Trail-blazing actress Lynette Forday is hoping that on this season of Celebrity Treasure Island she’ll well and truly prove that size doesn’t matter.
“You don’t have to be the biggest person to win,” says the 1.6m star, who’s best known on Kiwi screens for her iconic role of Shortland Street’s Dr Grace Kwan – the show’s first Asian character.
“I think I’ll find the portaloos and the beans and rice a bit of a challenge, but I know I’ve got the smarts to come out on top,” says Lynette, who plans to use all her skills to her advantage – including her actor’s craft. “I’m not a manipulator, but I like to think that I’ve learned how to read people and how to work with them.”
For Lynette, a win would mean more than just bragging rights. The Auckland-based star − who competes against her fellow celebrity castaways for $100,000 to go to the charity of her choice − has a deep passion for her chosen recipients, Sticks ‘n Stones, a youth-led bullying prevention organisation.
It’ll take more than sticks and stones to stop Lynette.
“As a child, I was often called names,” shares Lynette, “so helping children have the confidence to stand up and be strong, and believe in themselves, no matter who they are, what their sexuality, what they look like or where they came from is my absolute passion.”
As a youngster of Chinese descent growing up in Australia, and the first-ever Asian face on mainstream New Zealand TV, Lynette contended with cruel and racist remarks, as well as experiencing heart-breaking discrimination in the film industry.
“It affected me in that it has given me a real vulnerability,” she says. “I don’t think you ever take the little bullied child out of the grown adult. That’s why I’m so passionate about helping kids when they’re young.”
The star adds that among that heartache, she managed to find a silver lining.
“It has made me a very strong person − and I think that will definitely play into surviving this challenge,” says Lynette, who runs workshops for kids and gives talks as a motivational speaker. “I can put up with anything. I’ve learned how to stand up and speak for myself.”
Having so often been the only Asian face in a production she’s working on, Lynette has frequently found herself representing others and has blazed a trail for Kiwi-Asian actresses, such as fellow Treasure Island (and Creamerie star) Perlina Lau. Perlina
has mentioned in previous interviews that as a child, Lynette’s work on Shortland Street allowed her to imagine a place for herself on camera in a way she’d never been able to before.
“It’s really heartwarming to think that what I’ve done in my career has made a difference,” smiles Lynette, who fondly remembers her time on the soap. “Grace Kwan is still one of the highlights of my career because she wasn’t just Asian, she was a strong, multi-dimensional woman.”
As Shorty’s Grace with Carmen (Theresa Healey).
Lynette is pleased to see that representation on Kiwi screens is getting better, but points out there’s still plenty to improve on.
“Discrimination is still happening and that’s why I’m so passionate about making a difference,” she asserts. “That’s why I’m so glad to be on this show and that I’m not the only Asian person this season – there are three of us!”
Prejudice is not the only challenge the former Go Girls star has faced. At 54, Lynette, a former ballerina, has reached a level of body acceptance she didn’t always have.
“Like rugby players have to be big, as a ballet dancer, I had to be stick thin,” she recalls. “You spend every day, eight hours a day, looking at yourself in the mirror and you’re expected to have a ‘perfect’ body. But nothing is ever perfect − and you never feel perfect enough.”
Yet now, even faced with a challenge many would find daunting − wearing togs on national television − Lynette isn’t fazed. “I’ve come a long way from the insecure ballet dancer that I was,” she smiles. “I feel great about my body now. I work out, I train hard. I’m 54 years old and I feel pretty good.
“I think it’s just taken time. I’ve learned to love the unique body that I have − thank God at my age!”
With her daughter Lucia now 17, Lynette is conscious of wanting her girl to have an easier path than the one she had.
“She’s not following in my footsteps and I’m glad,” admits Lynette, adding, “I want her to have a secure career. She’s not going to be an actress or a dancer.”
The devoted mum says she hopes Lucia grows up with the self-love she herself sometimes struggled to find. “I want to teach her that who she is is enough − more than enough.”
