Tania Zaetta (born 17 November 1970[1]) is an Australian actress and television presenter.

Tania Zaetta
Born (1970-11-17) 17 November 1970 (age 53)
Merbein, Victoria, Australia
NationalityAustralian
Occupation(s)Actress, television presenter
Years active1992−present
Height172 cm (5 ft 8 in)

Early life

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Zaetta was born to an Italian father and an Australian mother, and is the granddaughter of amateur botanist James Howard Browne. She spent the earlier years of her life living in Merbein, Victoria. There, her family interests were in a local brick manufacturing business.

Tania is the cousin of Julia Zaetta, editor of Better Homes and Gardens.[2]

Career

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From 1992 through 1994, Zaetta co-starred alongside Ian Turpie in the Australian version of Supermarket Sweep.[3]

From 1996 until 1998, Zaetta co-hosted the Seven Network adventure-show, Who Dares Wins, alongside Mike Whitney.[4]

In 1999, Zaetta landed one of the six supporting roles opposite David Hasselhoff as Kendra the triathlete, in the short-lived Australian edition of Baywatch.[5]

In the 2000s, she had a supporting role in the Australian television series Pizza.[6]

Zaetta co-hosted Mission Implausible, Britain's Sky1 prime-time show, with Jason Plato, which found both hosts competing against each other in a series of challenges each week.[7]

Zaetta also hosted a series of TV specials in New York on The Great Outdoor Games for American sports network ESPN,[6] and in San Francisco to host TV specials for the 2000 Summer X Games.

On 1 August 2008, Zaetta was confirmed by the Geelong Advertiser to co-star in a planned feature film to be shot entirely in Geelong called The Ninja. The film was slated to start shooting in 2010, with a cast including Rob Baard, John Schneider, Roger Cross, John Wesley Shipp and Jeremy Kewley.[8]

Zaetta was on The Blue Planet, Network Ten's lifestyle/travel show.[6] She also competed in season three of the Australian installment of Dancing with the Stars.[9]

In April 2010, Zaetta commenced filming on the Sunshine Coast for a movie called Just Like U.[10] In May 2011, Sydney-based author, Amanda Cole, issued Who Needs Prince Charming?, a self-realisation book for women, which collated contributions from 35 Australian women including Zaetta, Bianca Dye, Camilla Franks, Kathryn Eisman, Molly Contogeorge and Cindy Pan.[11]

In 2012, Tania Zaetta was one of 12 celebrities who participated in Season 2 of The Celebrity Apprentice Australia. She was the third celebrity of the series fired by Mr. Bouris.[12]

Bollywood

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Her first step into the Bollywood limelight was in Bunty Aur Babli in 2005, before winning a support role in Salaam Namaste which was shot in Melbourne, Australia later that same year.[13]

Dil Apna Punjabi gave Zaetta the chance to work with Harbhajan Mann in 2006.

Zaetta's fourth film Mr. White Mr. Black[7] was released worldwide in 2008. The character saw her as a Charlie's Angels-style action girl in pursuit of stolen diamonds while being chased by criminals. This required her to learn fight sequences and perform wire work to display flying somersaults and mid-air kickboxing manoeuvres.

Health & Fitness

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Zaetta has released an online program aimed at building a better body through Pilates training.[14]

Charity, Peace for the Children

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Zaetta co-founded a charity, Peace for the Children, with Grant Hilton. The Office of Fair Trading launched an investigation in March 2011 after it was revealed 'Peace for the Children' was not a registered charity, and audit of the charity by 'IPS Audit' showed it had directed less than a quarter of its income towards charitable projects, with the majority of the donations being used to cover costs. On 7 June Tania was cleared of the allegations she collected donations through her unregistered charity, Peace for the Children.[15]

