Paula Duncan | |
|---|---|
| Born | Paula Margaret Duncan 15 September 1952 [1] Cooma, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1971 – present |
| Known for | |
| Spouse(s) | Steve Mason (divorced) |
| Children | 2, including Jessica Orcsik |
| Family | Carmen Duncan (sister) Donald MacDonald (actor, presenter, screenwriter, novelist) (cousin) [2] |
Paula Margaret Duncan AM (born 15 September 1952) [1] is an Australian actor, [3] known for her television roles in Number 96 as Carol Finlayson, The Young Doctors as Lisa Brooks, Cop Shop as Danni Francis and Prisoner as Lorelei Wilkinson.
Duncan was born in Cooma, New South Wales, to publicans Rita and Robert on 15 September 1952. She was the youngest of four children, including brothers Bob and Warren, and sister, fellow actress, Carmen Duncan. When she was a young child, she got to present a posy to the Queen on the 1954 Royal Tour. [1]
Duncan went to boarding school at Santa Sabina College in Sydney’s inner western suburbs, where she first developed her interest in arts and drama, with encouragement from the nuns. She subsequently auditioned for Sydney's National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), but was told she was “too immature”. She was accepted into the school at a later date, but quit after two years. [1]
Duncan has played several leading roles in various television series. Early roles were Carol Finlayson in Number 96 [4] (1974–1975), in which her sister Carmen Duncan had previously been a cast member, followed by Nurse Lisa Brooks in The Young Doctors [5] (1976–1977).
She left The Young Doctors to accept the role of Detective Danni Francis in Cop Shop in 1977 – a part created especially for her [1] – and stayed in the role for the series' entire run until 1984, earning several Logie Awards, including twice winning the Logie Award for Most Popular Actress. [6]
After Cop Shop ended, Duncan played Lorelei Wilkinson in Prisoner [1] in 1986 and the same year, appeared in the drama film Jenny Kissed Me [4] alongside Deborra-Lee Furness. This was followed by the role of Janet Bryant in short-lived soap opera Richmond Hill from 1988, for its entire run. She then appeared in an 8-episode recurring role as Bridget Jackson, mother of Emma Jackson (played by Dannii Minogue) in long-running soap opera Home and Away in 1990. [7] She also had guest roles in Paradise Beach (1993–1994) as Joan Hayden [8] and Breakers (1999) [4] as Karen Fairbarn.
Duncan was featured in a surprise tribute on a 1996 episode of This Is Your Life , in part, organised by her mother, who died the day after it aired. [9]
In 2004, Duncan starred alongside Paul Hogan and Michael Caton postmistress, Yvonne, in buddy comedy feature film Strange Bedfellows . [10] [11]
In 2011, Duncan joined the cast of Neighbours as Carolyn Johnstone, a love interest for Harold Bishop (Ian Smith). [12] She had previously appeared in the show as Amy Medway in 1985. [12] In 2015, Duncan starred as Jenny Krilich in the family drama miniseries Hiding , alongside Stephen Curry, Marcus Graham and James Stewart. [13]
Duncan was the subject of an episode of the thirteenth season of SBS series Who Do You Think You Are? in 2022, retracing her ancestry to the Gold Rush and Australian colonial times. [14] [15]
Other guest credits include Certain Women , Skirts , Mother and Son , [16] Pizza , [17] Always Greener [18] and East of Everything [19] She has also made guest appearances on the NRL Footy Show , on the Nine Network.
Duncan is well known to Australian audiences through her work on television commercials, especially humorous commercials for the Ajax household cleaner Spray N' Wipe, from 1988 to 2010. [20] [21]
She also appeared in a television advertisement for 'Sleep Tight', a treatment for snoring and sleep apnea, together with ex-husband John Orcsik. [22]
Duncan has won eight Logie Awards, [23] seven of which were awarded during the five years she starred in Cop Shop . [6]
In 1997, she was awarded the Executive Woman of the Year for Contribution to the Arts and the Community. [6] In 2003, she was awarded an Order of Australia in the Queen's Birthday Honours, for Outstanding Contribution to the Entertainment Industry and the Australian Community. [24]
Additionally, she was nominated for the Australia Day Award for work with people with disability, and received an Australian Achievement Award for work in the field. [6]
| Year | Work | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Cop Shop | Logie Awards | Most Popular Lead Actress in a Series (Silver Logie) | Won | [25] |
| 1980 | Won | [26] | |||
| 1981 | Most Popular Actress | Won | [26] | ||
| 1982 | Most Popular Female Personality (Victorian Award) | Won | [25] | ||
| 1983 | Won | [25] | |||
| 1984 | Won | [25] | |||
| 1997 | Paula Duncan | National Executive Woman of the Year | Combining Corporate & Community Cultural Performing Arts Sector of Australia | Won | [27] |
| 2000 | Paula Duncan | "Home For Hope" | Project Award for Excellence (Homelessness) | Awarded | [27] |
| 2000 | Paula Duncan | Lifeforce (Suicide Prevention) "This Is Your Life" Event | Most Innovative Project of the Year – Award for Excellence | Awarded | [27] |
| 2003 | Paula Duncan | Women In Crisis | Spirit of Mission Award for Contribution to Wesley Mission | Awarded | [27] |
| 2006 | Paula Duncan | Shine Awards | Service to the Community | Finalist | [27] |
| 2010 | Paula Duncan | National Australia Day Council | Australian of the Year | Nominated | [27] |
| 2012 | Paula Duncan | Telstra Business Awards | Women’s Business Award | Nominated | [27] |
Duncan first met John Orcsik in 1973 on the set of Number 96 , before going on to star together with him in Cop Shop from 1979, where they fell in love. [1] [22] They were married in June 1982, and their characters married on Cop Shop soon after. [28] [22]
When Duncan fell pregnant in real life, the producers wrote it into the script. [28] Their daughter Jessica Orcsik was born on Valentine's Day 1984. [1] Jessica has since followed in her parents' footsteps and is an actor and producer. [29]
Duncan and Orcsik opened acting school, The Australian Film & Television Academy (TAFTA) [30] together on the Gold Coast in 1994.
