Lawley began acting in her teens, and was sailing to England to attend the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) when she met her future husband—an engineer—and instead spent ten years in
Calcutta, India where he was stationed during
World War II. Back in New Zealand, she took some small roles in theatre, television and radio, but her acting career was secondary to her family. She appeared in the 1976 television adaptation of
The God Boy, and in an episode of the anthology series
Winners and Losers entitled "Blues for Miss Laverty". In 1983, she appeared in the film
Among the Cinders and
Constance in 1984. When her husband died in the mid-1980s, Lawley began to devote more time to acting. Her only lead role in a feature film was in 1990's
Ruby and Rata, directed by
Gaylene Preston. Immediately after filming this role, she flew to Australia to play a smaller role as the domineering mother of
Sam Neill's character in the film
Death in Brunswick. For much of the 1990s, she was a mainstay of New Zealand television, appearing in
Shortland Street,
Gloss, and American series filmed in New Zealand such as
The Tommyknockers,
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and
Xena: Warrior Princess. She died on 21 May 1999 in
Auckland. ==References==