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Toni Collette is an Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning actress who first widely became recognized for her starring role in the 1994 hit Muriel's Wedding.
But beyond her starring recognition in The Sixth Sense, Little Miss Sunshine or United States of Tara, The Hollywood Reporter looks at five facts you probably didn't know about Collette.
Read more Jennifer Lawrence: 5 Things You Didn't Know About the Actress
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Children's Author
The married mother of two added author to her list of achievements on Sept. 1, 2008. Collette partnered with illustrator Emma Magenta and produced children's book Planet Yawn in their first-ever book for kids.
"Planet Yawn is a charming and imaginative bedtime story which can be read on many levels. On one level it is a whimsical story about Naughty Yawn, a boy who won't share, and on another it is a gentle, non-didactic exploration of the environmental issues that face us," Booktopia describes the book.
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Faked Appendicitis to Have Her Appendix Removed
When the actress was a teen, she faked appendicitis so convincingly that doctors were forced to remove her appendix. “It is mortifying,” Collette said during a Rove interview. “It is so embarrassing. I don’t know why I did it and I apologize to Mom and Dad.” She continued, “the doctor actually came in kind of sheepishly going, ‘slightly infected,’” to protect the actress' exaggerated story.
Watch below (starting at 7:25).
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuZO6CFL8GY]
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She’s a Camper
The Sydney native admitted in an interview with Index Magazine that she and her husband are campers.
While filming Japanese Story, Collette and her husband visited her in the Australian desert — the Pilbara — and went camping. Asked if she camps often, the actress said, “Yeah. I actually have a swag. It's a portable canvas cover for your sleeping bag, so you don't need a tent. You can see the sky, which is the beauty of sleeping outside.”
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Forces Auditions
The former United States of Tara star was given the leading role by director Steven Spielberg without having to audition. “That was one of the best jobs of my life. I just got the call and that was it,” Collette told The Edit.
Still, she doesn’t want people to come to assume she's right for a role without her showing for it. “[But] I don’t like people to assume I’m right for a role, or think that they have some innate knowledge of what I’m going to do. So once in a while I’ll force an audition. I like to get in the room and show them.”
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Singer-Musician
Not only is Collette an award-winning (Emmy and Golden Globe for United States of Tara) actress, but the performer also has an album under her belt. Collette is the lead singer of Toni Collette & The Finish and her husband, Dave Galafassi, is also a part of the band. Her first album, Beautiful Awkward Pictures, came out in 2006.
Listen below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjx9BfneXF8]
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