 2003–present
Spouse|

Matt Pong

(m. 2024)​

Children| 1

Cariba Heine (born 1 October 1988[1]) is a South African-born Australian actress and dancer. She is known for her roles as Rikki Chadwick in the Network Ten show H2O: Just Add Water, Bridget Sanchez in the third series of Blue Water High, and Caroline Byrne in A Model Daughter: The Killing of Caroline Byrne.

## Early life

[edit]

Heine was born in Johannesburg[2] to South African parents Michelle, a former showgirl, and Kevin Heine.[3] She moved to Australia at the age of three with her parents and older brother Kyle (born 1985).[3][4]

## Career

[edit]

### Dancing

[edit]

Her early days included training in jazz dance, tap dance, classical ballet, acrobatics and rhythmic gymnastics, and studying acting and singing at National Capital Acting School.[4] She danced at her mother's dance school in Canberra,[5] where she later attended Telopea Park School and St Clare's College. She was the youngest dancer to perform at the Stargazers Convention in Sydney, Australia.[6] She was homeschooled to focus on her dance career, and performed in many stage productions, including a tour in the United States, where she featured in the music video for Will Young's song "Leave Right Now".[4] After a serious hip injury, she was suggested to turn temporarily to acting by her manager.[4]

### Acting

[edit]

Cariba Heine at The Sapphires movie premiere in 2012

Heine began her acting career in 2006 by being cast on the television series, H2O: Just Add Water, where she played Rikki Chadwick, one of the lead roles.[7] Heine next portrayed Caroline Byrne in the television film A Model Daughter: The Killing of Caroline Byrne which was broadcast on Network Ten in Australia on 4 November 2009.[8]

In 2011, she joined the cast of the indie film Lord of the Crows,[9] though the film ultimately failed to get crowdfunded.[10] In 2012, she portrayed Heather in Bait 3D,[11] and Delvene Delaney in Channel 9's biographical TV miniseries Howzat! Kerry Packer's War.[12] In 2016, Heine reprised her role as Rikki Chadwick in the final two episodes of the third series of Mako: Island of Secrets, a spin-off of H2O: Just Add Water.[13] The same year Heine had a starring role in the short film How'd I Get in This Field which premiered at the Massachusetts Independent Film Festival.

Heine joined the cast of Home and Away in 2018 as Ebony Harding.[14] In 2020, she appeared in the thriller-drama series The Secrets She Keeps with Laura Carmichael and Jessica De Gouw.[15][16]

## Personal life

[edit]

Heine married her boyfriend Matt Pongrass on 24 June 2024.[17] On 20 December 2024, Heine announced she was expecting her first child.[18] In 2025, Heine gave birth to her first child.[19]

## Filmography

[edit]

### Film

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

2003 | Ballistic Sessions | Amanda | Short film
2009 | A Model Daughter: The Killing of Caroline Byrne | Caroline Byrne | TV film
2009 | At the Tattooist | Alex | Short film
2011 | Blood Brothers | Ellie Carter | TV film
2012 | Quietus | Alex | Short film
2012 | Bait 3D | Heather | Feature film
2016 | How'd I Get In This Field | Ashley | Short film
2016 | Rough Sweat | June | Short film