Australian Defence Force tour controversy

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Zaetta toured Australian Defence Force bases in Afghanistan and Iraq during early 2008 with a group of entertainers including 12 members of the Royal Australian Navy's band, Angry Anderson, The Wolverines,[16] and others. After the tour, accusations arose in the media that Zaetta had engaged in sexual relations with one of the Australian Special Air Service Regiment (SASR). This was quickly denied by Zaetta and members of the touring group.[17] The following day, an unreserved apology was given by the Department of Defence.[18] In September 2009, the dispute was settled out of court with Zaetta for an undisclosed sum.[19]

Celebrity Apprentice

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In 2012, Zaetta appeared in Celebrity Apprentice alongside her former Baywatch star David Hasselhoff. She was the third person "fired" from the show, but was able to raise over $70,000 for charity before her departure.[20]

Personal life

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In September 2018, Zaetta and partner Chris Rogers had twin children following IVF. She was 48 years old at the time.[21]

References

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  1. ^ "Tania Zaetta arrested at Gold Coast nightclub". ABC News (Australia). Australian Broadcasting Corporation. AAP/AFP. 21 March 2011. Archived from the original on 12 November 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  2. ^ "Info program gets go-ahead". Sunday Mail. 1 February 1998. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  3. ^ Williams, Sue (20 October 1996). "Stars of Tomorrow - Now". Sun Herald. p. 4. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  4. ^ Yeaman, Simon (15 July 1998). "Zaetta dares and wins". The Advertiser. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  5. ^ "Famous red bikini comes Down Under; Tania dares to be - different". Sunday Mail. 15 November 1998. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  6. ^ a b c Fidgeon, Robert (19 October 2000). "Hey true Blue / High-flying Tania Zaetta comes down to Earth / World at her feet". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Coast life - wins over - movie star". Gold Coast Sun. 16 January 2008. p. 33. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  8. ^ Cresswell, Joel (1 August 2008). "Tania Zaetta to star in Geelong action movie". Geelong Advertiser. Archived from the original on 4 August 2008. Retrieved 1 August 2008..
  9. ^ "Zaetta quicksteps out of contention". Townsville Bulletin. 15 September 2005. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  10. ^ "Ty puts a smile on face of co-star". Sunshine Coast Daily. 20 August 2010. p. 12. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  11. ^ Cole, Amanda; et al. (2011). Who Needs Prince Charming?: Fabulous Girls Tips on Life, Love and Getting What You Want!. Strawberry Hills, NSW: Book Nerds. ISBN 978-0-980831-306. Archived from the original on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  12. ^ Doherty, Megan (1 May 2012). "Rolling with the punches". The Canberra Times. Archived from the original on 16 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  13. ^ Tedmanson, Sophie (3 June 2005). "Tania dares, wins billions of Bollywood fans". The Australian. p. 5. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  14. ^ Dennehy, Luke; Epstein, Jackie; Te Koha, Nui (8 June 2014). "Tania fits the bill". Herald Sun. p. 102. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  15. ^ "TV celebrity Tania Zaetta has been cleared of all charity charges". The Gold Coast Bulletin. 7 June 2012. Archived from the original on 31 December 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  16. ^ Linnell, Garry (22 May 2008). "Tania Zaetta denies Afghanistan tour sex claims". Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 23 December 2008. Retrieved 1 August 2008.
  17. ^ "Zaetta stunned at 'vicious' troops sex claim". The Age. Australian Associated Press. 23 May 2008. Retrieved 23 May 2008.
  18. ^ "Defence Dept apologises to Zaetta". ABC News. 22 May 2008. Retrieved 23 May 2008.
  19. ^ McPhedran, Ian (28 January 2009). "Defence Dept apologises to Zaetta". News.com.au. Archived from the original on 19 January 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  20. ^ Doherty, Megan (27 April 2012). "Sorry Tania Zaetta, you're fired". The Canberra Times. Archived from the original on 1 May 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  21. ^ Lyons, Anita (9 September 2018). "Tania Zaetta gives birth to twins at 48". Woman's Day. MSN. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
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