Paula Margaret Duncan (born 15 September 1952) is an Australian actress.? Her numerous television roles include playing in '' Number 96'' as Carol Finlayson (1974-1975), '' The Young Doctors'' (1976–77), as Nurse Lisa Brooks, '' Cop Shop'' as Detective Danni Francis (1977–83), for which she twice won the

Logie Award for Most Popular Actress The Logie Award for Most Popular Actress is an award presented annually at the Australian TV Week Logie Awards The TV Week Logie Awards (known colloquially as The Logies) is an annual ceremony celebrating and honouring the best shows and s ...

, ''

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 or captivity in a prison or physical restraint. The term usually applies to one serving a Sentence (law), se ...

'' as Lorelei Wilkinson (1986), '' Richmond Hill'' as Janet Bryant (1988), ''

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip to Kangaroo Point, N ...

'' as Bridget Jackson (1990) and ''

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 ...

'' (2011). Other notable roles include '' Paradise Beach'' and '' Breakers''. Duncan's older sister was stage and screen actress and activist Carmen Duncan.

Career

Duncan was born in

Cooma Cooma is a town in the south of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south of the national capital, Canberra, via the Monaro Highway. It is also on the Snowy Mountains Highway, connecting Bega, New South Wales, Bega with the Riverina. ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, to publicans Rita and Robert on 15 September 1952. has played several leading roles in various TV series. Early roles were Carol Finlayson in '' Number 96'' (her sister Carmen Duncan had previously acted in this serial), followed by Lisa Brooks in ''The Young Doctors''. She left '' The Young Doctors'' to take the role of Danni Francis in '' Cop Shop'', and stayed in the role for the series' entire 1977–1984 run. After '' Cop Shop'' ended she played Lorelei Wilkinson in ''Prisoner'' in 1986, then was Janet Bryant in '' Richmond Hill'' (1988) for its entire run, Bridget Jackson in ''Home and Away'', and Joan Hayden in '' Paradise Beach''. In 2011 Duncan joined the cast of ''Neighbours'' as

Carolyn Johnstone ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that was first broadcast on 18 March 1985. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in 2011, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by the shows executi ...

, a love interest for Harold Bishop (

Ian Smith Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 191920 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to 1979. He w ...

). Duncan previously appeared in the show as Amy Medway in 1985.

Advertising

Duncan is well known to Australian audiences through her work on television commercials, especially humorous commercials for the

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

household cleaner ''Spray N' Wipe'', from 1988 to 2010. She has also made guest appearances on the '' NRL Footy Show'' on Network Nine.

Personal life

Duncan married actor John Orcsik in June 1982 after they met acting together in '' Cop Shop''. They opened acting school, The Australian Film & Television Academy (TAFTA) together on the Gold Coast in 1994. They divorced in 1998. They have since worked together in the show '' Paradise Beach'' and elsewhere.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Paula 1952 births Living people 20th-century Australian actresses 21st-century Australian actresses Actresses from New South Wales Australian film actresses Australian soap opera actresses Members of the Order of Australia Logie Award winners People from Cooma