Michala Elizabeth Laurinda Banas (born 14 November 1978) is a New Zealand television actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Marissa Taylor in '' Always Greener'' and as Kate Manfredi in '' McLeod's Daughters''.

Life and career

Born in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

into a family of New Zealand, English, Scottish and German descent, Michala starred in her first advert at only 18 months of age. Her debut film performance was when she was five years old, in the New Zealand film '' Dangerous Orphans''. Her Australian debut television performance was as Louisa in the miniseries '' Mirror, Mirror'' in 1995. From 2001 to 2003, Banas played main character Marissa Taylor in the

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

drama '' Always Greener''. In 2002, she had a small role in the film adaptation ''

Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American media franchise owned by Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Entertainment and created in 1969 by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears through their animated series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'', for Hanna-Barbera (which wa ...

''. Banas is an accomplished singer, and in 2003 released a single, " Kissin' The Wind", which made the top 30 on the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...

singles chart. In 2004, Banas joined the cast of '' McLeod's Daughters'' as the character Kate Manfredi, the best friend of Jodi Fountain McLeod. She played Kate from episodes 88 to 170, when she took a short break to later return in episode 177. It was announced in 2007 that she would leave ''McLeod's Daughters'' in its final season. Banas' last episode was aired in early December 2008. From 11 November 2008, Banas appeared in the role of Libby Kennedy on the Australian soap opera ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons and ...

'' for a five-week period after Kym Valentine was forced to take a temporary break due to illness. In 2009, Banas filled in for Fox FM's Jo Stanley on '' The Matt and Jo Show'' while Stanley was on maternity leave. That same year saw her star in the Australian national tour of the Broadway musical, '' Avenue Q'', playing the roles of "Kate Monster" and "Lucy the Slut". Banas was one of three celebrity faces for Proactiv Solution in Australia and New Zealand. Banas had a guest role as Tiffany Turner on the drama series '' Winners & Losers'', and a supporting role on

ABC3 ABC Entertains is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was launched on 4 December 2009 as a children's channel called ABC3. It was rebranded on 19 September 2016 to ABC ME. It rebra ...

teen drama ''

Nowhere Boys ''Nowhere Boys'' is an Australian teen drama fantasy television series created by Tony Ayres. It was first broadcast on ABC3 (which is now officially named ABC Entertains) on 7 November 2013. The first two series follow the adventures of fo ...

'' as Phoebe. In 2013, Banas starred in the ABC comedy series '' Upper Middle Bogan'' as Amber Wheeler. The series had run for three seasons. In 2019, Banas begun serving as an intimacy coordinator for television projects, a coordinator is used in scenes where two actors/actresses are preparing to be intimate and the coordinator makes sure that both people are comfortable with what is about to happen. In June 2019, it was announced that Banas would appear in the sitcom '' Fam Time'' which was originally intended to broadcast on the

in 2020, however was indefinitely shelved until June 2024, when it was announced it would be released on 7plus on 11 July 2024. In 2020, she joined the filming for '' Halifax: Retribution'' and has since appeared in several other projects including ABC's ''Turn Up The Volume'' and ''Gold Diggers''. On 23 September 2024, Banas would join Jo Stanley in the women led radio station Broad Radio as a co-host.

Filmography

Film

Television

Self appearances / interviews

source:

Theatre

Discography

Singles

References

External links

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Michala Banas management
{{DEFAULTSORT:Banas, Michala 1978 births Living people Helpmann Award winners Actresses from Wellington City New Zealand television actresses New Zealand emigrants to Australia New Zealand people of English descent New Zealand people of German descent New Zealand people of Scottish descent 21st-century New Zealand women singers Naturalised citizens of Australia