Gemma Pranita Biography

Gemma Pranita (born 1986) is a Thai-born Australian actress. Pranita was encouraged to join the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) by her drama teacher, and from 1999 to 2003, she competed at state level in the Shakespeare Globe Association's annual Shakespeare festival. Pranita formed a theatre company called Cry Havoc! with her best friend in 2006. After graduating from WAAPA, Pranita joined the Bell Shakespeare theatre company. She has also had roles in the films, Crush and Resistance. In September 2010, Pranita joined the cast of Australian soap opera Neighbours as Jade Mitchell. She departed the serial in August 2012. Pranita is the founder of Gemma Peanut Gallery.

Early life

Pranita was born Gemma Pranita Xumsai in 1986 in Bangkok, Thailand, the daughter of a Thai father and an English mother. When she was twelve years old, Pranita and her family moved to Australia. Pranita took an interest in drama, art and music at her Sydney high school and she became friends with Kate Revz. Pranita's drama teacher encouraged her to apply to the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA). Pranita plays the guitar, composes music and she regularly performs in public.

Career

Acting

From 1999 to 2003, Pranita competed at state level in the Shakespeare Globe Association's annual Shakespeare festival. In 2002, she was invited to join the company in their National production of Loves Labors Lost as a performer and score composer. Pranita and Revz formed Cry Havoc!, a theatre company, together in 2006. After she graduated from WAAPA in 2007, Pranita joined the Bell Shakespeare theatre company and she toured with them for eight months. She also played the lead role in Revz's short film, Hi My Name is Billy. The following year, Pranita joined the cast of thriller film, Crush. The film shot on location in Perth and Pranita played the role of the Nurse. Pranita plays the role of the Spanish Valentina Vega in the Australian Sci-fi film, Resistance.

In September 2010, a Herald Sun reporter announced Pranita would be joining the cast of Neighbours as Jade Mitchell, the younger sister of Sonya (played by Eve Morey). Pranita was in Russia researching Anton Chekhov when her agent called her to audition for Neighbours. The actress returned to Australia and her agent informed her that she could audition on the last day. Pranita won the role and she moved to Melbourne for filming within the week. Pranita initially signed a twelve-month contract with the show. On 8 June 2012, Fiona Byrne of the Herald Sun reported Pranita would be departing Neighbours. Pranita stated that two years was long enough to play one character and she wanted to challenge herself to do other things. Pranita filmed her final scenes on 9 August. The actress appears in the short film Banter as Emma. Pranita will appear alongside fellow Australian actresses Teresa Palmer and Phoebe Tonkin in The Ever After directed by Mark Webber.

Blog

Pranita started a fashion and travel blog called Gemma Peanut Gallery in 2013. Pranita features posts of herself and friends including some of Australia's biggest starlets, from Margot Robbie, Rachael Taylor, Renee Bargh, Teresa Palmer and Phoebe Tonkin.

Personal life

She was in a relationship with Australian actor Jai Courtney from 2006 to 2013. In March 2015, Pranita announced that she was engaged to her childhood friend and partner of 18 months, Matthew Rooney. They married in Thailand on 21 November 2015.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2007	Hi My Name is Billy		Short film
2009	Crush	Nurse
2010	Resistance	Valentina Vega	Pilot episode
2010-12	Neighbours	Jade Mitchell	204 episodes
2012	Banter	Emma	Short film
2014	Checked Out	Melinda	TV film
2014	The Ever After	Naja