# Emily Symons
**Emily Symons** (born 1969) is an Australian actress best known for playing [Marilyn Chambers](https://www.edgepedia.org/marilyn-chambers) in the soap opera *Home and Away* and Louise Appleton in the British soap *Emmerdale*, working across Australian and British television for more than three decades.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0843381/bio/) • [2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/76113/emily-symons)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1969, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0843381/bio/) |
| Signature role | Marilyn Chambers in *Home and Away*, first appearing in 1989 and played on and off since[3](https://7plus.com.au/home-and-away/cast/emily-symons) |
| British soap role | Louise Appleton, a barmaid at The Woolpack in *Emmerdale*, June 2001 to November 2008[4](https://emmerdale.fandom.com/wiki/Emily_Symons) |
| Awards | BAFTA nomination for Best Actress for *Emmerdale*; Logie Award nomination for Most Popular Actress in 2023[3](https://7plus.com.au/home-and-away/cast/emily-symons) • [5](https://7news.com.au/entertainment/home-and-away/emily-symons-emotional-home-and-away-revelation-it-has-been-a-lot-of-my-life-c-11325051) |
| First TV role | Anne Costello in the short-lived soap *Richmond Hill* (1988)[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0843381/) |
| Other UK television | Semi-finalist on *Dancing on Ice* (2007); regular panelist on *Loose Women*[4](https://emmerdale.fandom.com/wiki/Emily_Symons) • [3](https://7plus.com.au/home-and-away/cast/emily-symons) |
| Family | Son Henry, born 2015 through IVF when she was 45[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0843381/bio/) |
## Early career
Symons began on television in 1988 with two roles in her first year: Anne Costello in the short-lived Australian soap *Richmond Hill*, which ran for 92 episodes, and Anya in the TV movie *Computer Ghosts*.[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0843381/) She has said she did not attend acting school and calls *Home and Away* her training ground.[7](https://www.nowtolove.com.au/celebrity/celebrity-news/emily-symons-son-henry-61907/)
## Home and Away
Symons first appeared as Marilyn Chambers, a beautician in the fictional town of [Summer Bay](https://www.edgepedia.org/summer-bay), in 1989.[3](https://7plus.com.au/home-and-away/cast/emily-symons) The character arrived as the girlfriend of Lance Smart and later married the school principal Donald Fisher; storylines included the death of her son Byron from a brain tumor.[8](https://thewest.com.au/entertainment/tv/home-after-being-away-ng-ya-218696) Symons played the role from 1989 to 1992, returned from 1995 to 1999, and reprised it briefly in 2001 in four episodes set in London.[4](https://emmerdale.fandom.com/wiki/Emily_Symons) • [9](https://home-and-away-soap-opera.fandom.com/wiki/Emily_Symons)
She has described the character's look as the key to stepping back in: "once I've got the heels on and the stupid earrings, everything's fine".[5](https://7news.com.au/entertainment/home-and-away/emily-symons-emotional-home-and-away-revelation-it-has-been-a-lot-of-my-life-c-11325051) In 2010 she rejoined the cast permanently and has remained with the show since.[4](https://emmerdale.fandom.com/wiki/Emily_Symons) Later storylines have included a chemical poisoning scare and a kidnapping by her on-screen daughter Heather in 2022, which Symons called the biggest storyline she had played.[10](https://www.newidea.com.au/celebrity/emily-symons-home-and-away-fans/) In 2023 she received her first Logie Award nomination, for the Silver Logie for Most Popular Actress.[5](https://7news.com.au/entertainment/home-and-away/emily-symons-emotional-home-and-away-revelation-it-has-been-a-lot-of-my-life-c-11325051)
## Emmerdale and British television
Symons moved to the UK in 1999 and joined *Emmerdale* in 2001 as Louise Appleton, an Australian barmaid at the pub The Woolpack.[9](https://home-and-away-soap-opera.fandom.com/wiki/Emily_Symons) She appeared in more than 300 episodes over eight years, in storylines that included killing a stalker ex-boyfriend in self-defense with a vase, a murder that her character covered up without ever being charged.[9](https://home-and-away-soap-opera.fandom.com/wiki/Emily_Symons) Her character left the village in 2008, moving back to Australia with Jamie Hope.[11](https://www.tvguide.co.uk/articles/louise-appleton-emmerdale-romances-ray-murder-sudden-exit-emmerdale-3203/)
