Michala Banas

Michala Elizabeth Laurinda Banas (born November 14th, 1978 in Wellington, New Zealand) is a New Zealand actress. Her debut television performance was as Louisa in miniseries Mirror, Mirror. From 2001-2003 she played Marissa Taylor in Always Greener. In 2002, she had a small part in Scooby-Doo. In 2003, Banas released a single, Kissin` The Wind, which peaked at #28 on the ARIA Singles Chart. In 2009, Banas filled in for Fox FM`s Jo Stanley on The Matt and Jo Show while Stanley was on maternity leave.

From June 2009, Banas will be starring in the national tour of the Broadway musical, "Avenue Q", playing the roles of `Kate Monster` & `Lucy the Slut`.

In 2004, Michala Banas joined the cast of McLeod`s Daughters as the character Kate Manfredi, the best friend of Jodi Fountain McLeod. She played Kate from episodes 88 to 170, when she took a short break to later return in episode 177. It was announced in mid/late 2007 that she would leave McLeod`s Daughters in its final season. Michala`s last episode was aired in early December 2008. From November 11th, 2008, Michala Banas appeared in the role of Libby Kennedy on the Australian soap opera Neighbours for a five week period. Kym Valentine had played the role for over 14 years but was forced to take a break due to illness.

wikipedia.org/wiki/Michala_Banas