Lucinda Cowden (born 24 April 1965) is an Australian actress, known for her role as Melanie Pearson in the 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 ...

'' from 1987 until 1991. She also appeared in '' The Power, The Passion'', presented children's television series ''

Parallel 9 ''Parallel 9'' is a British children's television series that aired on BBC1 from 25 April 1992 to 17 September 1994. Airing on Saturday mornings, ''Parallel 9'' was the first BBC Saturday morning children's series to be produced by an independ ...

'' and was a voice actress on the '' The Koala Brothers''. She reprised her role as Melanie in ''Neighbours'' in 2021 and remained until 2024.

Early life

Cowden was born in

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria. Within mo ...

, Victoria. She has a sister. Cowden knew she wanted to be an actor from a young age and appeared on stage when she was five years old.

Career

Cowden had a small guest role as Melanie Pearson in the soap opera ''

'' in 1987. She went on to play Danielle Edmonds in the short-lived 1989 soap '' The Power, The Passion''. Two years after her guest appearance, Cowden was asked to return to ''Neighbours'' and was signed up for an initial six-month stint. She remained with ''Neighbours'' until 1991, with a cameo appearance in the 20th anniversary episode in 2005. Cowden left ''Neighbours'' in 1991, and later admitted that she did not want to be typecast. After leaving ''Neighbours'', Cowden went to the United Kingdom in 1993, where she did various acting jobs, presenting and stand-up comedy. She appeared as Aladdin at the

Marlowe Theatre The Marlowe Theatre is a 1,200-seat theatre in Canterbury named after playwright Christopher Marlowe, who was born and attended school in the city. It was named a The Stage Awards, Stage Awards, 2022 UK Theatre of the Year. The Marlowe Trust ...

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

. She also embarked on a 12-week tour of the UK as Peter Pan. Cowden presented the second and third seasons of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

children's television series, ''

''. In 1996, she presented comic sketch show ''Highly Sprung!'' with Rick Adams. In April 2000, Cowden starred in a production of Tony McNamara's black comedy play ''The John Wayne Principle'' at the Pleasance Theatre. She was a voice actress on the children's show '' The Koala Brothers''. Cowden returned to ''Neighbours'' in 2020. Cowden also reprised the role again in 2023 after the series was picked up by Amazon Freevee. On 29 October 2024, Cowden confirmed her exit from the show, Cowden said that she knew of her character's departure in December just days after co-star

Ryan Moloney Ryan Moloney (born 24 November 1979) is an Australian actor, known for his portrayal of the fictional character Jarrod "Toadfish" Rebecchi in the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'' from 1995 until his departure in 2025. Career Moloney's first ...

found out about his contract ending, Moloney had announced his exit from the show in June 2024. Cowden also confirmed the decision to leave the show was not hers as the contracts for cast came up all at once. Cowden revealed that when she was filming her final scene she had broken her nose after falling on set.

Personal life

Cowden was married to comedian David Cotter. They married in Sydney in April 1990. Cotter appeared in a 1990 episode of ''Neighbours'' as Dr Barclay, but his and Cowden's characters did not interact.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* 1965 births Australian soap opera actresses Living people 20th-century Australian actresses 21st-century Australian actresses Australian television actresses Australian television presenters Australian voice actresses {{Australia-tv-actor-stub