Kym Valentine

Kym Valentine is an Australian actress, best known for her long-running intermittent portrayal of Libby Kennedy in the soap opera Neighbours.

Early life and education

Kym Valentine was born in Blacktown, Sydney,<ref name="OTD">Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Better source and grew up in Granville.<ref name="Connoly">Template:Cite news</ref> She began dance classes when she was two and attended her first dance school aged six.<ref name="OTD"/><ref name="Connoly"/> When she was five years old, Valentine began acting in television commercials and stage plays.<ref name="Connoly"/>Template:Better source

She studied dance, singing and drama at the Performing Arts School in Sydney.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Career

Valentine's early television appearances included guests roles in Brides of Christ, and Home and Away, and a regular role as Lisa in My Two Wives.Template:Cn

In 1994, Valentine joined the cast of Neighbours as Libby Kennedy.<ref name =thomas2014/> She moved to Melbourne to take the role and remained on the show until 2004.Template:Cn

In 2005, Valentine took the lead role of Baby in Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story on Stage at the Theatre Royal, Sydney, which also toured to Melbourne and Perth.Template:Cn

In June 2007, Valentine rejoined Neighbours on a permanent basis. On 8 April 2009, Valentine made an appearance as herself on The Wright Stuff, a UK TV programme. In April 2011, Valentine took indefinite leave from Neighbours.Template:Cn

Valentine appeared as a housewife in Nine Network's miniseries Fat Tony & Co., which was broadcast in 2014.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Valentine returned to Neighbours as part of a storyline to celebrate 20 years of the Kennedy family in 2014.<ref name =thomas2014>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2017, Valentine was cast in Michael Wormald's independent film Choir Girl,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> which was released in 2019. In 2018, she appeared in a Melbourne stage production of Unsolicited Male (which she repeated in 2022). She also starred alongside her daughter in the short film Treetment, which was filmed in Melbourne in December 2018.<ref name="Byrne">Template:Cite news</ref>

Valentine appears as the character Connie the Phlegmatic in the upcoming film titled Residence.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In addition to her stage and screen work, Valentine teaches acting classes.<ref name="Byrne"/>

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2018	Treetment	Katrina	Short film
2019	The Grand Scheme	Clementine	Short film
2019	Choir Girl	Caroline Doyle
2022	Junk Mail	Chey	Short film
TBA	Residence	Connie the Phlegmatic	Also producer

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1991	Brides of Christ		Miniseries
1992	My Two Wives	Lisa Kennedy	13 episodes
1994	Home and Away	Belinda	1 episode
1994–2004; 2007–2011; 2014; 2022	Neighbours	Libby Kennedy	1051 episodes
2014	Fat Tony & Co.	Peg Mancini	Miniseries, 1 episode
2024	Til You Make It	Siobhan	1 episode

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996–1997	Cinderella	Cinderella	Llandudno with Qudos Productions, UK
1998–1999	Snow White	Snow White	Beck Theatre, Hayes with Qudos Productions, UK
2000–2001	Cinderella	Cinderella	Hexagon Theatre, Reading with Qudos Productions, UK
2002–2003	Peter Pan	Peter Pan	Hawth Theatre, Crawley with Qudos Productions, UK
2004–2005	Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story on Stage	Baby	Theatre Royal, Sydney, Princess Theatre, Melbourne, Burswood Theatre, Perth with Kevin Jacobsen Productions
2015	The Vagina Monologues	Co-lead	University of Tasmania with Adrian Baum Presents<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2018; 2022	Unsolicited Male	Wendy, the P.A.	Abbotsford Convent, Melbourne, Chapel Off Chapel, Melbourne with Q44 Theatre Company

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Personal life

Valentine married singer Fabio Tolli, and they have a daughter. The couple separated in 2007.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Valentine was engaged to former AFL player Trent Croad in March 2015.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In November 2015, Valentine and Croad confirmed they were expecting their first child together,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and a son was born in March 2016.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Their relationship ended in December 2017.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Health issues

On 4 July 2008, Valentine collapsed on a flight home from New York and was diagnosed with pneumonia and pneumothorax.<ref name="HeraldSun">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> When she arrived in Melbourne she spent several days in hospital before recuperating at home.<ref>RTÉ.ie Entertainment: Neighbours star suffered collapsed lung</ref><ref>"Nightmare flight for actor Kym Valentine", Herald Sun. Subscription only. </ref> Valentine was told that she needed to rest for a month and she could not return to work on Neighbours.<ref name="HeraldSun"/> New Zealand actress Michala Banas took over the role of Libby for a month,<ref>Kym Valentine takes a break from Neighbours, Herald Sun</ref> and Valentine resumed the role at the start of the 2009 series.Template:Cn

On 6 July 2010, Valentine was hospitalised for four days with a life-threatening blood clot on her lung.<ref name="hospital">Template:Cite news</ref> In December 2010, Valentine checked herself into a clinic as she was suffering from exhaustion.<ref name="HealthBattle">Template:Cite news</ref>

Valentine returned to the Neighbours set in January 2011.<ref name="NeighbourlyBreak">Template:Cite news</ref> A few months after her return to filming, Valentine took indefinite leave from Neighbours.<ref name="NeighbourlyBreak"/>

External links

• [https://www.imdb.com/{{#if: 0884263

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