Debra Lawrance (born 1 January 1957) is an Australian actress. She is best known for her role on '' Home and Away'', as

Pippa Ross Philippa "Pippa" Ross (also Fletcher) is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera ''Home and Away''. Actress Vanessa Downing originated the role and made her debut during the pilot episode broadcast on 17 January 1988. Dow ...

, which she played from 1990 to 1998, and has made a number of return appearances as the character, the most recent being in 2009. She also had a role in cult serial ''

Prisoner A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...

'', coincidentally she also appeared in the re-imaging series ''

Wentworth Wentworth may refer to: People * Wentworth (surname) * Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth (1873–1957), Lady Wentworth, notable Arabian horse breeder * S. Wentworth Horton (1885–1960), New York state senator * Wentworth Miller (born 1 ...

'' on Foxtel. She is also known for her roles as Rose in ''

Please Like Me ''Please Like Me'' is an Australian television comedy-drama series created by and starring Josh Thomas. Thomas also serves as a writer for most episodes. The series premiered on 28 February 2013 on ABC2 in Australia and is now available on Ne ...

'', for which she won the Logie Award for Most Outstanding Supporting Actress, and Liz Conway in '' Neighbours''. In 2019, she appeared in the Australian stage production of ''

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ''Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'' is a play written by Jack Thorne from an original story by J. K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Thorne. Previews of the play began at the Palace Theatre, London, on 7 June 2016 as a two-part play, and it p ...

''.

Biography

Debra Lawrance was born in Melbourne, Victoria and was the second youngest of six children. In 1974 Lawrance studied and graduated in 1976 from

NIDA Nida or NIDA may refer to: People * Nida Allam (born 1993), American politician * Nida Fazli (1938–2016), Indian Hindi and Urdu poet and lyricist * Nida Eliz Üstündağ (born 1996), Turkish female swimmer * Eugene Nida (1914–2011), American l ...

alongside such alumni as

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apoca ...

Steve Bisley Steve Bisley (born 26 December 1951) is an Australian writer, film and television actor. He is best known for his roles in the films '' Mad Max'' and ''The Great Gatsby''. On TV, some of his better-known roles include Detective Sergeant Jack C ...

Judy Davis Judith Davis (born 23 April 1955) is an Australian actress in film, television, and on stage. With a career spanning over 40 years, she has been commended for her versatility and regarded as one of the finest actresses of her generation. Frequen ...

and Robert Menzies

Career

Lawrance has appeared in a number of roles including ''

The Sullivans ''The Sullivans'' is an Australian period drama television series produced by Crawford Productions which ran on the Nine Network from 15 November 1976 until 10 March 1983. The series tells the story of a fictional average middle-cla ...

'' as Prue Waterman (1976), in '' Skyways'' as Sheila Turner, '' A Country Practice'' a sKerry Burgess (1982), '' Bellamy'' (1981) as Lisa and '' Sons and Daughters'' between 1983 and 1984 as Lisa Cook Lawrance had a more permanent role in ''

'' from 1985 to 1986 as Daphne Graham, after having had minor roles including as a Nurse and Trainee Prisoner Officer Sally Dean much earlier in the series. Lawrance featured in miniseries '' The Last Outlaw'', (1980) a series about

Ned Kelly Edward Kelly (December 1854 – 11 November 1880) was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader and convicted police-murderer. One of the last bushrangers, he is known for wearing a suit of bulletproof armour during his final shootout wi ...

, and feature film '' Silver City'' (1984) Lawrance's big break was a lead role in ''

The Fast Lane ''The Fast Lane'' is an Australian television show that aired between 1985 (Season 1) and 1987 (Season 2) on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It was created by John Clarke and Andrew Knight and starred Terry Bader, Richard Healy ...

