Gigi Edgley (born 16 November 1977) is an
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Aus ...
actress, singer, and songwriter. She is best known for her roles as
Chiana on the series ''
Farscape
''Farscape'' is an Australian-American Science fiction on television, science fiction television series conceived by Rockne S. O'Bannon and produced by The Jim Henson Company and Hallmark Entertainment, originally for the Nine Network. It prem ...
'' and Lara Knight in ''
Rescue: Special Ops''.
Early life
Edgley was born in
Perth
Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
. She is the daughter of theatre, concert, and circus promoter
Michael Edgley, known for bringing the
Moscow State Circus
The title Moscow State Circus is used for a variety of circuses. Most commonly, it refers to one of the two circus buildings in Moscow, the "Circus Nikulin" (the old circus, featuring animal acts) and the "Bolshoi Circus" (the new circus, featu ...
to Australia during the 1980s. Her mother, Jeni Edgley, was formerly involved in managing a 250-acre (101 hectare) health retreat. As a child, Gigi Edgley performed both in and out of school. She also took several years of ballet, jazz, and character dance. She became mainly interested in acting and had her first professional theatrical engagement at the Twelfth Night Theatre. She earned a
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
degree from the
Queensland University of Technology
The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public university, public research university located in the city of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia. It has two major campuses, a modern city campus in Gardens Point, Brisbane, Gardens Point ...
in 1998. Edgley is proficient in ballet,
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
,
character dance
Character dance is a specific subdivision of classical dance. It is the stylized representation of a traditional folk or national dance, mostly from European countries, and uses movements and music which have been adapted for the theater.
Char ...
, singing, and martial arts. Her signature skill is
fire-twirling.
Career
Acting
Edgley's early TV and film work included several independent productions (with later Farscape co-star
Anthony Simcoe
Anthony Simcoe (born 7 June 1969) is an Australian actor, known for his portrayal of Steve Kerrigan in the 1997 film '' The Castle'' and Ka D'Argo in the science fiction television series ''Farscape''.
Early life and education
Simcoe is a grad ...
), as well as a guest star spot on the Australian series ''
Water Rats'' and a role in Australian film titled ''
The Day of the Roses
''The Day of the Roses'' is a two-part Australian television mini-series, a docu-drama directed by Peter Fisk, based on the events of the 1977 Granville railway disaster. The film was made in 1998 and runs over 3.5 hours. Described as "a dra ...
''.
Edgley is best known for her role as
Chiana on the science fiction TV series ''
Farscape
''Farscape'' is an Australian-American Science fiction on television, science fiction television series conceived by Rockne S. O'Bannon and produced by The Jim Henson Company and Hallmark Entertainment, originally for the Nine Network. It prem ...
''. Originally, she was hired for only one episode, and her character was supposed to die at the end of the hour. The creators decided to keep her around for a few more episodes. At the beginning of Season 2, she was promoted to be a regular on the show. She appeared in total of 68 episodes of the series. Her character's nickname (Pip) was actually coined by her co-star
Ben Browder
Robert Benedict Browder (born December 11, 1962) is an American actor, writer and film director, known for his roles as John Crichton in '' Farscape'' and Cameron Mitchell in '' Stargate SG-1''.
Early life
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Browder ...
.
Between seasons, Edgley has appeared in other guest starring roles on TV, including the internationally aired series
''The Lost World'' and ''
BeastMaster'' (returning for a second guest starring role), has undertaken some independent film work, was cast in a feature film (pulled due to production and schedule reasons), and read a starring role in an audio drama for Seeing Ear Theatre.
After ''Farscape'', Edgley pursued other projects including a role in the Australian drama telefilm ''
BlackJack
Blackjack (formerly black jack or ''vingt-un'') is a casino banking game. It is the most widely played casino banking game in the world. It uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as " twenty-one ...
'' with
Colin Friels
Colin Friels (born 25 September 1952) is an Australian actor of theatre, TV, film and presenter.
Early life
Friels was born in Kilwinning, Ayrshire, Scotland.Interview with Colin Friels, ''George Negus Tonight'' (ABC Television), 26 August 200 ...
. She joined the cast of Australian drama series ''
The Secret Life of Us
''The Secret Life of Us'' is an Australian television drama series set in the beachside neighbourhood of St Kilda, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is primarily a drama with some comedic moments. The series was produced by South ...
'' in 2003 and ''
Stingers'' in 2004.
Edgley returned as Chiana in the SciFi Channel miniseries ''
Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars'' in 2004.

In 2006 Edgley starred as the female lead in the Australian Drama/Thriller ''
Last Train to Freo
''Last Train to Freo'' is a 2006 Australian film based on Reg Cribb's 2001 play '' The Return'', and directed by Jeremy Sims.
Synopsis
Two thugs from the Perth suburb of Midland catch the last train to Fremantle. When a young woman, unaware t ...
''. Her role was nominated for a Best Actress in a Lead Role by the
Film Critics Circle of Australia
The Film Critics Circle of Australia (FCCA) is an association of cinema critics and reviewers. It includes journalists in "media, television, major national and state papers, radio, national and state, online and freelance writers, Australian ...
. She also had a minor supporting role in the 2007
USA Network
USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...
TV miniseries ''
The Starter Wife''. She had a leading role in three seasons of ''
Rescue: Special Ops'' from 2009. In 2018, she appeared in the film
''Diminuendo'' opposite
Richard Hatch.
She frequently appears at science fiction conventions and gives interviews to many magazines and radio stations around the world.
Music
Edgley recorded a music single titled "Poison" with recording artist n8. The song is available as streaming audio on her webpage in the music section. She also appeared in a music video for the song "When You Get to California" (2004) by Australian rock group
Hoodoo Gurus
Hoodoo Gurus are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1981 by Dave Faulkner (songwriter, lead singer and guitarist) and later joined by Richard Grossman (bass), Mark Kingsmill (drums), and Brad Shepherd (guitar, vocals, harmonica). Th ...
.
In July 2007, Edgley began recording with Seattle-based artist/producer Kyle Stevens and writing songs for a new music release. At Farscape Con in November 2007, Gigi released "...SO IT SEEMS", a five-song E.P. produced and co-written with Kyle. Edgley has recorded ''Fall'', ''
Ftang!'', and ''
Blue Sky Thoughts''.
Other appearances and achievements
Edgley was featured in several printed magazines. Most notably, she appeared nude in the Issue 49 (February 2001) of the popular Australian magazine
Black+White
Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings.
Media
The history of various visual media began with black and white, a ...
. She was also on the cover of the ''
FHM
''FHM'' (For Him Magazine) was a printed British multinational men's lifestyle magazine that was published in several countries. It contained features such as the ''FHM'' 100 Sexiest Women in the World.
The final printed issue of British ''F ...
'' magazine in December 2003 and the cover of the US version of the
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media
In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...
(29 July – 4 August 2000 issue).
Edgley was ''Yen Magazine's'' ambassador for the 2006 ''Pantene Young Woman of the Year Awards''.
Pantene awards
Filmography
Film
Television
Video games
Music credits
* Vocal work on a single ''Poison'' by N8
* Starred in a video for ''When You Get To California'' by Hoodoo Gurus
Hoodoo Gurus are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1981 by Dave Faulkner (songwriter, lead singer and guitarist) and later joined by Richard Grossman (bass), Mark Kingsmill (drums), and Brad Shepherd (guitar, vocals, harmonica). Th ...
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edgley, Gigi
1977 births
Living people
Australian television actresses
Queensland University of Technology alumni
21st-century Australian singers
21st-century Australian women singers