Rebecca Gilling | |
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Born | Castlecrag, Sydney, Australia | 3 November 1953
Occupation(s) | Actress, CEO, |
Years active | 1972 [1] -2009 (as actress) |
Notable work |
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Spouse | Tony Pringle (1985-2003) |
Children | 3 |
Mother | Bridget Gilling |
Family |
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Rebecca Gilling (born 3 November 1953) [2] is an Australian former actress, now environmentalist, known for her roles in TV, soap operas and serials, most notably The Young Doctors and Return to Eden .
Gilling was born in 1953 in Castlecrag, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. Of British descent, she is from a family that were heavily involved in politics. Her mother was prominent feminist Bridget Gilling, [3] who was also a social worker. [4] Her father was WWI navy servicemen Douglas Chambers. Her grandmother was notable suffragist Cicely Corbett Fisher. Whilst her great-grandparents were politicians for the Liberal Party (UK), her great-grandfather was Charles Corbett, who was married to suffragist Marie Corbett. Her great-aunt was suffragist, liberal and feminist Dame Margery Corbet Ashby. [4]
Gilling made her theatre debut in 1972. [1] She subsequently made her film debut in the 1974 outlaw biker Ozploitation classic Stone . She came to prominence the same year, in the Number 96 film (based on the series of the same name), as 'bad girl' flight attendant Diana Moore, even though she was not a member of the regular TV series cast. Her next acting role was in the Brian Trenchard-Smith action film The Man from Hong Kong (1975), [5] which was released in the U.S. as The Dragon Flies.
Gilling went on to act in several television series. She played a regular role in Glenview High (1978–1979) as Robbie Dean and then appeared in The Young Doctors (1979–1981) as Liz Kennedy. Gilling later achieved international recognition in both the miniseries (1983) and subsequent series (1986) of Return to Eden , as protagonist Stephanie Harper.
She had smaller guest roles in the film The Naked Country (1985), TV series City West (1984), TV movies The Blue Lightning (1986), A Dangerous Life (1988) and Danger Down Under (1988), and miniseries The Paper Man (1990).
During the 1990s, she made a guest appearance on medical drama G.P. and was a presenter on the Nine Network lifestyle series Our House.
Gilling has been with the Australian not-for-profit environmental organisation, Planet Ark for over 20 years, and is a spokesperson for National Tree Day. She was appointed CEO of Planet Ark in 2022. [6] Additionally, she has a Masters of Sustainability from Macquarie University and has studied horticulture. [7]
Year | Title | Role | Type |
---|---|---|---|
1974 | Number 96 | Diana Moore | Feature film |
Stone | Vanessa | Feature film | |
1975 | The Man from Hong Kong | Angelica | Feature film |
1985 | The Naked Country | Mary Dillon | Feature film |
1987 | Feathers | Fran | Film short |
1990 | Heaven Tonight | Annie Dysart | Feature film |
1994 | The Raid | Narrator (voice) | Film documentary |
2009 | Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! | Herself | Feature film documentary |
Year | Title | Role | Type |
---|---|---|---|
1974 | Silent Number | Futility Cragg | 1 episode |
1975 | Armchair Cinema | Secretary | 1 episode |
1976 | Chopper Squad | Georgia Batie | Pilot |
Secret Doors | TV movie | ||
1978 | Cop Shop | Carla Moore | 2 episodes |
1978-1979 | Glenview High | Robbie Dean | 39 episodes |
1979–1981 | The Young Doctors | Liz Kennedy | 42 episodes |
1981 | Holiday Island | Trish McKenzie | Pilot series, 2 episodes |
1982 | A Country Practice | Robin Nichols | 2 episodes |
1983 | Return to Eden | Stephanie Harper / Tara Welles | Miniseries, 3 episodes |
1984 | City West | Jean Cheney | 7 episodes |
Carson's Law | Debra Grayson | 1 episode | |
1985 | Special Squad | 1 episode | |
Five Mile Creek | Miss Armstrong | 1 episode | |
1986 | Return to Eden | Stephanie Harper | 22 episodes |
The Blue Lightning | Kate McQueen | TV movie | |
1987 | Danger Down Under (aka Harris Down Under) | Sharon Harris | TV movie |
1988 | A Dangerous Life | Angie Fox | Miniseries, 2 episodes |
1989 | The Saint: Fear in Fun Park | Aileen | TV movie |
1990 | The Paper Man | Virginia Morgan | Mniseries |
1993 | G.P. | Jenna Clarke | 1 episode |
1997 | Mystique of the Pearl | Narrator (voice) | TV documentary |
2002 | The Dragon Chronicles | Voice | Animated series |
Year | Title | Role | Type |
---|---|---|---|
1972 | The Star and the Branch | BOAMA, Speech and Drama Studio, Sydney | |
1974 | The Little Prince | Geographer | Mechthild Harkness Speech and Drama Workshop, Sydney |
1982 | What the Butler Saw | Marian St Theatre, Sydney | |
1994–1995 | False Accusations | ||
1995 | The Mudlarks |