Olympia Valance was born in Melbourne, Victoria on 7 January 1993 to Rajko Vukadinović, a model and musician, and Tania Gogos.[2] Valance's father is Serbian from Montenegro and her mother is Australian of Greek descent, the daughter of journalist Dimitri Gogos.[3] Her step-father is Australian musician Ross Wilson.[4][5] Valance has seven half-siblings;[5] Her older half-sister Holly Valance, with whom she shares Vukadinović as a father, is also a singer and an actress.[6][7] Valance attended Shelford Girls' Grammar School and studied at the Melbourne Actor's Lab.[8]
Career
In March 2014, it was announced that Valance would make her acting debut in the long-running soap opera Neighbours as Paige Smith.[6] Valance had been a successful model prior to her casting and won the role after going through a long audition process, which included four call-backs.[6][9] Her half-sister Holly previously appeared in the show as Felicity "Flick" Scully from 1999 until 2002.[6] Valance was initially contracted for three years and she made her screen debut as Paige on 2 June 2014.[10][11] Valance's portrayal of Paige earned her nominations for Most Popular New Talent at the Logie Awards[12] and Best Daytime Star at the Inside Soap Awards in 2015.[13] She appeared in a documentary special celebrating the show's 30th anniversary titled Neighbours 30th: The Stars Reunite, which aired in Australia and the United Kingdom in March 2015.[14][15]
In December 2014, Valance became the new face and body of UK lingerie brand Gossard. Of her role, she said "The last year has been a whirlwind and to work with such an established name as Gossard is a dream come true. I absolutely love working on Neighbours and the fact that I am able to come over to England and do an incredible campaign like this is a credit to the show's following, both here and down under."[16] Valance has appeared in photo shoots for the brand's swimwear and lingerie collections, including their 2015 spring/summer campaign.[4][16] In July 2015, she became an ambassador for the Australian chocolate bar Cherry Ripe.[17][18]
In January 2016, Valance was the ambassador of the Jeep Marquee for the annual Jeep Portsea Polo event.[19] That same month, she revealed that she signed with California-based agency Roar after they came looking for her.[19] The agency also looks after fellow Australian actors Liam and Chris Hemsworth, who have both had successful careers in Hollywood.[19][20] Valance has expressed an interest in moving on from Neighbours once her three-year contract ends.[20] On 1 December 2017, it was announced that Valance had filmed her last scenes as Paige.[21] Wilson confirmed that Valance would be moving to Los Angeles in January 2018 to pursue film and television roles during pilot season.[22]
Valance joined the cast of Network Ten's sports drama Playing for Keeps in May 2018. She plays Tahlia, a socialite who is engaged to the captain of an Australian rules football team.[23] In January 2019, Network Ten announced Valance would compete on the sixteenth season of Dancing with the Stars.[24] Valance was paired with professional dancer Jarryd Byrne.[25] On 18 March 2019, they became the fourth pair to be eliminated, despite receiving a high score from the judges for their jive.[26] Valance then appeared in the crime drama Informer 3838.[27]
In 2020, Valance reprised her role as Paige for Neighbours' 35th anniversary.[28] Valance was announced as a judge for the 2020 season of Australia's Got Talent, however due to the COVID-19 pandemic she never fulfilled the role.[29] On 4 May 2022, Valance confirmed to Zoe Thomaidou of Neos Kosmos that she would be returning to Neighbours for the serial's final episodes.[30] The following year, Valance appeared in the British-Australian thriller series Heat as Sergeant Angelos.[31] She also joined the cast of the Netflix teen drama Surviving Summer.[32]
Valance announced in June 2019 that she was in a relationship with AFL footballer Tom Bellchambers.[34] The couple announced their engagement in October 2020,[35] and they married on 12 June 2022 in Daylesford.[36] In July 2023, Valance revealed that she had miscarried twins during the COVID-19 pandemic, and that she and Bellchambers were undergoing IVF after struggling to conceive for two years.[37] In August 2024, Valance announced that she was 25 weeks pregnant with her and Bellchambers' first child,[38] and she gave birth to their son on 3 December 2024.[39]
In August 2020, Valance reported that in 2019 she was a victim of a cyber crime. Her phone was hacked and personal images were distributed without her consent.[40]
A lover of horse racing, Valance part-owns a horse named Mr. Sneaky that competed in the Spring Racing Carnival.[42][43] In 2020, Valance was announced as a Caulfield Cup Carnival ambassador and judge of the Social Style Stakes.[44]
^"Rocking into Ramsay Street". The Daily Telegraph. 1 December 2017. p. 75. It also marked Valance's last week of filming on Ramsay St. She is leaving the show to pursue overseas opportunities.
