Debra Lawrance

Debra Lawrance (born 1 January 1957) is an Australian actress best known for her role as Pippa Ross on Home and Away, which she played from 1990 to 1998. She continues to guest star to this date- her last appearance was in 2009.

Biography

Debra Lawrance was born in Melbourne, Victoria and was the second youngest out of six children. She chose, in 1974, to study acting at NIDA and was accepted. She studied with fellow students, including Mel Gibson, Steve Bisley, Judy Davis and Robert Menzies. Lawrance graduated in 1977.

Career

After graduating, she guest starred in a wide range of roles including Prue Waterman in The Sullivans (1976), Sheila Turner in Skyways, Kerry Burgess in A Country Practice (1982) and Lisa in Bellamy (1981).

She also featured in a number of miniseries, including The Last Outlaw, a series about Ned Kelly. This was followed by a number of feature films, including Silver City.

Lawrance's big break was receiving the lead role of The Fast Lane, a widely successful ABC comedy. Her success led to her appearance in Evil Angels (released as A Cry in the Dark outside of Australia and New Zealand),^[1] starring Meryl Streep and Two Brothers Running with Tom Conti.

She took over the role of Pippa Fletcher from Vanessa Downing on 23 July 1990 and continued to play the part on Home and Away until leaving in 1998, although she has frequently returned to guest star. This character was widely popular and continues to be a favourite.

Debra Lawrance is well known for playing Lisa Cook in Sons and Daughters between 1983 and 1984 and inmate Daphne Graham in Prisoner from 1985 to 1986 and,much earlier in the series she had guest roles as a Nurse and Trainee Prisoner Officer Sally Dean. Debra had a recurring role as Reverend Grace Curtis, Tom Croydon's ill-fated wife on Blue Heelers from 2001 to 2004.

Debra's theatre credits include the London tour of Jack Davis' No Sugar, the role of Vi in the Melbourne Theatre Company production of The Memory of Water, and most recently the 2009 tour of Steel Magnolias in the role of M'lyn; and the title role in the 2010 tour of Driving Miss Daisy.

In recent years she has been running vocal and communication skills workshops; with a particular interest in assisting women to be heard in the workplace. The workshops, titled Are You Being Heard?, are very popular in all sectors of the workforce; they are highly experiential and have proved to be a transforming experience for those who attend.

Personal life

She met her husband Dennis Coard when he was cast as Pippa's second husband on Home and Away as character Michael Ross. They married in 1992 and have two children: Grace (born 1992) and William (born 1999).

They are involved with the charity Barnardos in Australia and she believes that "[her] kids now have an awareness that there are children out there who require assistance."

Casting

Film

Television

Trivia

• Lawrance's favourite book is Mister God, This Is Anna.
• Her favourite movie is Babette's Feast.
• Her favourite restaurant is Tetsuya's, especially the degustation menu.
• Debra had never watched Home and Away before her casting, so she had to watch fifty episodes.
• The role she wishes to play most is Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare's Macbeth.

References

1. ↑ "A Cry in the Dark (1988) - Release dates". IMDb.com. Retrieved 15 June 2012. 

External links

• Debra Lawrance at the Internet Movie Database
• Arts in the Valley Biography
• Back to the Bay Interview