Furness was born in Perth, Australia, and raised in Melbourne. She studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, where she graduated in either 1981 or 1982. She performed in the United States on the stage in New York and as Kathleen, the Australian wife of Cole Gioberti (Billy Moses) on the television series Falcon Crest before returning to Australia to continue her acting career.
Furness rose to fame in 1988, when she starred in the movie Shame, for which she won Best Actor awards from the Film Critics Circle of Australia and Golden Space Needle. Other roles included an episode of Halifax f.p. and The Flying Doctors. In 1993, Furness appeared as Chrissy in the television mini-series Stark starring Ben Elton and Jacqueline McKenzie. In 1995 she featured in the film Angel Baby directed by Michael Rymer and starring Jacqueline McKenzie and John Lynch. The film followed the story of two schizophrenics who met during therapy and fell passionately in love.
From 1995 to 1996, Furness starred in television series Fire alongside Andy Anderson and Wayne Pygram. Furness played the role of Dolores Kennedy.
She is married to actor Hugh Jackman. They met on the set of Australian TV show Correlli in 1995. The ceremony took place on 11 April 1996 at St. John's in Toorak, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne. After suffering two miscarriages, she adopted two children with Jackman: son Oscar Maximillian (born 15 May 2000) and daughter Ava Eliot (born 10 July 2005).
In 2014, Deborra-lee Furness was named as the New South Wales Australian of the Year for her work in adoption campaigning.
