Vanessa Downing

Australian actress

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

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. 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.

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

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.

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, 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. 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 where she appeared alongside fellow ”Early Years" cast members Roger Oakley (Tom), Alex Papps (Frank) and Sharyn Hodgson (Carly).

Year Title Role Notes1985The Boy Who Had EverythingCollege Girl singerFeature film1986Funeral GoingPatricia Film short1987The Everlasting Secret FamilyWoman JudgeFeature film1993The Nostradamus Kid'General Booth Enters Heaven' Strolling PlayersFeature film1994MaryFlora MacKillopFeature film documentary1998ReflectionsMrs. O'BrienFeature film2008Hey Hey It’s Esther BlueburgerMusic TeacherFeature film2013FelonyManny SummerFeature film2015StationeryPenny WilkinsFilm short2022Lucy (age 50)Film short2021SharkJack’s MumFilm short2022Voice ActivatedHazelFilm short

Year Title Role Notes1980The Restless Years Georgie (as Vanessa Ryan)TV series, 1 episode1982Sons and Daughters Cheryl Ryan (as Vanessa Ryan)TV series, 2 episodes: "1.44", "1.60"1983Mrs. LoweTV film1985I Can't Get StartedCheck out GirlTV film1985Double ScullsSister CathyTV film1987MelbaEvie DoyleTV miniseries, 2 episodes1988–90Home and AwayPippa FletcherTV series, 361 episodes 1990Motormouth GuestTV series, 1 episode1990TV Celebrity Dance PartyHerself (as The Madrigirls)TV special1991A Country PracticeFiona FarrellTV series, 1 episode: "For the Good Times: Part 1"1993Good Morning Australia GuestTV series, 1 episode1993The Midday Show GuestTV series, 1 episode1993G. P. Pam PrestonTV series, 1 episode: "Close to Her Chest"1997Water RatsMargaret HobbsTV series, 1 episode: "The Messenger"1997Big SkyDanielle MorganTV series, 1 episode: "The Right Thing"1997–98Bullpitt!Muriel JohnstoneTV series1998, 2002All SaintsHelen Lancaster / Claire HobsonTV series, 3 episodes: "Live Now, Pay Later", "Slings and Arrows"2006HeadLandPamela MartinTV series, 3 episodes: "1.50", "1.51", "1.52"2006Where Are They Now?Herself (with Home and Away cast)TV series, 1 episode2008Packed to the RaftersShirleyTV series, 1 episode: "Removing the Block"2012Rake JudgeTV series, 1 episode2014Robin BensonTV series, 1 episode: "Australia Day"2019Mr InbetweenLorraineTV series, 1 episode: "I Came from Your Balls? "2020 Black ComedyTV series, 1 episode2022This Is Your Life: Ray Meagher Herself (with Roger Oakley, Alex Papps & Sharyn Hodgson)TV series, 1 episode