Peta Toppano

Peita Margaret Toppano (born 1952) known as Peta Toppano is a British-born Australian actress, singer and dancer. She is most widely known for her roles in The Young Doctors as Dr. Gail Henderson, Prisoner, as Karen Travers, Return to Eden as Jilly Stewart, and in Home and Away as Helen Poulos.

Toppano was married to Prisoner co-star Barry Quin who portrayed Dr. Greg Miller and subsequently TV executive and billionaire business mogul Kerry Stokes.

Early life
Toppano was born in Finsbury Park, London, England in 1952. and grew up in Cammeray, New South Wales. The daughter of Enzo Toppano, a child performer and musician of Italian descent and Margaret Joan "Peggy" (nee Mortimer) (1927-2003), a vaudevillian, singer, dancer and actress, who also excelled as a composer and lyricist. she has two younger brothers: Lorenzo and Dean. At 16 she won a ballet scholarship to study in Cannes, Southern France. She returned to Australia to study drama at the Ensemble Theatre under director Hayes Gordon.

Television and film
Toppano's television credits include "Lena" in Piccolo Mondo for SBS, in Prisoner, as original character Karen Travers (a role created for her by producer/writer Reg Watson); in All the Rivers Run, as Eunice Pyke; and in Fields of Fire, as Gina Agostini. Other appearances include Heartbreak High as Stella on Network Ten and in Bordertown for ABC Television as Diomira.

She also appeared in A Country Practice, G.P., E Street and Flying Doctors. She played Kate in the ABC miniseries The Paper Man with Oliver Tobias, John Bach and Rebecca Gilling (her co-star from Return To Eden), and starred with John Waters and Cybill Shepherd in the 1991 miniseries Which Way Home. Toppano played a recast Jilly Stewart in Return to Eden and starred in Home and Away as Helen Poulas.

Film credits include Seeing Red, Harbour Beat and Echoes of Paradise, directed by Phillip Noyce. Toppano was nominated for an AFI Award for her work in Street Hero, directed by Michael Pattinson with Vince Colosimo. Other nominations include The Sydney Theatre Critic's Award for her performance in 'Danny and the Deep Blue Sea'. Toppano received two Logie nominations for her work in 'Fields of Fire' as Gina Agostini, and Uke in' Water Under the Bridge'.

Stage (drama and musicals)
Toppano she played Juanita in Sue Woolf's multi-award-winning novel Leaning Towards Infinity in 1997, adapted for stage at the Ensemble theatre.

While living in Perth, Toppano played "Coral" and later "Gwen" in Michael Gow's Away, "Ruth" in Louis Nowra's Così for the Black Swan Theatre Company and Blood Moon for Theatre West.

She starred in a one-woman play written by Heather Nimmo, directed by Leith Taylor called One Small Step. Toppano played "Countess De Lage" in The Women by Clare Boothe Luce with students from Theatre Nepean, directed by Mary-Ann Gifford.

She played "Beth" in Merrily We Roll Along for the Sydney Theatre Company.

Toppano played "Fantine" in Les Misérables for the Cameron Mackintosh organisation in Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane, "Diana Morales" in A Chorus Line for two years in Sydney and Melbourne. She played "Sonia" in They're Playing Our Song in the UK, and celebrated her 21st birthday in Godspell.

She played "Claudia" in the musical Nine, Eliza Doolittle (with Stuart Wagstaff) in My Fair Lady, "Monica" in I Love My Wife, "Roberta" in Danny and the Deep Blue Sea and "Leonarda" in Love and Magic in Mama's Kitchen at the Belvoir St Theatre directed by Teresa Crea.