Uncovering truths: Anne Phelan will speak at a Country Women's Association fund-raiser in Romsey about her acting career. Picture: Matthew Furneaux
ANNE Phelan, OAM, knows first hand that Australia's entertainment industry is not all glitz and glamour.
She will be dispelling the myths of acting at a fund-raiser for the Romsey Country Women's Association next month.
"People have a very wrong impression of what actors earn in this country," she says.
"No actor has regular work and when we are working, we're lucky to earn an apprentice bricklayer's wage."
Phelan, an Australian star of television, radio and theatre, is best known for her roles in Prisoner, Blue Heelers, Guys and Dolls, Bellbird, Something in the Air, Poor Man's Orange and, most recently, Winners and Losers.
She has been a Romsey resident for more than 30 years.
As a guest speaker at the CWA function, she will talk about her life in showbusiness, the support given to women with HIV, asylum seekers and refugees.
She will also speak about how acting has led her to other things.
"I am very involved with a lot of things, including Positive Women Victoria, which is a support group advocating for women living with HIV," Phelan said.
"I'm a patron of that organisation and it is something close to my heart. I find preaching boring so I tend to tell stories, things that are told to me.
"My main thing is to be entertaining and have not too many people fall asleep," she says.
The event, on May 3 at Romsey Mechanics Hall, starts at 1pm. Entry is $7, with the funds going to charity. Details: Val Jordan, 54292311
-Angela Valente