The couple were married for 19 years, before getting divorced in 1998. After their split, at the age of 43, Duncan, suffering from episodic depression, attempted suicide. [1] The couple are still close friends, and have since worked together in the show Paradise Beach amongst other productions. [22]
Duncan's second husband was Steve Mason. The marriage only lasted four years, after she found out he was having an affair via a newspaper article in which he referred to the 'other woman' as "the love of his life". Her co-stars, Paul Hogan and Michael Caton on Strange Bedfellows , which she had been filming at the time alerted her to the affair. Following the end of her marriage, Duncan had a nervous breakdown. [1]
In 2020, Duncan appeared on the Seven Network’s reality show First Dates , on a bet. [1]
Duncan's older sister was stage and screen actor and activist Carmen Duncan, who died in 2019 after battling cancer for years. Duncan became an ambassador for an organisation called WomenCan, to honour her sister's life. She has worked with numerous charities including the Australian Gynaecological Cancer Foundation and Trilogy Care and helped establish the Carmen Duncan Memorial Fund. As of 2025, she has raised more than $12 million for a number of causes. She organises the New South Wales Volunteer of the Year Awards and volunteers twice a week in aged care facilities. [23]
Duncan's cousin was actor, presenter, screenwriter and novellist and administrator Donald MacDonald (1938-2025), best known as an original presenter on Play School . [2]
Duncan's 1981 Silver Logie, awarded during her tenure on Cop Shop was at the centre of a police investigation, after being stolen from the National Trust in 2006.. It had been on loan to the organisation and was due to be displayed in an exhibition at the Old Melbourne Gaol called 'Cops on the Box', commemorating Australian police dramas. [31]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Casualty Ward | TV film | |
| 1975 | Polly Me Love | TV film | |
| 1978 | Cass | TV film | |
| 1985 | Jenny Kissed Me | Gaynor | Feature film |
| 1987 | Future Past | Miss Bernsteen | TV film |
| 1996 | Academy | Jennifer Haywood | TV film |
| 2004 | Cocktail Hour | Sandra | Film short |
| Strange Bedfellows | Yvonne Philpot | Feature film | |
| 2009 | Braille | Madam | Feature film |
| 2011 | Surprise Surprise | Muriel | Film short |
| 2015 | Natural Injustice | Doreen Smith | Feature film |
| 2017 | Torn | Tess Smith | Film short |
| 2020 | Unsound | Angela | Feature film |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Lux Video Theatre | Kitty | Episode: "So Evil My Love" |
| 1973 | The Pirates of Penzance | Teleplay | |
| 1974 | This Love Affair | Joan | Anthology series, episode 8: 'One of My Silly Dreams' |
| Certain Women | 2 episodes | ||
| 1974–1975; 1977 | Number 96 | Carol Finlayson | Episodes: "1.669", "1.689", "1.700" |
| 1975 | Ain't Got a Barrel of Money | TV pilot | |
| 1977 | The Young Doctors | Lisa Brooks | 121 episodes |
| 1977–1984 | Cop Shop | Det. Danni Francis | 582 episodes |
| 1984 | Matthew and Son | Barbara Dean | TV pilot |
| 1985 | Neighbours | Amy Medway | 4 episodes |
| 1986 | Prisoner | Lorelei Wilkinson | Season 8, 54 episodes |
| Studio 86 | Glenda | Episode: "An Electric Day" | |
| 1988 | Richmond Hill | Janet Bryant | |
| Henry Lawson's Australia | Presenter | Video | |
| 1990 | Home and Away | Bridget Jackson | Season 3, 8 episodes |
| Skirts | Janine Davies | Episode: "Wolf Whistles" | |
| 1992 | Mother and Son | Real Estate agent | Episode: "The Clock" |
| 1993; 1994 | Paradise Beach | Joan Hayden | 2 episodes |
| 1999 | Breakers | Karen Fairbarn | |
| 2000 | Pizza | Lorelei Wilkinson | Episode: "Gambling Pizza" |
| 2002 | Always Greener | Make-up artist | 1 episode |
| 2008 | East of Everything | Pauline | 3 episodes: "No Way to Nirvana", "Save Me Some Scones", "Aesthetic My Arse" |
| 2011 | Neighbours | Carolyn Johnstone | Season 27, 7 episodes |
| 2015 | Hiding | Jenny Krilich | 3 episodes: "1.1", "1.3", "1.8" |
| Year | Title | Role | Type | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Dick Whittington and His Cat | |||
| 1974 | The Lady's Not for Burning | Genesian Theatre, Sydney | [32] | |
| 1983 | Salad Days | |||
| 1985 | Half in Earnest | |||
| 1987 | Hansel And Gretel's Aussie Adventure | |||
| 1987 | Blithe Spirit | Ruth | Sydney Opera House, Glen St Theatre, Sydney with AETT | [33] [34] |
| 1988 | Bedroom Farce | Jan | Twelfth Night Theatre, Brisbane | [35] |
| 1990 | The Lady's Not For Burning | |||
| 1995 | Brazilian Blue | Twelfth Night Theatre, Brisbane | ||
| 1998 | Social Climbers | |||
| 2002 | The Vagina Monologues | |||
| 2007 | Flying Solo | |||
| 2008 | Theatresports |