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Lorraine Bayly, Beloved Star of The Sullivans and Play School, Dies at 89

Her defining turn as Grace Sullivan made her a fixture of Australian television for decades.

Overview

  • Lorraine Bayly died Saturday morning in a Sydney nursing home, with family asking entertainment reporter Craig Bennett to share the news.
  • Her career spanned 62 years across television, film and theatre, and she retired about a decade ago.
  • Bayly became a household name as Grace Sullivan in nearly 600 episodes of The Sullivans, earning Silver Logies, with further acclaim for Carson’s Law.
  • An original Play School presenter from 1966, she later appeared in The Man From Snowy River and more than 50 stage productions, concluding on stage in 2016.
  • Recent tributes from colleagues, including Steven Tandy, highlighted her generosity, as coverage noted later-life health challenges including a stroke, pneumonia-related lung collapse in 2018 and treatment for breast cancer.