Claire Chitham (born 12 July 1978, in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

) is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

television actress. Claire rose to fame as

Waverley Harrison Waverley may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Waverley'' (novel), by Sir Walter Scott ** ''Waverley'' Overture, a work by Hector Berlioz inspired by Scott's novel * Waverley Harrison, a character in the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Stre ...

(née Wilson) in the New Zealand TV show ''

Shortland Street ''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital, first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992. It is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, being broadcast continuously ...

'', from 1994–1995 and 1997–2005 and Aurora Bay in '' Outrageous Fortune'' from 2006–2007.

Career

Her first television role was a guest appearance in The New Adventures of Black Beauty (1990). A recurring guest role in ''

'' followed, which went on to become core cast, with Chitham starring in the show for seven years as Waverly Wilson (later Harrison). Chitham next appeared as Aurora Bay, in the second and third seasons of Outrageous Fortune - New Zealand's highest rating drama. Aurora was the longtime love interest of Van West (

Antony Starr Antony Starr (born 25 October 1975) is a New Zealand actor, known for his television roles. He played the dual roles of Jethro and Van West on '' Outrageous Fortune'' (2005–10), Lucas Hood on ''Banshee'' (2013–16), and Homelander on '' The Bo ...

) - her character died tragically, after being hit by a bus while trying to hide her ex-boyfriend Tyson's (

Ben Barrington Ben Barrington is a New Zealand actor, is best known for his roles, "Dr. Drew McCaskill" in ''Shortland Street'' and Olaf Johnson in The Almighty Johnsons. Personal life Barrington married his partner, makeup artist Kristie Fergus, in Marc ...

) stash of drugs. On 22 August 2007, she began appearing as Chantelle Rebecchi in the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours''. In 2008 Chitham appeared in Episode 1 of the Australian television series '' Canal Road''. Her character, Kristen, plays the wife of core cast member Det Snr Const Ray Driscoll (played by

Grant Bowler Grant Bowler (born 18 July 1968) is a New Zealand-Australian actor and television presenter who has worked in American, Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian film, television, and theatre. He is known for playing the role of Constable Wayne ...

, who also played Wolf, her father in-law-to-be in ''Outrageous Fortune''). In 2009 Chitham guest starred in the TV series ''

Legend of the Seeker ''Legend of the Seeker'' is an American television series created by Sam Raimi, based on the fantasy novel series ''The Sword of Truth'' by Terry Goodkind. Distributed in U.S. by Disney-ABC Domestic Television, ABC Studios produced the series f ...

'' in the episode 'Mirror' (season 1, episode 18). She also featured in Muller Yoghurt advertisements screened in

and the UK and guest starred as herself in the New Zealand comedy series '' The Jaquie Brown Diaries''. Claire appeared as Angela Phillips in Australian feature film '' The Cup'' in 2011. Based on the true story of the 2002 Melbourne Cup race, The Cup was directed by

Simon Wincer Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

and starring

Brendan Gleeson Brendan Gleeson (born 29 March 1955) is an Irish actor and film director. He is the recipient of three IFTA Awards, two British Independent Film Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award and has been nominated twice for a BAFTA Award and four times fo ...

. Having studied in New York and Los Angeles, Chitham has also appeared in a number of stage productions, including '' Rabbit'', by

Nina Raine Nina Raine is an English theatre director and playwright, the only daughter of Craig Raine and Ann Pasternak Slater, and a grand niece of the Russian novelist Boris Pasternak. She graduated from Christ Church, Oxford in 1998 with a First in Eng ...

; ''

The Real Thing The Real Thing or Real Thing may refer to: Film and television * The Real Thing (film), ''The Real Thing'' (film) or ''Livers Ain't Cheap'', a 1996 American film * ''The Real Thing'', a 1980 television documentary by James Burke (science historian) ...

'', by

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

; and '' The Only Child'', by

Simon Stone Simon Stone (born 19 August 1984) is an Australian film and theatre director, writer and actor. Early life Stone is Australian, but was born in Basel and grew up in Cambridge and Melbourne. His father, Stuart Stone, was a biochemist and his mot ...

Filmography

Television

Film

Personal life

In early 2006, Chitham married New Zealand musician, TV personality and radio DJ Mikey 'Havoc' Roberts. It was reported in early 2009 that they had separated. They are now divorced. Chitham remained in their West Auckland marital home following the split.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chitham, Claire 1978 births New Zealand television actresses Living people New Zealand soap opera actresses 20th-century New Zealand actresses 21st-century New Zealand actresses