Petra Yared

Yared was born in Melbourne to Rick and Shelley, having an older sister, Sara, and younger brother, Nicholas. Yared is of Lebanese descent. At nine, she took part in acting workshops at the National Theatre in Melbourne, going on to audition and gain small television roles. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of Melbourne, specialising in the history of the Middle East.

She began her career in children's television series including Sky Trackers and The Genie From Down Under 2.

With a major role as Jo Tiegan, in the Australian-New Zealand television production Mirror, Mirror, she won the Australian Film Institute award for Best New Talent.{{citation needed|date=April 2013}}

In 1996, she appeared in Neighbours as Georgia ("George") Brown. She returned to the soap in late 2007 in the recurring role of Mia Silvani.

Yared also had significant roles in series including Blue Heelers and The Secret Life of Us, and guest roles on All Saints (2008), City Homicide (2010), Rescue (2011) and Crownies (2011).

From 2002 to 2005, she was a main cast member on MDA, playing a friendly receptionist who was of the Baháʼí Faith. She plays FOCA analyst Joanne Peters, in Underbelly, episode "Badness".{{Cite web|title=Australian Television: Underbelly - Badness: episode guide|url=http://www.australiantelevision.net/underbelly/series5/05.html|access-date=2021-03-15|website=www.australiantelevision.net}}

Appearances in films include The Real Macaw and Journey to the Center of the Earth (1999).

She appeared in the Melbourne Theatre Company's stage production of Pride and Prejudice in Melbourne in 1999.{{Cite web|title=The Petra Yared Website|url=https://www.petrayared.com/resume.html|access-date=2021-03-15|website=www.petrayared.com}}

On being an actress, she says "I never know what type of role will appeal to me until I read the script, and then it's usually an instinctive response. I sometimes just 'get' the character immediately and I know how I want to play her". Being an actress, she says, allows her to explore different worlds, "whether it's trying to understand the psychology of someone suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or researching a different religion or learning how to fire a gun."{{Cite web|date=2012-08-28|title=Arab creatives tell of global success|url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/arab-creatives-tell-of-global-success-1.479578|access-date=2021-03-15|website=The National|language=en}}

Yared is married to actor and playwright Travis Cotton. The couple have two children, Theodore (born 2011) and Vivien (born 2013). They live in Melbourne.{{cite web |url=http://www.petrayared.com/biography.html |title=The Petra Yared Website |accessdate=2014-03-11 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140311151503/http://www.petrayared.com/biography.html |archivedate=11 March 2014 |df=dmy-all }}

• Australian Film Institute Young Actor Award 1996, for Mirror, Mirror{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Past Winners 1990-1999|url=http://www.aacta.org/winners-nominees/1990-1999/1996.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515114742/http://www.aacta.org/winners-nominees/1990-1999/1996.aspx|archive-date=2012-05-15|access-date=|website=Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA)}}

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.petrayared.com Petra Yared website]
• {{IMDb name|0418664}}

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Category:1979 births

Category:Australian people of Lebanese descent

Category:Australian television actresses

Category:Australian film actresses

Category:Australian stage actresses

Category:Living people

Category:Actresses from Melbourne

Category:Australian child actresses