Vanessa Downing

Last updated

Vanessa Downing
Born (1958-05-05) 5 May 1958 (age 65)
Other namesVanessa Ryan
Alma mater University of Sydney
Occupations
  • Actress (stage, television and film)
  • singer
  • recording artist
  • voice artist
  • lawyer
Years active1977–present
Known for Home and Away as Pippa Fletcher (1988-1990)
SpouseRodney Fischer (Director/writer)

Vanessa Downing (born 5 May 1958) also known as Vanessa Ryan, is an Australian actress and singer, voice artist and lawyer

Contents

Downing was appearing with singing group The Madrigals, an acapella group who were performing at the Sydney Opera House, when she was given the role of matriarch foster mother Pippa Fletcher in Home and Away . [1]

Downing other than her TV and film roles, is also a prominent actor in theatre, who has appeared in numerous productions.

She is also a lawyer with law firm Craddock Murray Neumann, a role she juggles alongside her acting career. [2]

Career

After leaving school, Downing attended the University of Sydney, and attained her master's degree in English Literature. She subsequently trained in drama at the Australian Theatre for Young People.

Her early roles were in theatre starting from 1977, and roles include Three a Penny, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and King Lear . She is a well-known and prominent stage actress and has featured in many productions [3]

Television roles starting from the early 1980s include classic '80s soap opera Sons and Daughters , G.P. , Water Rats , HeadLand ,, All Saints and Packed to the Rafters . She had a role in the Kingswood Country re-boot series Bullpitt! , and has appeared in numerous miniseries and made-for-TV films.

Home and Away

Downing is best known for her regular role as an original cast member of the television soap opera Home and Away playing a role many years her senior as foster mother Pippa Fletcher, replacing Carole Willesee, the wife of newsreader Mike Willesee, at short notice. The casting news hit the headlines at the publicity launch of the soap. The role had been auditioned for by future Neighbours star Jackie Woodburne.

When Downing left the series in 1990, the part was recast, and taken over at short notice by Debra Lawrance who went on to play the character from 1990 to 1998, with subsequent guest appearances. After Lawrance took over the role, the character remarried to Michael Ross (played by Lawrance's husband Dennis Coard) and now known as Pippa Ross, was awarded a fictitious OAM for her services as a foster parent.

Post-Home and Away

Post- Home and Away , Downing has continued to work extensively in theatre, though she has continued to appear on TV. She had guest roles in Water Rats , All Saints , Big Sky , G.P. , A Country Practice , Bullpitt! , Funeral Going, Double Sculls , Melba and Packed to the Rafters .

Downing also studied law, becoming a part-time lawyer in 2006. She specialised in immigration law for many years and worked for a law firm in Sydney. [4]

Vanessa appeared in several shorts during 2020 and 2022, the most recent being Voice Activated. In October 2022, Vanessa was a guest on Ray Meagher's This is Your Life episode [5] where she appeared alongside fellow ”Early Years" cast members Roger Oakley (Tom), Alex Papps (Frank) and Sharyn Hodgson (Carly).

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1985 The Boy Who Had Everything College Girl singerFeature film
1986Funeral GoingPatriciaFilm short
1987 The Everlasting Secret Family Woman JudgeFeature film
1993 The Nostradamus Kid 'General Booth Enters Heaven' Strolling PlayersFeature film
1994 Mary Flora MacKillopFeature film documentary
1998ReflectionsMrs. O'BrienFeature film
2008 Hey Hey It’s Esther Blueburger Music TeacherFeature film
2013 Felony Manny SummerFeature film
2015StationeryPenny WilkinsFilm short
2022The ImmortalLucy (age 50)Film short
2021SharkJack’s MumFilm short
2022Voice ActivatedHazelFilm short

