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Pia Whitesell (née Loyola Blanco, previously Miller; born 2 November 1983) is an Australian model, actress and television presenter. Whitesell came to prominence after winning '' Dolly's'' annual modelling competition. She later competed in the second series of '' Search for a Supermodel''. Whitesell has appeared in various advertising campaigns for brands such as
Myer Myer (stylised MYER) is an Australian mid-range to upscale department store. It trades in all Australian states and one of Australia's two self-governing territories. Myer retails a broad range of products across women's, men's, and child ...
and
Mossimo Mossimo was a sportswear and accessories company, founded in 1986 by designer Mossimo Giannulli that was acquired by Iconix Brand Group in 2006. Mossimo specialized in youth and teenage clothing such as shirts, jeans, jackets, socks, underwear, ...
. She became the co-host of
Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...
' in-flight entertainment programs in 2010 and was named the first Australian celebrity tourism ambassador for Chile in 2014. After taking acting lessons and presentation classes at the
National Institute of Dramatic Art The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, it offers bachelor's, master's and vocational degrees in subjects including acting ...
in 2009, Whitesell became a presenter on the travel show '' Postcards Victoria'' and made guest appearances in several television shows, including ''
East West 101 ''East West 101'' is an Australian drama series airing on the SBS network. The series was produced and created by Steven Knapman and Kris Wyld, the team behind other drama series such as '' Wildside'' and ''White Collar Blue''. It ran for thr ...
'' 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 ...
''. From 2015 until 2018, Whitesell portrayed Kat Chapman in the Australian soap opera ''
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 ...
''. She received a nomination for the
Logie Award for Best New Talent The Silver Logie for Most Popular New Talent, also known as the Graham Kennedy Award for Most Popular New Talent, is an award presented at the Australian TV Week Logie Awards. The award recognises the popularity of a new talent in an Australian p ...
. After leaving ''Home and Away'', Whitesell starred in
Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...
's '' Bite Club''.


Early life

Pia Loyola Blanco was born on 2 November 1983 in
Viña del Mar Viña del Mar (; meaning "Vineyard of the Sea") is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune on Zona Central, Chile, central Chile's Pacific coast. Often referred to as ("The Garden City"), Viña del Mar is located withi ...
, to former fashion designer Angélica Blanco. She left Chile for Australia when she was four years old, along with her mother, brother and sister. Her grandmother later joined the family. When she was seven, Whitesell’s mother enrolled her in a modelling school.


Career


Modelling

In 1998, when she was fourteen, Whitesell won a modelling competition run by teen magazine '' Dolly'' and was given a contract with Chadwick Models. By the time she was sixteen, Whitesell had travelled around the world for catwalk shows. She finished secondary school by correspondence. Whitesell appeared on the second series of '' Search for a Supermodel'' in 2001. After ''Search for a Supermodel'', Whitesell secured a contract with
L'Oréal L'Oréal S.A. () is a French multinational personal care corporation registered in Paris
to appear in a 2003 campaign. Whitesell has featured in advertising campaigns for
Myer Myer (stylised MYER) is an Australian mid-range to upscale department store. It trades in all Australian states and one of Australia's two self-governing territories. Myer retails a broad range of products across women's, men's, and child ...
,
Mossimo Mossimo was a sportswear and accessories company, founded in 1986 by designer Mossimo Giannulli that was acquired by Iconix Brand Group in 2006. Mossimo specialized in youth and teenage clothing such as shirts, jeans, jackets, socks, underwear, ...
, Midas, Australian Unity,
Crown Casino Crown Melbourne (also referred to as Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex) is an integrated resort consisting of a casino and hotel located on the south bank of the Yarra River, in Melbourne, Australia. Crown Melbourne is a subsidiary of C ...
and Jump. She has also been cast in various television commercials and endorsed brands such as
Samsung Samsung Group (; stylised as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in the Samsung Town office complex in Seoul. The group consists of numerous a ...
and
Cadbury Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company owned by Mondelez International (spun off from Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second-largest confectionery brand in the world, after Mars. ...
. In 2009, Whitesell's image was featured on a T-shirt by designer Nick Bowes for the fashion label KRMA. Actors
Adrian Grenier Adrian Sean Grenier (born July 10, 1976) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Vincent Chase in the television series '' Entourage'' (2004–2011). He has appeared in films such as '' Drive Me Crazy'' (1999), '' The Devil ...
and
John Stamos John Phillip Stamos ( ; born August 19, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He first gained recognition for his contract role as Blackie Parrish on the ABC television soap opera ''General Hospital'', for which he was nominated for the ...
were later spotted wearing the T-shirt. Both Whitesell and Bowes was surprised by the attention it got, saying "When he asked if he could use the headshot, I thought nothing of it. The success of the T-shirt has caught both of us by surprise. I am really flattered and humbled by it." The following year, Whitesell was named the official ambassador for the
2010 Australian Grand Prix The 2010 Australian Grand Prix (formally the 2010 Formula 1 Qantas Australian Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 28 March 2010 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was the second round of the 201 ...
. In July, Whitesell replaced Deborah Hutton as the co-host of
Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...
' in-flight entertainment programs. She became the face of
Megan Gale Megan Kate Gale (born 7 August 1975) is an Australian model and actress. Born in Perth, Western Australia, Gale won a model contest when she was 18 in her home town. In 1999 she was cast in a series of commercials for the Italian branch of telec ...
's swimwear line for Summer 2012/2013. In 2014, Whitesell became the first Australian celebrity tourism ambassador for Chile. She also became a brand ambassador for the
Mazda CX-5 The Mazda CX-5 is a compact crossover SUV produced by Mazda since 2012. A successor to both the Tribute and the slightly larger CX-7, it is Mazda's first model to feature the "Kodo" design language and the first model to be fully developed wi ...
in January 2015. Later that year, Whitesell starred in a video for
Maybelline Maybelline New York (formerly The Maybelline Company and Mabelline and Co.), trading as and commonly known as simply Maybelline ( ), is an American multinational cosmetics, skin care, perfume, and personal care company, based in New York City. ...
promoting their new mascara and eyeliner products. In 2017, Whitesell became the first Australian ambassador for the Gillette Venus brand. The following year, she was named as the official ambassador for Melbourne Fashion Week. She also modelled for Caltrate vitamins.