The role brought her a BAFTA nomination for Best Actress, along with repeated nominations in the Best Actress and Sexiest Female categories at the British Soap Awards and the Irish Soap Awards.[3](https://7plus.com.au/home-and-away/cast/emily-symons) While living in Britain she appeared in eight pantomimes, playing characters such as [Snow White](https://www.edgepedia.org/snow-white), Cinderella, and Goldilocks, and was a regular panelist on the ITV chat show *Loose Women*.[3](https://7plus.com.au/home-and-away/cast/emily-symons) In January 2007 she joined the line-up of *Torvill and Dean's Celebrity Dancing on Ice*, partnered with Matt Evers, and reached the semi-final.[3](https://7plus.com.au/home-and-away/cast/emily-symons) • [4](https://emmerdale.fandom.com/wiki/Emily_Symons)
She returned to Australia in October 2008, initially to care for her mother, who died of cancer in May 2010, and began filming *Home and Away* again in late 2009.[3](https://7plus.com.au/home-and-away/cast/emily-symons) • [7](https://www.nowtolove.com.au/celebrity/celebrity-news/emily-symons-son-henry-61907/)
## Personal life
Symons has been married twice: to Nick Lipscombe from 1992 to 1994, and to Lorenzo Smith, a descendant of the stationery tycoon W.H. Smith, from July 2003 to 2005.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0843381/bio/) She gave birth to her first child, a son named Henry Richard Francis Jackson, on 3 August 2015, at age 45, after several unsuccessful IVF cycles; the father is her then-partner Paul Jackson.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0843381/bio/) • [5](https://7news.com.au/entertainment/home-and-away/emily-symons-emotional-home-and-away-revelation-it-has-been-a-lot-of-my-life-c-11325051) She returned to work five months after the birth, supported by what she called a really good support group.[5](https://7news.com.au/entertainment/home-and-away/emily-symons-emotional-home-and-away-revelation-it-has-been-a-lot-of-my-life-c-11325051)
## References
1. [Emily Symons – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0843381/bio/)
2. [Emily Symons, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/76113/emily-symons)
3. [Emily Symons: Who is Marilyn from Home and Away?, 7plus](https://7plus.com.au/home-and-away/cast/emily-symons)
4. [Emily Symons, Emmerdale Wiki](https://emmerdale.fandom.com/wiki/Emily_Symons)
5. [Emily Symons' emotional Home and Away revelation, 7NEWS (29 July 2023)](https://7news.com.au/entertainment/home-and-away/emily-symons-emotional-home-and-away-revelation-it-has-been-a-lot-of-my-life-c-11325051)
6. [Emily Symons, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0843381/)
7. [Emily Symons opens up on having her son Henry at 45, Now To Love](https://www.nowtolove.com.au/celebrity/celebrity-news/emily-symons-son-henry-61907/)
8. [Home after being away, The West Australian (16 March 2010)](https://thewest.com.au/entertainment/tv/home-after-being-away-ng-ya-218696)
9. [Emily Symons, Home and Away Soap Opera Wiki](https://home-and-away-soap-opera.fandom.com/wiki/Emily_Symons)
10. [Emily Symons exposes shock Home And Away fan moment, New Idea (4 October 2022)](https://www.newidea.com.au/celebrity/emily-symons-home-and-away-fans/)
11. [Louise Appleton in Emmerdale: Woolpack landlady, murderer and her sudden exit, TV Guide UK (16 October 2024)](https://www.tvguide.co.uk/articles/louise-appleton-emmerdale-romances-ray-murder-sudden-exit-emmerdale-3203/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Soap operas and continuing serials › British and Australasian soaps and characters › Australasian soap actors and production people*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Sep 20, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Sep 20, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license