26 Facts About Debra Lawrance

Debra Lawrance was born on 1 January 1957 and is an Australian actress.

Debra Lawrance is best known for her role on Home and Away, as Pippa Ross, which she played from 1990 to 1998 and in a number of subsequent return appearances, the most recent being in 2009.

Debra Lawrance was born in Melbourne, Victoria and was the second youngest of six children.

In 1975 Debra Lawrance started studying a Bachelor of Dramatic Art at NIDA, alongside such alumni as Mel Gibson, Steve Bisley, Judy Davis, Sally McKenzie and Robert Menzies.

Debra Lawrance has appeared in a number of roles including The Sullivans as Prue Waterman, in Skyways as Sheila Turner, A Country Practice as Kerry Burgess, Bellamy as Lisa and Sons and Daughters as Lisa Cook.

Debra Lawrance had a more permanent role in Prisoner from 1985 to 1986 as Daphne Graham, after having had minor roles including as a Nurse and Trainee Prisoner Officer Sally Dean much earlier in the series.

Debra Lawrance featured in miniseries The Last Outlaw, a series about Ned Kelly, and feature films Next of Kin and Fluteman and Silver City.

Debra Lawrance's big break was a lead role in The Fast Lane, a widely successful ABC comedy.

Debra Lawrance's success led to her appearance in the film Evil Angels starring Meryl Streep.

In July 1990 Debra Lawrance was cast in Home and Away, taking over the role of Pippa Fletcher from Vanessa Downing.

Debra Lawrance left the main cast in 1998, but has made returning guest appearances over the years, the last being in 2009.

In 2023 Debra Lawrance gave an extensive interview with Talking Prisoner, where she revealed that she was still close friends with many of the cast.

Debra Lawrance subsequently starred in Blue Heelers, in the recurring role of Reverend Grace Curtis, Tom Croydon's ill-fated wife from 2001 to 2004.

From 2013 to 2016, Debra Lawrance played Rose, the mother of the protagonist Josh Thomas, in the comedy drama Please Like Me, appearing in all four seasons of the show, during which her character dealt with divorce and mental illness.

Debra Lawrance won an AACTA Award for Best Performance in a Television Comedy at the 4th AACTA Awards in 2015 for her part in a two-hander episode in the show's second season.

In 2018, Debra Lawrance read Charlotte Voake's Ginger in Play School Story Time on ABC Kids.

Debra Lawrance briefly joined the cast of Neighbours in 2018 as Liz Conway, the sister of Susan Kennedy.

In early 2023, it was revealed Debra Lawrance had joined the cast of a new crime drama on the Nine Network called Human Error.

In June 2024, Debra Lawrance was named as part of the cast for the second season of the Stan series Scrublands.

In 2017, Debra Lawrance appeared as a celebrity contestant on Hell's Kitchen Australia.

Debra Lawrance won the series, winning $50,000 for her nominated charity Ovarian Cancer Australia.

From 2 April 2023, Debra Lawrance appeared as a contestant in the ninth season of I'm a Celebrity.

In 2005, Debra Lawrance began teaching communication skills for NIDA's Corporate Performance Program.

Debra Lawrance's clients include Monash University, Melbourne Business School, NSW RTA and various corporate businesses.

Debra Lawrance met her husband Dennis Coard when he was cast as Pippa's second husband on Home and Away as Michael Ross.

Debra Lawrance experienced four miscarriages before their son William was born.