Petra Yared

 ( 1979 Births ) 

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

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".

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.

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."

• Australian Film Institute Young Actor Award 1996, for Mirror, Mirror

• Petra Yared website