Debra Lawrance

Memorable character actress Debra Lawrence entertained audiences in her native Australia for decades. Lawrence was born in Melbourne in 1957, the youngest of six children. When she discovered her love of acting, she decided to enroll at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in New South Wales, where she studied alongside future greats like Judy Davis and Mel Gibson. Once she graduated in 1977, Lawrence began racking up experience, acting on episodes of series like "Ride on a Stranger" (ABC, 1979) and "I Can Jump Puddles" (ABC, 1981). Her first big break came in 1983, when she was cast on the series "Prisoner: Cell Block H" (Network Ten, 1979-1986) in 1980, then the period drama "Sons and Daughters" (Seven Network, 1982-87) in 1983. Lawrence's most memorable role would come in 1990, when she joined the cast of the long running drama series "Home and Away" (7 Network, 1988- ) as Pippa Ross. She would even meet her husband Dennis Coard through the role, when he was cast as her character's husband. They married in 1999. Lawrence stuck with "Home and Away" until 2009, when writers felt that fans loved Pippa too much for her character to come to any harm, and instead decided that she was leaving on an extended tour of Australia. In 2013, Lawrence joined the cast of the series "Please Like Me" (Pivot/Hulu, 2013-16).