Lisa HarrowONZM (born 25 August 1943) is a New Zealand RADA-trained actress, noted for her roles in British theatre, films and television. She is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Nancy Astor in the British BBC television drama Nancy Astor.
Early life
Harrow was born in the Auckland suburb of Mount Eden on 25 August 1943, the daughter of Kennedy Mayo Harrow and Eleanor Joan Harrow (née Stacpoole).[1] She studied at the University of Auckland, and later graduated from RADA in 1968, joining BBC Radio's Repertory Company.
Harrow has performed on stage all over America. She took over the central role of Vivian Bearing in the Pulitzer Prize winning play Wit in its long-running off-Broadway production in New York City. She was named 2001 Performer of the Year in Pittsburgh for Medea. Other roles include: Raynevskya in The Cherry Orchard at Yale Rep and the Chautauqua Theatre Company, where she also played Kate Keller in All My Sons. She played Creusa in the Washington Shakespeare Theatre Company's 3 October 2009–4/12/2009 production of Euripides's Ion.
[2]
Harrow guest-starred in The Professionals as a counsel arguing at a Court of Inquiry for the disbandment of CI5 in the second-season episode 'The Rack' (1978), written by Brian Clemens. She also starred in the BBC2 series 1990 as Deputy Controller Lynn Blake.
She was married to whale biologist Roger Payne (died 10 June 2023), and lived in Vermont, US. Payne was founder and president of Ocean Alliance. He and Scott McVay found that the long, complex and apparently random sounds produced by male humpback whales are actually rhythmic, repeated sequences, and therefore, are properly called 'whale songs'. The couple created a lecture/performance piece called "SeaChange: Reversing the Tide".[5]
Author
Harrow is the author of the environmental handbook What Can I Do?, published in separate editions for Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the United States. She has a website to promote the book.[6] The U.S. edition:
^"Births". The New Zealand Herald. 27 August 1943. p. 1. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
^"Ion – 2008–2009 Season – Cast Biographies (Lisa Harrow)". Washington, D.C.: The Shakespeare Theatre Company. p. 20. Archived from the original on 1 May 2009. Retrieved 8 April 2009. She is the author of the environmental handbook What can I Do? with her husband, whale biologist Roger Payne.
^"New Year honours list 2015". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2018.