Deborah Gray (born 1958) is a former Australian high fashion model and actress who is now best known as an internationally best selling author of non-fiction spell books and jazz singer. Gray was born in Canberra where as a teenager she won the Teen Model of the Year competition, after which she was picked up for a modelling contract with Viviens Management. She appeared on catwalks, leading fashion magazine covers and starred in TV commercials.
In 1977 at the age of 19, she branched out into acting and burst onto TV screens and into Australian TV history with her role on the television soap opera Number 96. After Number 96 she continued her acting career as a popular television and film actress, and was considered a leading sex symbol at the time. She played a continuing dramatic role in soap opera The Young Doctors, acted in a guest role in the police drama series Bellamy (1981), and was a regular co-host in an Australian Candid Camera style television series titled Catch Us If You Can.
Gray started an all-girl cabaret act named Deborah Gray and the Flames (one of the flames was future Perfect Match hostess Debbie Newsome). Other musical forays at the time were the song ''Mellow Loving'', a top ten dance hit, ''Love Song of O'', and the European top 40 hit ''No Time to Lose'' which was released by the German Hansa Label/Coconut Records. By 1986 Gray, tired of the 'sex-symbol' actress tag and, alarmed at the local film industry's growing penchant for violent films, left acting altogether to pursue writing and music full-time. She moved to New York in 1986 to study jazz vocalization and songwriting. She lived there for 9 years, performing in many of the known cabaret and jazz clubs (Maxims, Blue Note, Bradleys, The Supper Club, Tatous) and recording her first all original jazz CD 'Still Got A Thing' featuring trumpeter Roy Hargrove.
As of 2007 Gray is based in Australia where she continues her jazz performing and recording and is an author, songwriter and producer. Her 'magickal' themed non-fiction books have been translated into 10 languages. Gray appeared in the FFC funded documentary hosted by American Pulp Fiction director Quentin Tarantino titled Not Quite Hollywood, a film homage to the breakthrough days of Australian films of the 70’s and early 80’s.In 2018, there was renewed international interest from UK and European DJ’s in one of the album tracks ''Bikini'' and ARVO’s music was re-released internationally on vinyl along with a DJ remix and streaming through Strangelove Records.
