Gemma Pranita (born 18 December 1985) is a Thai-born Australian actress. Pranita was encouraged to join the

Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) at Edith Cowan University (ECU) was established in 1980 to provide performing arts tuition. WAAPA (commonly pronounced "whopp-a") operates as a part of ECU, located at the ECU campus in ...

(WAAPA) by her drama teacher, and from 1999 to 2003, she competed at state level in the Shakespeare Globe Association's annual Shakespeare festival. Pranita formed a theatre company called Cry Havoc! with her best friend in 2006. After graduating from WAAPA, Pranita joined the Bell Shakespeare theatre company. She has also had roles in the films, '' Crush'' and ''Resistance''. In September 2010, Pranita joined the cast of Australian soap opera ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...

'' as Jade Mitchell. She departed the serial in August 2012 and reprised the role of Jade on 1 March 2019

Early life

Pranita was born Gemma Pranita Xumsai in 1985 in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

, the daughter of a

Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...

father and an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

mother. When she was twelve years old, Pranita and her family moved to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Pranita took an interest in drama, art and music at her Sydney high school and she became friends with Kate Revz. Pranita's drama teacher encouraged her to apply to the

(WAAPA). Pranita plays the guitar, composes music and she regularly performs in public.

Career

Acting

From 1999 to 2003, Pranita competed at state level in the Shakespeare Globe Association's annual Shakespeare festival. In 2002, she was invited to join the company in their National production of '' Loves Labors Lost'' as a performer and score composer. Pranita and Revz formed Cry Havoc!, a theatre company, together in 2006. After she graduated from WAAPA in 2007, Pranita joined the Bell Shakespeare theatre company and she toured with them for eight months. She also played the lead role in Revz's short film, ''Hi My Name is Billy''. The following year, Pranita joined the cast of thriller film, '' Crush''. The film shot on location in Perth and Pranita played the role of the Nurse. Pranita plays the role of the Spanish Valentina Vega in the Australian Sci-fi film, ''Resistance''. In September 2010, a ''

Herald Sun The ''Herald Sun'' is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the Murdoch owned News Corp. The ''Herald S ...

'' reporter announced Pranita would be joining the cast of ''Neighbours'' as Jade Mitchell, the younger sister of Sonya (played by

Eve Morey Eve Morey (born 4 June 1983) is an Australian actress. Her roles have included Lucy Green in ''Pig's Breakfast'' and Sonya Rebecchi in the soap opera ''Neighbours'', the latter role played from 2009 to 2022. She has also appeared in '' All Saint ...

). Pranita was in Russia researching

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

when her agent called her to audition for ''Neighbours''. The actress returned to Australia and her agent informed her that she could audition on the last day. Pranita won the role and she moved to Melbourne for filming within the week. Pranita initially signed a twelve-month contract with the show. On 8 June 2012, Fiona Byrne of the ''Herald Sun'' reported Pranita would be departing ''Neighbours''. Pranita stated that two years was long enough to play one character and she wanted to challenge herself to do other things. Pranita filmed her final scenes on 9 August. Following her departure from ''Neighbours'', Pranita appeared in the short film ''Banter'' as Emma. She then appeared alongside fellow Australian actresses Teresa Palmer and

Phoebe Tonkin Phoebe Jane Elizabeth Tonkin (born 12 July 1989) is an Australian actress. She is known for portraying Cleo Sertori in '' H2O: Just Add Water'', Fiona Maxwell in ''Tomorrow, When the War Began'', Faye Chamberlain in ''The Secret Circle'', and H ...

in ''

The Ever After ''The Ever After'' is a 2014 American drama film directed by Mark Webber and starring Teresa Palmer, Rosario Dawson, Melissa Leo and Webber. Synopsis Lovers struggle to overcome the everyday temptations of an ordinary human life; what they disco ...

'' directed by Mark Webber. Prainta reprised her ''Neighbours'' role for a brief guest stint in March 2019.

Blog and photography

Pranita started a fashion and travel blog called Gemma Peanut Gallery in 2013. Pranita features posts of herself and friends, including some of Australia's biggest starlets, from Margot Robbie to

Rachael Taylor Rachael May Taylor (born 11 July 1984) is an Australian actress and model. Her first lead role was in the Australian series ''headLand'' (2005–2006). She then made the transition to Hollywood, appearing in films including ''Man-Thing'' (2005 ...

Renee Bargh Renee Bargh (born 18 October 1986) is an Australian entertainment reporter, who is best known as a host of '' Channel Australia''. She is currently the weekend co-host and correspondent for ''Extra'' in the U.S. On 23 January 2020, Bargh bec ...

, Teresa Palmer,

and

Delta Goodrem Delta Lea Goodrem AM (born November 9, 1984) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Goodrem signed to Sony Music at the age of 15. Her debut album, '' Innocent Eyes'' (2003), topped the ARIA Albums Chart for 29 non-consecutive week ...

. Pranita launched an online photography course in September 2016.

Personal life

Pranita dated Australian actor Jai Courtney for eight years before splitting in 2013. Pranita is married to Matthew Rooney. The two were childhood friends, who became engaged after 18 months together. In October 2017, Pranita announced that she was expecting the couple's first child. She gave birth to their daughter on 18 April 2018. On 26 July 2019, Pranita announced on Instagram that she was expecting her second child. On 10 January 2020, she gave birth to a son.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pranita, Gemma 1986 births Living people Australian people of English descent Australian television actresses

Gemma Pranita Gemma Pranita (born 18 December 1985) is a Thai-born Australian actress. Pranita was encouraged to join the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) by her drama teacher, and from 1999 to 2003, she competed at state level in the Sha ...

Thai emigrants to Australia Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts alumni