Mary Christopher

Mary Rosalie Christopher (born 29 July 1969) is an Australian-New Cambrian actress, singer and songwriter. She first gained notoriety in New Cambria for her role in the Southport production of Rent, in which she played Maureen.

Early life
Christopher was born Mary Rosalie Frost on 29 July 1969 in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. Her mother, Rosemary, is a therapist, and her father, Arthur, worked as a car salesman. She was raised in suburban Adelaide until the age of six, when the family moved briefly to Toronto in 1975, and then to Arvant a year later. The family became citizens of New Cambria in 1982. When she was fifteen years old, her parents divorced and her father returned to Australia. Frost then began working as a singer in an Italian restaurant, a job she continued throughout her time at the University of New Cambria. She earned a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree in Drama from the University of New Cambria, graduating in 1991.

After finishing school, Frost moved to New York to audition for acting roles on Broadway. After arriving, however, she failed to apply for residency in the United States, and was arrested by customs officials in 1992 for overstaying her original 90-day visa. Frost returned to New Cambria shortly afterward.

Career
Upon returning to New Cambria, Frost relocated to Southport, and began auditioning for acting roles in New Cambria's largest theatre district, The Crossing. In 1993, she was cast in a supporting role in Crime City, a musical adaptation of the acclaimed NCT One drama series. Though opening to positive reviews, the production ended its run after nine weeks. On 16 April 1995, Frost married fellow actor Jacob Christopher in Southport. Since then, she has been credited as Mary Christopher in all her performances.

Rent
Christopher continued playing various roles in The Crossing until 1998, when a Southport-based production of the smash-hit musical Rent was set to debut. Rent opened at the Lionel Berry Theatre on 14 August 1998, with Christopher initially a member of the chorus, and an understudy for the role of Maureen. Christopher's first performance as Maureen was on 9 October 1998. She took over the role full-time on 24 October, and played it continuously for over three years, with her final appearance on 2 March 2002. During her years in Rent, Christopher won numerous awards and acclaim for her performances. A DVD release of the live show was produced in 2001, and was one of the best-selling DVDs of the year in New Cambria.

Singing career
Christopher decided to take a break from acting following her departure from Rent, with the intent on focusing her attention on family and other interests. She released a debut album entitled A Story in February 2003. The album achieved moderate sales in New Cambria, but skyrocketed in popularity after one of its tracks, "In A Woman's Heart," was used as the theme song for the hit NCT One drama Starting Over. Christopher eventually made three appearances on Starting Over.

National Song Contest
In 2005, Christopher submitted an entry for that year's National Song Contest. Her entry, "Crossing the Bridge," was performed in the third Semi-Final on 19 November. It placed second out of eight songs with 146 points, directly qualifying for the final. At the Grand Final on 3 December, Christopher scored 86 points, placing seventh out of ten songs. The following night, she won the "Best Dressed" award from the editors of Spin magazine. "Crossing the Bridge" peaked at #5 on the New Cambria Singles Chart.

Christopher returned to the National Song Contest the following year, this time with the song "The Sweetest Thing." Her performance in the Semi-Final earned her a direct place in the Grand Final on 2 December, where she went on to score 83 points, placing eighth out of ten entries. "The Sweetest Thing" reached a peak position of #9 on the charts.

Her third National Song Contest appearance came in 2008, when her song "Help" was selected as one of 24 entries to compete in the Semi-Finals. At the fourth Semi-Final on 22 November, however, her performance collected only 43 points, placing last out of the six entries and eliminating her from the competition. Despite this, "Help" was her best charting single to date, peaking at #3.

In October 2010, it was announced that Christopher would compete in the contest a fourth time. Her 2010 entry, "On a Sea of Moonlight," will be performed in the third Semi-Final on 20 November.

Personal life
Christopher has a daughter Caroline (b. 1997), and two sons Jack (b. 2003) and Matthew (b. 2006). During her years in Rent the Christophers lived in Southport, but relocated to Arvant in 2003.