Lyn Collingwood
Lyn Collingwood (born 6th September 1936, Sydney)[1] is a retired actress who played Colleen Smart from 1988 to 2013. Colleen was originally a recurring character who appeared in the first two years of Home and Away. She returned a decade later as a regular, before retiring in 2012.
Pre Home And Away career.[]
Lyn first began acting on the stage when she was at university. After graduating she worked as an English, drama and history teacher and enjoyed preparing her students for school plays. In time she got an agent and appeared in several TV advertisements. She also acted a lot on stage. She began to appear on TV in the late 1970s, with guest roles in Patrol Boat, Palm Beach, Bellamy, Rafferty's Rules, Possession and A Country Practice.
Home And Away 1988-1989, 1997, 1999-2013[]
Lyn appeared quite early in Home and Away's run, usually trying to keep her dim-witted son Lance out of trouble. She was first seen in Episode 36 (March 1988) and bowed out in Episode 350 (July 1989). She returned for one episode in 1997, before coming back again as a regular in late 1999. During her time on the show she discovered that she was related to the Stewarts and accidentally burned down the Bayside Diner. She filmed her last scenes on Home and Away in 2012, though these weren't aired until 2013. Her final episode was Ep 5664 (24 Jan 2013).
Outside Home And Away[]
After leaving Home and Away for the first time, Lyn made guest appearances in E Street, A Country Practice, Murder Call, All Saints and G.P. Her online biographies also note that she has worked as a social worker. She also worked as a researcher and an editor of The Australian Encyclopaedia, The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Australia and The New Age Encyclopaedia[2]. It isn't clear when this was.