Chelsie Florence Preston Crayford (born 1987) 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 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

actress.

Early life

Preston Crayford was born in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by m ...

to film maker

Gaylene Preston Dame Gaylene Mary Preston (born 1 June 1947) is a New Zealand filmmaker with a particular interest in documentary films. Early life and family Born in Greymouth on 1 June 1947, Preston was educated at Colenso High School (now William Colenso C ...

and musician Jonathan Crayford. Apart from appearing in a water safety commercial at the age of four, her acting debut was at the age of 13 in the New Zealand-made TV series '' A Twist in the Tale'' starring

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship ''Enterpri ...

. Several years later, her performance in a stage production was praised by

Ian McKellen Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. His career spans seven decades, having performed in genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. Regarded as a British cultural ...

, encouraging her to pursue an acting career and enrol in the Toi Whakaari national drama school from 2006 to 2008. She graduated in 2008 with a Bachelor of Performing Arts.

Career

Preston Crayford played a guest role in the soap opera ''

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 ...

'' in 2003, and made her feature film debut in the comedy ''

Eagle vs Shark ''Eagle vs Shark'' is a 2007 New Zealand romantic comedy film written and directed by Taika Waititi (in his directorial debut) and financed by the New Zealand Film Commission. The film had its world premiere at Sundance in the World Cinema Dram ...

'' in 2007. In 2009, she played a major role in the TV series ''

The Cult The Cult are an English rock band formed in 1983 in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead singer Ian Astbury' ...

''. In 2011, she played brothel madam

Tilly Devine Matilda Mary Devine (née Twiss, 8 September 190024 November 1970), known as Tilly Devine, was an English Australian organised crime boss. She was involved in a wide range of activities, including sly-grog, razor gangs, and prostitution, and ...

in the Australian crime drama '' Underbelly: Razor'', a role for which she won the Graham Kennedy Award for Most Outstanding Newcomer at the 2012 Logie Awards. Since then she has appeared in an ABC TV adaptation of '' The Mystery of a Hansom Cab'', in ''Hope and Wire'' (a mini-series produced by her mother about the

2010 Canterbury earthquake The 2010 Canterbury earthquake (also known as the Darfield earthquake) struck the South Island of New Zealand with a moment magnitude of 7.1 at on , and had a maximum perceived intensity of X (''Extreme'') on the Mercalli intensity scale. So ...

), and as government communications advisor Sophie Walsh in the Australian techno-thriller '' The Code''.

References

External links

* 1987 births 21st-century New Zealand actresses AACTA Award winners Living people Logie Award winners New Zealand film actresses New Zealand television actresses People educated at Wellington East Girls' College Toi Whakaari alumni {{NewZealand-tv-actor-stub