Ria Vandervis (born 5 July 1984) is a New Zealand actress. She is most known for her role as Harper Whitley in ''

Shortland Street ''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand Prime time, prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital. The show was first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992 and is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, be ...

'' and Miratrix in ''

Power Rangers Operation Overdrive ''Power Rangers Operation Overdrive'' is the fifteenth season of the television franchise ''Power Rangers''. The season uses footage and other material from the 30th ''Super Sentai'' series ''GoGo Sentai Boukenger'', which celebrates the thirti ...

''.

Career

From 2002 to 2006, Vandervis acted in multiple UNITEC theatre productions and short films. Between 2004 and 2006 Vandervis starred in various short films such as the ''Lovely Creature'', ''A Telling Time'', ''Tough Fortune Cookies'' and ''Billy for Lilly'' as Siren, Julia, Fran and Sarah respectively. In 2007, Vandervis played a supporting role as Cindy Cockburn in the film ''The Devil Dared Me To''. Vandervis also played Miratrix in the TV series ''

''. In 2009 Vandervis played various television roles, starting in ''

Packed to the Rafters ''Packed to the Rafters'' is an Australian family-oriented comedy drama television program which premiered on the Seven Network on Tuesday 26 August 2008 at 8:30 pm. The show continued on Tuesdays in this timeslot for its entire run. The dr ...

'' as Layla Soubrani, ''The Cut'', ''Underbelly'' and '' Rescue: Special Ops''. In 2010, Vandervis played the regular role of Senior Constable Roxanne Perez in the

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 ...

police drama '' Cops L.A.C.'' In 2013, Vandervis played Detective Christie Mills in the TV3 police drama ''Harry''. Later in 2013 Vandervis was cast as Harper Whitley in TV2 New Zealand soap opera ''

''. Vandervis was originally hired under a 6-month recurring contract that was later extended to a regular role. Vandervis originally commuted between Dunedin and Auckland for filming. A fan of the soap named her daughter 'Harper Ria' in honour of Vandervis and her character. Vandervis also has stated that she gets stopped for autographs and photos.

Personal life

Vandervis was born in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

in the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

of New Zealand in 1984. She attended Columba College in the Dunedin suburb of Roslyn, followed by

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

's UNITEC School of Performing & Screen Arts, where she completed a three-year course in acting. Vandervis later moved to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

to pursue more acting roles. She is married to Chris Ashton as of 2012. When cast in the regular role of Harper Whitley, Vandervis struggled with the extension of her contract due to personal relationship issues and considered quitting the show. She also works as a marriage celebrant and helps out in her husband's clothing business. She is the daughter of Lee Vandervis.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Johnson & Laird Agency Talent Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vandervis, Ria 1984 births Living people Actresses from Dunedin People educated at Columba College Unitec Institute of Technology alumni