### Television

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

2005 | Strictly Dancing | Herself | Episode: "Heat 12"
2006–10 | H2O: Just Add Water | Rikki Chadwick | TV series. 78 episodes
2007 | Stupid, Stupid Man | Mindy | TV series, episode: "The Boyfriend"
2008 | Blue Water High | Bridget Sanchez | TV series. Season 3, 25 episodes
2009 | The Pacific | Phyllis | TV series, episode: "Home"
2010–13 | Dance Academy | Isabelle | TV series, 9 episodes
2010–13 | The Future Machine | Kate Hill | Web series[20]
2012 | Howzat! Kerry Packer's War | Delvene Delaney | TV miniseries
2014 | Friendly Advice | Faith | Web series; 2 episodes
2015 | Hiding | Harriet | TV series, 4 episodes
2016 | Adopted | Harriet | Web series;[21] episodes: "Music, Virgins, and Prawns", "Kofi's Choice"
2016 | Mako: Island of Secrets | Rikki Chadwick | TV series, episodes: "The Legend of Jiao Long", "Homecoming"[13]
2017 | Designated Survivor | Peyton Lane | TV series, episodes: "Suckers", "Two Ships", "Family Ties"
2018 | Home and Away | Ebony Harding | TV series[14]
2020 | The Secrets She Keeps | Grace | TV series, 6 episodes
2021  | Everyone Is Doing Great | Isabella Baker  | TV series, 6 episodes
2023  | Wellmania | Goldie  | TV series, episode: "Carpe That Diem"

## See also

[edit]

* Claire Holt
* Phoebe Tonkin

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Media Kit (Series 1)" (PDF) (Press release). ZDF Enterprises. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 February 2009. p. 28: "Cariba was born in South Africa on the 1st October 1988 and moved to Australia 1991 [sic]."
2. ^ Oberholzer, Erene (5 September 2016). "8 Actors you didn't know had South African roots". The South African. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
3. ^ a b Ranawake, Sarah (November 2009). "Cariba Heine wears Young Romance". InStyle. p. 155\. Archived from the original on 1 February 2013.
4. ^ a b c d Reilly, Gabrielle. "Cariba Heine Biography". The Global Townhall. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013.
5. ^ "Interview with Cariba Heine".
6. ^ "Australian Television: H2O – Just Add Water: Cariba Heine". Archived from the original on 12 June 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
7. ^ Moss, Marilyn (12 March 2008). "H2O". The Hollywood Reporter. Associated Press. Retrieved 22 January 2016. "The three girls (played by delightful actresses Claire Holt, Phoebe Tonkin and Cariba Heine) wander too far out into the water and become enchanted, so to speak."
8. ^ "Beauty and the beast". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2 November 2009. Archived from the original on 18 August 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2016. "A motive for murder". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2 November 2009. Archived from the original on 6 February 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
9. ^ "Lord of the Crows attract Gibson Guitars". Encore Magazine. Focal Attractions. 14 June 2011. Archived from the original on 19 June 2011.
10. ^ "LORD OF THE CROWS - Feature Film Promo". Indiegogo. 4 July 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
11. ^ "Bait 2011 movie trailer, poster".
12. ^ Byrne, Fiona (12 May 2012). "Cariba delves into her role as Delaney". Herald Sun. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
13. ^ a b "Mermaid's Tale Double Take For Heine". The Gold Coast Bulletin. 18 July 2015. p. 2.
14. ^ a b Velk, Eliza (18 April 2018). "Why the new Home and Away stalker looks so familiar". Yahoo! Lifestyle. Archived from the original on 18 April 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
15. ^ Hadadi, Roxana. "The Secrets She Keeps movie review (2021) | Roger Ebert". www.rogerebert.com/. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
16. ^ Allen, Ben (7 July 2020). "Everything you need to know about BBC's The Secrets She Keeps". British GQ. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
17. ^ Gibson, Kelsie (24 June 2024). "'H2O: Just Add Water' Star Cariba Heine Marries Matt Pong in Italy: 'We Did'". Peoplemag. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
18. ^ "H2O: Just Add Water Star Cariba Heine Reveals She's Pregnant with First Baby: 'Pregnancy Is Hard Work'". People.com. 20 December 2024.
19. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
20. ^ "The Future Machine". Dirty Karma. Archived from the original on 11 January 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
21. ^ "About". Adopted. Archived from the original on 27 January 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2016.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cariba Heine.

* Cariba Heine at IMDb

* Australia portal
* South Africa portal

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* United States
* Spain
* Netherlands

People|

* Deutsche Synchronkartei

*[m.]: married