Rebecca Gilling (born 3 November 1953) is an Australian former actress, and environmentalist, known for her roles in TV, soap operas and serials, most notably The Young Doctors and Return to Eden.
Early life Gilling was born in 1953 in Castlecrag, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. Of British descent, she is from a family that were heavily involved in politics. Her mother was prominent feminist Bridget Gilling, who was also a social worker. Her father was WWI navy servicemen Douglas Chambers. Her grandmother was notable suffragist Cicely Corbett Fisher. Whilst her great-grandparents were politicians for the Liberal Party (UK), her great-grandfather was Charles Corbett, who was married to suffragist Marie Corbett. Her great-aunt was suffragist, liberal and feminist Dame Margery Corbet Ashby.
Career Gilling made her theatre debut in 1972. She subsequently made her film debut in the 1974 outlaw biker Ozploitation classic Stone. She came to prominence the same year, in the Number 96 film (based on the series of the same name), as 'bad girl' flight attendant Diana Moore, even though she was not a member of the regular TV series cast. Her next acting role was in the Brian Trenchard-Smith action film The Man from Hong Kong (1975), which was released in the U.S. as The Dragon Flies.
Gilling went on to act in several television series. She played a regular role in Glenview High (1978–1979) as Robbie Dean and then appeared in The Young Doctors (1979–1981) as Liz Kennedy. Gilling later achieved international recognition in both the miniseries (1983) and subsequent series (1986) of Return to Eden, as protagonist Stephanie Harper.
She had smaller guest roles in the film The Naked Country (1985), TV series City West (1984), TV movies The Blue Lightning (1986), A Dangerous Life (1988) and Danger Down Under (1988), and miniseries The Paper Man (1990).
During the 1990s, she made a guest appearance on medical drama G.P. and was a presenter on the Nine Network lifestyle series Our House.
Gilling has been with the Australian not-for-profit environmental organisation, Planet Ark for over 20 years, and is a spokesperson for National Tree Day. She was appointed CEO of Planet Ark in 2022. Additionally, she has a Masters of Sustainability from Macquarie University and has studied horticulture.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Type1974 Number 96 Diana Moore Feature film Stone Vanessa Feature film 1975 The Man from Hong Kong Angelica Feature film 1985 The Naked Country Mary Dillon Feature film 1987 Feathers Fran Film short 1990 Heaven Tonight Annie Dysart Feature film 1994 The Raid Narrator (voice) Film documentary 2009 Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! Herself Feature film documentary
Television Year Title Role Type 1974 Silent Number Futility Cragg 1 episode 1975 Armchair Cinema Secretary 1 episode1976 Chopper Squad Georgia Batie Pilot Secret Doors TV movie 1978 Cop Shop Carla Moore 2 episodes 1978-1979 Glenview High Robbie Dean 39 episodes 1979–1981 The Young Doctors Liz Kennedy 42 episodes 1981 Holiday Island Trish McKenzie Pilot series, 2 episodes 1982 A Country Practice Robin Nichols 2 episodes 1983 Return to Eden Stephanie Harper / Tara Welles Miniseries, 3 episodes1984 City West Jean Cheney 7 episodes Carson's Law Debra Grayson 1 episode 1985 Special Squad 1 episode Five Mile Creek Miss Armstrong 1 episode1986 Return to Eden Stephanie Harper 22 episodes The Blue Lightning Kate McQueen TV movie 1987 Danger Down Under (aka Harris Down Under) Sharon Harris TV movie 1988 A Dangerous Life Angie Fox Miniseries, 2 episodes 1989 The Saint: Fear in Fun Park Aileen TV movie 1990 The Paper Man Virginia Morgan Mniseries 1993 G.P. Jenna Clarke 1 episode 1997 Mystique of the Pearl Narrator (voice) TV documentary 2002 The Dragon Chronicles Voice Animated series
Theatre YearTitleRoleType 1972 The Star and the Branch BOAMA, Speech and Drama Studio, Sydney 1974 The Little Prince Geographer Mechthild Harkness Speech and Drama Workshop, Sydney 1982 What the Butler Saw Marian St Theatre, Sydney 1994–1995 False Accusations 1995 The Mudlarks
References and footnotes