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Holly Brisley

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Holly Brisley
Brisley at the I, Tonya film premiere in Sydney, Australia on 23 January 2018
Born (1978-01-11) 11 January 1978 (age 46)
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Occupation(s)Actress, television presenter
Years active1991–present
Spouse
Paul Ford
​
(m. 2006)​
Children2

Holly Brisley (born 11 January 1978) is an Australian actress and television presenter. She began her career at the age of 16 on Agro's Cartoon Connection (1994–97) and more recently portrayed Amanda Vale-Baker on Home and Away (2005–09). Her most successful film roles include Garage Days (2001) and The Crop (2004).

Early life

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Brisley was born in Adelaide, South Australia. As Brisley grew up, she excelled at speech and drama and joined the Paradise Performer's Dance Academy, where she participated in classes such as jazz, ballet and tap, and took part in eisteddfods, winning many awards.[citation needed]

Career

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By the age of 13 she was on the books of the Studio Search Agency on the Gold Coast, with her first roles being the Australian telemovies The Flood: Who Will Save Our Children? in 1993 and Official Denial in 1994.

It was not until Brisley began her regular television career in 1994 on the Logie Award–winning children's program Agro's Cartoon Connection that she began to receive recognition. She would later host The Looney Tunes Show in a more adult style, along with World's Craziest Videos and various shows for Foxtel. Holly was ranked 5th (2000) and 29th (2001) in FHM's Australia's 100 Sexiest Women.

Brisley maintained her acting career throughout this period with some of her notable roles being in Garage Days, The Crop and Dynasty: The Making of a Guilty Pleasure.

After various guest appearances and hosting gigs, Brisley was featured in Dancing with the Stars in 2005, and then landed the permanent role of town vixen Amanda Vale on soap opera Home and Away, where she remained for two years. In February 2008, she briefly returned to Home and Away, reprising her role again in July 2009 and leaving in mid-August 2009. Brisley has said she would love to return to Home and Away.

Over the years, she has worked (at one stage or another) for most networks, including Network Ten and Foxtel, but mostly she has worked for the Seven Network and the Nine Network.

In 2008, she voiced the title character in the ABC children's series CJ the DJ which has screened in Australia from late 2009 to early 2010. Brisley played the female lead Tara in the feature film Sinbad and the Minotaur.

In November 2019, she appeared on 7mate in the reincarnation of Fat Pizza, as Pauly's former high school crush, who works in the local pharmacy.

Personal life

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Brisley's family moved from Adelaide to the Gold Coast while she was still very young.

Brisley became engaged to marketing executive Paul Ford in Venice in 2005 and they married on 11 February 2006 in Manly, Sydney. They exchanged vows in the Cardinal Cerretti Memorial Chapel, in the grounds of St Patrick's Seminary overlooking the ocean.

She gave birth to their son, Levi Harper Ford, at the Royal North Shore Private Hospital on 16 July 2009. On 20 July 2012, she gave birth to her second child, a daughter Willow Jade Ford.[1]

Brisley has coeliac disease, and appeared on the cover of "The Australian Coeliac" September 2005 edition.[2]

In July 2010, Brisley climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa for a charity trek, raising $50,000 for the Humpty Dumpty Foundation, a worthy cause that helps sick children. She had a near-death experience having contracted pulmonary edema caused by the high altitude but is in good health now.

Awards and nominations

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On 1 June 2005, she received a Film Award for 'Best Actress – Feature Film' at the New York Film & Video Festival for her portrayal of "Geraldine" in the Australian film The Crop. The film also won 'Best International Feature'.

Filmography

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Film
Year Title Role Notes
1999 Change of Heart Half a Heart Model
2000 Enemies Closer TV Character Secret Agent
2002 Scooby-Doo Training Video Woman
2002 Garage Days Scarlet
2003 The Matrix: Reloaded Woman in Restaurant
2004 The Crop Geraldine
2006 Me or You Psychiatrist Short
2007 Devil's Gateway Samantha Davies
2008 The Fury Scarlet
2014 Tibor - Your Not from Gosford Are Ya Jenny Short
2014 Confessions Kara (voice)
2018 Life of the Party Sandra
2023 Kane Sofia
TBA Enter Sanctum Cynthia Post-production
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1993 The Flood: Who Will Save Our Children? Tonya Smith TV movie
1993 Official Denial Dos TV movie
1995–97 Agro's Cartoon Connection Herself - Reporter Season 7–9
1996–99 TVSN Herself – Presenter Shopping channel
1999 Beastmaster Haisa Season 1, episode 3
2000 Nowhere to Land Jenny TV movie
2000 All Saints Janelle Season 3, episode 10
2000 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony Herself – Reporter 15 September 2000
2000 MusicCountry Prime Herself (unknown episodes)
2000 Under the Hammer Herself (unknown episodes)
2000 Introducing Hang Zhou Herself — Presenter BBC World
2001 Beastmaster Kodo-Woman Season 3, episode 5
2001 The Panel Herself Season 4, episode 30
2001 It's Your Go Herself – Host (unknown episodes)
2002 The Looney Tunes Show Herself – Host Showcase clips
2003 Big Brother Herself - Panelist Season 3 (2 episodes)
2003 White Collar Blue Amber Flood Season 2, episode 5
2003 Pizza Louise Season 3, episodes 2 & 4
2003 Mermaids Young Betty TV movie
2004 Escape with ET Herself – Reporter
2005 Dynasty: The Making of a Guilty Pleasure Heather Locklear TV movie
2005 Dancing with the Stars Herself – Contestant Season 2
2005–09 Home and Away Amanda Vale Season 18-20 (main role)
Season 21–22 (guest role)
2005–06 World's Craziest Videos Herself – Host (unknown episodes)
2006 Get Nicked Herself – Host (unknown episodes)
2006 Good as Gold! Herself – Host (unknown episodes)
2007 The Wright Stuff Herself – Guest Panelist Episode date 29 May 2007
2009 The Spearman Experiment Herself – Contributor (unknown episodes)
2009–10 CJ the DJ Cathleen "CJ" Jones Lead role
2011 Sinbad and the Minotaur Tara TV movie
2019–21 Fat Pizza: Back in Business Louise Season 6–7 (4 episodes)

References

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  1. ^ Holly Brisley Baby Joy! Archived 9 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Australian Coeliac Sep 2005 Archived 16 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine
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Preceded by Dancing with the Stars (Australia) third place contestant
Season 2 (Early 2005 with Mark Hodge) 		Succeeded by
Ian "Dicko" Dickson & Leanne Bampton
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