Acting and presenting

In 2009, Whitesell began taking acting lessons, and attended voice and presentation classes at the
National Institute of Dramatic Art The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, it offers bachelor's, master's and vocational degrees in subjects including acting ...
(NIDA). The following year, she became a presenter on
Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...
's travel show '' Postcards Victoria''. She left the show in 2012. Whitesell made several appearances on the
Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's Paramount Networks UK & Australia, UK & Australia division and is o ...
talk show '' The Circle'' discussing red carpet fashions. In 2011, Whitesell appeared in the romantic comedy film ''Big Mamma's Boy'' and television crime drama ''
East West 101 ''East West 101'' is an Australian drama series airing on the SBS network. The series was produced and created by Steven Knapman and Kris Wyld, the team behind other drama series such as '' Wildside'' and ''White Collar Blue''. It ran for thr ...
''. The following year, she was cast in ''
Conspiracy 365 ''Conspiracy 365'' is a 12-part Australian television miniseries based on the novels written by Gabrielle Lord. Produced by Circa Media for Family Movie Channel, the series screened from January 2012. It also began screening on ABC3 in Januar ...
'' and guest starred as
Monica Wetherby ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera. It was first broadcast on 18 March 1985 and currently airs on digital channel Eleven. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the soap in 2012, by order of first appeara ...
in an episode of ''
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 ...
''. Whitesell made a guest appearance in '' Wonderland'' in 2013. In August 2014, Whitesell joined the cast of ''
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 ...
'' in the regular role of Katarina "Kat" Chapman. Whitesell began shooting her first scenes two weeks after her audition. She initially commuted to and from Sydney for filming. Kat was introduced as
Summer Bay Summer Bay is the fictional coastal town featured in the Australian soap opera, ''Home and Away'', located in rural coastal New South Wales. Palm Beach, the northernmost beach in Sydney, is used for the show's exterior scenes to depict the B ...
's new policewoman. Whitesell said she was proud to play a strong character and added "I saw the character breakdown and what excited me the most about this character was that she isn't, in any way, sexualised." Whitesell made her first screen appearance as Kat on 5 February 2015. She earned a nomination for Best New Talent at the 2016 Logie Awards. News outlets published photos in August 2017 of the cast filming Kat's funeral. Whitesell confirmed her departure from the show in October 2017. Her final scenes aired during the 2017 season finale broadcast on 18 December. In 2018, Whitesell was cast in the eight-part crime thriller '' Bite Club'' on Nine Network. She plays Kate Summers, a former nurse and best friend of Detective Senior Constable Zoe Rawlings (Ash Ricardo), a shark-attack survivor hunting a serial killer. The series also stars
Todd Lasance Todd James Lasance (born 18 February 1985) is an Australian actor, best recognised for his roles in Australian television including Aden Jefferies on ''Home and Away'', Cam Jackson on '' Rescue: Special Ops'', Ben McMahon on '' Crownies'' and M ...
and
Dominic Monaghan Dominic Bernard Patrick Luke Monaghan (born 8 December 1976) is a British-Irish actor. He is best known for playing Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck in Peter Jackson's film trilogy ''The Lord of the Rings'' (2001–2003), and Charlie Pace on the ...
. In 2019, Whitesell co-starred in the ''
Dora and the Lost City of Gold ''Dora and the Lost City of Gold'' is a 2019 American adventure comedy film directed by James Bobin and written by Nicholas Stoller and Matthew Robinson, from a story conceived by Stoller and Tom Wheeler. Loosely based on the Nick Jr. animated ...
'', the live action film adaptation of ''
Dora the Explorer ''Dora the Explorer'' is an American media franchise centered on an eponymous animated interactive fourth wall children's television series created by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh Valdes, and Eric Weiner, and produced by Nickelodeon Animation ...
'', as Dora's aunt Mami.


Personal life

Whitesell gave birth to her first son, Izzy, when she was nineteen. In 2005, she began a relationship with
AFL AFL may refer to: Education * Angel Foundation for Learning, a Canadian Roman Catholic charity * Ankara Science High School, a high school in Ankara, Turkey, natively referred to as ''Ankara Fen Liesi'' * Assessment for learning Military * ...
footballer
Brad Miller Brad may refer to: * Brad (given name), a masculine given name Places * Brad, Hunedoara, a city in Hunedoara County, Romania * Brad, a village in Berești-Bistrița Commune, Bacău County, Romania * Brad, a village in Filipeni, Bacău, Romania * ...
. She gave birth to their son in October 2006, and they married in 2007. In 2010, Whitesell became an Australian citizen. In October 2015, the couple announced their separation. From November 2017 to April 2019, she was engaged to film producer Tyson Mullane. Pia announced her engagement to businessman
Patrick Whitesell Patrick Whitesell (born February 4, 1965) is an American businessman and executive chairman of Endeavor, an entertainment and media agency. He joined the Endeavor Talent Agency as a partner in February 2001, where he was a member of the company ...
in early November 2020, and the couple married in May 2021.


Filmography


Notes


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitesell, Pia 1983 births Australian female models Australian soap opera actresses Australian people of Chilean descent Chilean emigrants to Australia Living people Models from Sydney People from Viña del Mar Actresses from Sydney