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1980 The Restless Years Georgie (as Vanessa Ryan)TV series, 1 episode
1982 Sons and Daughters Cheryl Ryan (as Vanessa Ryan)TV series, 2 episodes: "1.44", "1.60"
1983 The Disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain Mrs. LoweTV film
1985 I Can't Get Started Check-out GirlTV film
1985 Double Sculls Sister CathyTV film
1987 Melba Evie DoyleTV miniseries, 2 episodes
1988–90 Home and Away Pippa Fletcher TV series, 361 episodes
1990 Motormouth GuestTV series, 1 episode
1990TV Celebrity Dance PartyHerself (as The Madrigirls)TV special
1991 A Country Practice Fiona FarrellTV series, 1 episode: "For the Good Times: Part 1"
1993 Good Morning Australia GuestTV series, 1 episode
1993 The Midday Show GuestTV series, 1 episode
1993 G.P. Pam PrestonTV series, 1 episode: "Close to Her Chest"
1997 Water Rats Margaret HobbsTV series, 1 episode: "The Messenger"
1997 Big Sky Danielle MorganTV series, 1 episode: "The Right Thing"
1997–98 Bullpitt! Muriel JohnstoneTV series
1998, 2002 All Saints Helen Lancaster / Claire HobsonTV series, 3 episodes: "Live Now, Pay Later", "Slings and Arrows"
2006 HeadLand Pamela MartinTV series, 3 episodes: "1.50", "1.51", "1.52"
2006 Where Are They Now? Herself (with Home and Away cast)TV series, 1 episode
2008 Packed to the Rafters ShirleyTV series, 1 episode: "Removing the Block"
2012 Rake JudgeTV series, 1 episode
2014 The Moodys Robin BensonTV series, 1 episode: "Australia Day"
2019 Mr Inbetween LorraineTV series, 1 episode: "I Came from Your Balls?"
2020 Black Comedy TV series, 1 episode
2022 This Is Your Life: Ray Meagher Herself (with Roger Oakley, Alex Papps & Sharyn Hodgson)TV series, 1 episode

Theatre

Source: AusStage

YearProductionDetails
1977Twenty Six Efforts at Pornography1 show (NSW)
1977 The Sunny South 1 show (NSW)
1977 Narrow Road to the Deep North 1 show
1980The Ship’s Whistle1 show (South Australia)
1980 Pericles, Prince of Tyre 1 show (South Australia)
1980Traitors1 show (South Australia)
1980 A Month in the Country 1 show (South Australia)
1980The Ship’s Whistle1 show (South Australia)
1981Upstairs Down at the Bottom of the World1 show (South Australia)
1981Buckleys!1 show (South Australia)
1981Kangaroos in the Top Paddock1 show (South Australia)
1981 As You Like It 2 shows (South Australia)
1981 The Threepenny Opera 1 show
1982Charley’s Opera23 shows (NSW)
1983 Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You 1 show (NSW)
1983 The Actor's Nightmare 1 show (NSW)
1984 Gentlemen Prefer Blondes 4 shows
1984 Key Largo 4 shows
1984 Don's Party 4 shows (Queensland)
1984 Beach Blanket Tempest 7 shows (national tour - QLD, SA, ACT)
1984 Private Lives 2 shows
1985 Steaming 2 shows (NSW, ACT)
1986 Away 1 show (NSW)
1986The Madras House
1986 Measure for Measure 1 show (NSW)
1987 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 4 shows (South Australia)
1988The 16th Australian National Playwrights Conference1 show (NSW)
1989 Ring Round the Moon 1 show (South Australia)
1990 The Increased Difficulty of Concentration 1 show (NSW)
1990 Season’s Greetings 1 show (Queensland)
1992 St James Infirmary Blues 1 show (NSW)
1992 The Heiress 1 show
1993 Daylight Saving 1 show (NSW)
1993Wet and Dry1 show (NSW)
1994Composing Venus1 show (Queensland)
1994Goodworks1 show (NSW)
1995Falling from GraceACT
1995 Three Birds Alighting on a Field 1 show (South Australia)
1995How the Other Half Lives1 show (NSW)
1996Live Stages on Stage1 show (NSW)
1996Good Works2 shows (SA, NSW)
1998Chasing the Drama1 show (NSW)
1991 Macbeth NSW
2000 A Cheery Soul 1 show (NSW)
2001Love Bites1 show (NSW)
2001Morning Sacrifice1 show (NSW)
2002The Lady in the Van1 show (NSW)
2002 Hello, Dolly! 1 show (Victoria)
2003Mother and Child1 show (NSW)
2003Howard Katz1 show (NSW)
2004 Afterplay / The Yalta Game1 show (NSW)
Influence 4 shows (national tour)
2006Bone1 show (NSW)
2007 King Lear 7 shows (NSW)
2008The Busy World is Hushed1 show (NSW)
2009 The Taming of the Shrew 9 shows
2011-12 Faustus 2 shows (NSW)
2012 Pygmalion. 1 show (NSW)
2013 The Glass Menagerie 2 shows (NSW)
2013-14 Much Ado About Nothing 3 shows (NSW)
2013-14 Cyrano de Bergerac 2 shows (NSW)
2018-20Black is the New White8 shows (national tour)
2020Wicked Sisters1 show (NSW)

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References

  1. Oram, James "Home and Away:Behind the Scenes"
  2. "Home and Away flashback! The original cast reunited". 10 May 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  3. "Vanessa Downing". AusStage.
  4. https://craddock.com.au/
  5. "Returning: This is Your Life | TV Tonight".