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Virginia Gay is an Australian actress, writer, and director, mostly known for her work on the Australian TV dramas Winners & Losers (as Frances James) and All Saints (as Gabrielle Jaeger).
She studied English literature and performance studies at Sydney University and was a member of the Sydney University Dramatic Society from 2001 to 2003. She left Sydney University and enrolled at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), at Edith Cowan University, Perth, where she graduated in 2005 with an Advanced Diploma of Performing Arts. She won the Coles Myer Institute Vocational Student of the Year award and the Sangora Education Foundation Award for Vocational Education and Training.
In 2008, she appeared with Ian Moss (of Cold Chisel fame) as her professional partner on the reality series It Takes Two, and the pair came third. "Dirty Pretty Songs" review by Lauren Sherritt, Australian Stage, 22 June 2012 "Virginia Gay plays Frances James", Winners & Losers, Yahoo!7 Gay and Moss made It Takes Two history, scoring a 10 from judge Ross Wilson in their first performance on the show. It takes Two episode guide , tv.com
In October 2008, Gay was part of the cast in a concert performance of the musical Breast Wishes in support of breast cancer. " Breast Wishes: Gala Concert Performance" , Sydney Theatre at Walsh Bay (October 2008. Retrieved 10 July 2009)
In February/March 2009, when Shane Jenek (Courtney Act) injured his leg in a skiing accident, Gay was asked to replace Jenek in the production Gentlemen Prefer Blokes for the Mardi Gras festival.
From March 2011 on, Gay portrayed Frances James in the TV series Winners & Losers on the Seven Network.
From 2011 to 2016, Gay made several appearances as a guest panellist on the ABC's First Tuesday Book Club, hosted by Jennifer Byrne.
During August 2012, Gay performed her cabaret show Dirty Pretty Songs at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in The Famous Spiegeltent.
In 2016, Gay played the title character in Hayes Theatre's production of Calamity Jane. It was directed by Richard Carroll, with musical director Nigel Ubrihien, choreographer Cameron Mitchell, and producer Michelle Guthrie. The show ran from August 3 to 7. This was Calamity Janes professional debut in Australia, although the play has a long production history via Australian amateur troupes. Virginia Gay reprised the title role in a full production of Calamity Jane which played at the Hayes Theatre from 8 March - 1 April 2017 and later at the Belvoir Theatre, Sydney. It then toured to many venues in south-eastern Australia, including Melbourne and Canberra in 2018.
In 2022, Virginia Gay wrote and performed in the play, Cyrano for the Melbourne Theatre Company. The play is a gender-flipped, modern re-imagining of Cyrano de Bergerac written in 1897 by Edmond Rostand.
In 2022, Gay joined the filming for the SBS drama Safe Home and was a part of the ABC drama Savage River as the character of Rachel Kennedy.
In May 2023, it was announced that Gay would participate in the twentieth series of Dancing with the Stars and was paired with Ian Waite. In the same year, she appeared on the fifth season of Thank God You're Here.
In June 2023 Gay was announced as the artistic director of the 2024 season of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Gay was later announced to return as the 2025 Artistic Director of the Cabaret Festival.
| 2005 | Once Upon a Time | Gabriella | Short |
| 2006 | Violet | Woman in toilet | Short |
| 2008 | Winners & Losers | Alison Atkinson | Short |
| 2015 | Palindromes | Narrator (voice) | Short |
| 2017 | Mrs McCutcheon | Mrs. Clutterbuck | Short |
| Naked Strangers | DJ Benny J (voice) | ||
| 2018 | Paper Cut | 000 Operator (voice) | Short |
| 2019 | Judy and Punch | Ma |
| + !Year !Title !Role !Notes ! | ||||
| 2023 | Dancing with the Stars | Self | 7 episodes | |
| Thank God You're Here | Self | Season 5 Episode 3 | ||
| 2022 | The Cook Up with Adam Liaw | Self | 1 episode | |
| 2009 | Good News Week | Herself | Series 7 Episode 34 |
| 2012 | On the Production of Monsters | Shari | Melbourne Theatre Company | ||
| 2012 | Dirty Pretty Songs | Herself | The Spiegeltent, Edinburgh Festival | Also Adelaide Cabaret Festival and other venues. | |
| 2013 | Songs to Self-Destruct To | Herself | Adelaide Cabaret Festival | ||
| 2013 | The Beast | Sue | Melbourne Theatre Company | ||
| 2016 | High Society | Liz Imbrie | Hayes Theatre Company | ||
| 2016 | Calamity Jane | Calamity Jane | Hayes Theatre and Belvoir Theatre | In 2018 toured to Melbourne, Canberra and other venues in Australia. | |
| 2016 | Wonderful Town | Ruth | Sydney Opera House, Concert Hall | With Squabblogic and Sydney Philharmonic Choir | |
| 2016 | Hidden Sydney - The Glittering Mile | Bea Miles | The World Bar (formerly The Nevada) | in collaboration with Trevor Ashley and Working Management | |
| 2017 | Vivid White | Güüs | Melbourne Theatre Company | ||
| 2022 | Cyrano | Cyrano | Melbourne Theatre Company | written by Virginia Gay after Edmond Rostand |
| 2017 | Sydney Theatre Awards | Best female performer in a musical | Calamity Jane | Won |
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