'', a widely successful ABC comedy. Her success led to her appearance in the film '' Evil Angels'' (released as ''A Cry in the Dark'' outside of Australia and New Zealand), starring

Meryl Streep Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...

and ''

Two Brothers Running ''Two Brothers Running'' is a 1988 Australian comedy film directed by Ted Robinson and starring Tom Conti, Elizabeth Alexander, Ritchie Singer, and Asher Keddie.David Stratton, ''The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Indust ...

'' with

Tom Conti Tommaso Antonio Conti (born 22 November 1941) is a Scottish actor, theatre director, and novelist. He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play in 1979 for his performance in '' Whose Life Is It Anyway?'' and was nominated for the Academy Aw ...

. In July 1990 Lawrance was cast in '' Home and Away'', taking over the role of Pippa Fletcher (later Ross) from

Vanessa Downing Vanessa Downing (born 5 May 1958) is an Australian actress and singer, voice artist and lawyer Downing was appearing with singing group ''The Madrigals'', an acapella group who were performing at the Sydney Opera House, when she was given ...

. Lawrance left the main cast in 1998, but has made returning guest appearances over the years, the last being in 2009. Lawrance subsequently starred in ''

Blue Heelers ''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian Police procedural, police drama series that was produced by Endemol Australia, Southern Star Group and ran for 12 years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, ...

'' in the recurring role as Reverend Grace Curtis, Tom Croydon's ill-fated wife from 2001 to 2004. Debra's theatre credits include the London tour of Jack Davis' ''

No Sugar ''No Sugar'' is a postcolonial play written by Indigenous Australian playwright Jack Davis, set during the Great Depression, in Northam, Western Australia, Moore River Native Settlement and Perth. The play focuses on the Millimurras, an Austral ...

'', the role of Vi in the Melbourne Theatre Company production of '' The Memory of Water'', the 2009 tour of '' Steel Magnolias'' in the role of M'lyn, the title role in the 2010 tour of ''

Driving Miss Daisy '' Driving Miss Daisy'' is a 1989 American comedy-drama film directed by Bruce Beresford and written by Alfred Uhry, based on his 1987 play of the same name. The film stars Jessica Tandy, Morgan Freeman, and Dan Aykroyd. Freeman reprised his ro ...

'', and in ''

'' in 2019. From 2013 to 2016, Lawrance played Rose, the mother of the title character portrayed by Josh Thomas, in the comedy drama

. She appeared in a main role in all four seasons of the show, which saw her character deal with divorce and mental illness. Lawrance's performance was met with critical acclaim, winning her an

AACTA Award for Best Performance in a Television Comedy The AACTA Award for Best Performance in a Television Comedy is an accolade given by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA), a non-profit organisation whose aim is to "identify, award, promote and celebrate Australia's greates ...

for her part in a

two-hander A two-hander is a term for a play, film, or television programme with only two main characters. The two characters in question often display differences in social standing or experiences, differences that are explored and possibly overcome as ...

episode (with Thomas) in the show's second season. In 2017, Lawrance appeared as a celebrity contestant and eventual winner in the local TV version of ''

Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, 59th Street to the north, Eighth Avenue to the ea ...

''. In 2018, Lawrance read

Charlotte Voake Charlotte Voake (born 1957) is a Welsh children's illustrator who has won several awards including the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize in 1997. Life and career Voake was born and raised in Wales. She studied art history at the University of London ...

's '' Ginger'' on

ABC2 ABC TV Plus (formerly ABC2 and ABC Comedy) is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and part of its ABC Television network. The channel broadcasts a range of general entertainment pr ...

's ''Story Time''. She also joined the cast of '' Neighbours'' as

Liz Conway '' Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Reg Watson and first broadcast on 18 March 1985. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the soap in 2001, by order of first appearance. All character ...

Personal life

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

Casting

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrance, Debra 1957 births Actresses from Melbourne Australian film actresses Australian soap opera actresses Australian stage actresses Living people Logie Award winners National Institute of Dramatic Art alumni 20th-century Australian actresses 21st-century Australian actresses