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 soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital, first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992. It is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, being broadcast continuously ...

'' and Miratrix in '' Power Rangers Operation Overdrive''.

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 film '' Power Rangers Operation Overdrive''. In 2009 Vandervis played various television roles, starting in ''

Packed to the Rafters ''Packed to the Rafters'' was 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 ...

'' 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 The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, 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 five main free-to-air television ne ...

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 ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

in the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasma ...

of New Zealand in 1984. She attended

Columba College Columba College ( Irish: Coláiste Choilm) is an integrated Presbyterian school in Roslyn, Dunedin, New Zealand. The roll is made up of pupils of all ages. The majority of pupils are in the girls' secondary, day and boarding school, but ther ...

in the Dunedin suburb of Roslyn, followed by

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

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

Filmography

References

External links

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