Helen Moulder

Helen Moulder is a New Zealand actress born in Brightwater, Nelson, in 1947. Her professional career began in the United Kingdom in 1974, where she performed in musicals and pantomime and spent a year with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. Her Broadway appearance came in 1976, with credits that include H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, and The Hot Mikado. In 1977, Moulder returned to New Zealand, where she has since worked across theatre, television, film, and radio.

Among her notable stage achievements in New Zealand, Moulder received the Actress of the Year award at the Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards in 2000 for her portrayal of Vivian Bearing in the Circa Theatre production of Wit. She earned the same award again in 2003 for the role of Sylvia in Meeting Karpovsky, a production she co-produced with Sir Jon Trimmer.

Moulder developed the comic character Cynthia Fortitude alongside Rose Beauchamp, whose character Gertrude Rallentando serves as Cynthia's sidekick and accompanist. The two performers contributed these characters to Hen's Teeth performances over several decades. Full-length productions featuring the characters include A Vote for Cynthia and The Legend Returns, the latter of which was developed from a Hen's Teeth sketch in 1997 and toured in both New Zealand and San Francisco. Additional stage roles include Madam Giry in Ken Hill's Phantom of the Opera, performed in Japan, and Virginia Woolf in Vita and Virginia. Moulder is represented by GCM (Gail Cowan Management Ltd).