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Virginia Gay

Virginia Gay (born 16 September 1981) is an Australian actress, writer, and director, mostly known for her work on the Australian TV dramas Winners & Losers (as Frances James) and All Saints (as Gabrielle Jaeger).

Education

Born in Sydney, Gay attended Summer Hill Public School and Newtown High School of the Performing Arts in Sydney as a drama and music student. She studied English literature and performance studies at Sydney University and was a member of the Sydney University Dramatic Society from 2001 to 2003. She left Sydney University and enrolled at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), at Edith Cowan University, Perth, where she graduated in 2005 with an Advanced Diploma of Performing Arts. She won the Coles Myer Institute Vocational Student of the Year award and the prestigious Sangora Education Foundation Award for Vocational Education and Training.

Career

While still at WAAPA, Gay unsuccessfully auditioned for the role of Ricky on All Saints. However, she impressed the directors so much that after graduation in 2006, she was called in to audition for the role of Gabrielle Jaeger. She appeared in the final four seasons of the show, between 2006 and 2009.

In 2008, she appeared with Ian Moss (of Cold Chisel fame) as her professional partner on the reality series It Takes Two, and the pair came third. Gay and Moss made It Takes Two history, scoring a 10 from judge Ross Wilson in their first performance on the show.

In October 2008, Gay was part of the cast in a concert performance of the musical Breast Wishes in support of breast cancer.

In February/March 2009, when Shane Jenek (Courtney Act) injured his leg in a skiing accident, Gay was asked to replace Jenek in the production Gentlemen Prefer Blokes for the Mardi Gras festival.

From March 2011 on, Gay portrayed Frances James in the TV series Winners & Losers on the Seven Network.

From 2011 to 2016, Gay made several appearances as a guest panelist on the ABC's First Tuesday Book Club, hosted by Jennifer Byrne.

During August 2012, Gay performed her cabaret show Dirty Pretty Songs at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in The Famous Spiegeltent.

In 2016, Gay played the title character in Hayes Theatre Co's production of Calamity Jane. It was directed by Richard Carroll, with musical director Nigel Ubrihien, choreographer Cameron Mitchell, and producer Michelle Guthrie. The show ran from August 3 to 7. This was Calamity Janes professional debut in Australia, although the play has a long production history via Australian amateur troupes. Virginia Gay reprised the title role in a full production of Calamity Jane which played at the Hayes Theatre from 8 March - 1 April 2017 and later at the Belvoir Theatre, Sydney. It then toured to many venues in south-eastern Australia, including Melbourne and Canberra in 2018.

In 2022, Virginia Gay wrote and performed in the play, Cyrano for the Melbourne Theatre Company. The play is a gender-flipped, modern re-imagining of Cyrano de Bergerac written in 1897 by Edmond Rostand.

In 2022, Gay joined the filming for the SBS drama Safe Home and was a part of the ABC drama Savage River as the character of Rachel Kennedy.

In May 2023, it was announced that Gay would participate in the twentieth series of Dancing with the Stars and was paired with Ian Waite. In the same year, she appeared on the fifth season of Thank God You're Here. In June 2023 Gay was announced as the Artistic Director of the 2024 season of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Gay was later announced to return as the 2025 Artistic Director of the Cabaret Festival.

Personal life

In June 2008, Gay was the victim of a violent assault by two men in the suburb of Marrickville in Sydney. The men then went on to murder chef Daniel Owen.

Charity work

In May 2009, Gay was the national ambassador for Cystic Fibrosis Australia's annual awareness and fundraising campaign 65 Roses Day. Gay also attends the Good Friday Appeal held in Melbourne every year to support the Royal Children's Hospital.