Australian actress Lorraine Bayly, best known for portraying the cherished matriarch Grace Sullivan in The Sullivans, has passed away at age 89. She died on Saturday morning at a Sydney aged care facility.
Trailblazing Career Highlights
Bayly launched her career in 1962 on the variety show The Bobby Limb Show. By 1966, she captivated young audiences as one of the original presenters on Play School.
Her defining role came as Grace Sullivan in nearly 600 episodes of The Sullivans, earning her the affectionate title of “Australia’s mum.” The character met a dramatic end in a London bomb blast from a German V-1 while visiting her injured son John.
Post-Acting Adventures and Resilience
Craig Bennett, a friend and 2GB reporter, highlighted Bayly’s lifelong curiosity. “As a person, she was vibrant, beautiful. She was so kind and generous to so many people,” he said. “Every decade in her life, she’d challenged herself with something new – I remember years ago she took up tennis and became this absolutely fabulous tennis player that could almost give John Newcombe a run for his ball. Then she’d study the saxophone… learn to ballroom dance, then go and learn French. She just kept herself absolutely active, mentally and physically.”
Bayly exited The Sullivans in 1979 as Australia’s highest-paid series actress. She starred as the bold solicitor Jennifer Carson in Carson’s Law and appeared in The Man From Snowy River, Neighbours, and A Country Practice. A multiple Logie Award winner, she retired from acting about a decade ago.
In her later years, Bayly battled serious health issues, including a collapsed lung from pneumonia in 2018 and breast cancer requiring a mastectomy.
Heartfelt Tributes from Colleagues
Steven Tandy, who played her onscreen son Tom in The Sullivans, shared a moving tribute. “She was the most giving of people – always down to earth and affectionate, yet not without a certain almost girlish vivaciousness,” he posted on social media. “I truly loved and admired her and was so grateful for the close friendship we shared. Fly high, lovely lady. Your work is done.”
Family and Legacy
Bayly’s husband, journalist Steve O’Baugh, passed away in Los Angeles in 1996 at age 47. She is survived by her nephew Brad Connelly, his wife Janelle, and their children Laura and Patrick.
Bayly’s 62-year career on stage and screen leaves an enduring legacy in Australian television.
