All Saints: profiles


Jolene Anderson…

Jolene was born in the small country town of Kempsey on the NSW mid north coast in 1980. She's the baby of the family with an older sister and brother and looks forward to her new role as an Aunty.

From a young age Jolene was interested in drama, after school she embarked on a 3 year hiatus traveling to an amazing 32 countries and also had the opportunity to perform at Universal Studios, Japan. Returning to Australia Jolene studied at the Actors Centre Australia.

Jolene loves the outdoors and enjoys swimming, surfing and yoga plus she when she has a spare moment writes music, strums on her guitar and dabbles in amateur photography.

All Saints is Jolene's first major acting role and she says "I'm excited, though extremely overwhelmed about securing such fantastic job on a major Australian drama, I really can't believe my good luck, and look forward to refining my acting skills and learning from the All Saints cast... the cast have been very welcoming and I'm really having fun being the new girl on set".

About her character Jolene says "Erica is a sweetheart, a ray of sunshine in the ER Department. Considering how manic the place can be I'll be surprised if there's a co-worker who doesn't warm to her".

…as Erica Templeton

Erica is in her early to mid 20's — a nurse with limited experience and unlimited enthusiasm. She wanted to be a doctor when she was younger but a shortfall in HSC marks led her to nursing instead. The plan was to get the nursing degree under her belt, then hopefully get into a medical degree at a later stage. What she didn't bank on, was falling in love with the idea of nursing itself. Any thoughts of becoming a doctor were soon forgotten.

Erica has one brother, a couple of years younger than her and he's spent most of his life in trouble for one thing or another. His teenage years were spent in juvenile detention centres and as an adult, things haven't really improved. Erica still finds herself occasionally on the receiving end of a desperate phone call from him, begging her for bail or to cover for him with their parents (who are at the end of their tether regarding their youngest son).

Despite this, or perhaps because of it, Erica's moral and ethical code is strong and unshakeable. She's worked hard to get where she is and rules are in place for a reason. If there's a rule she doesn't like, she'll fight like a demon to have it changed, but breaking it really isn't an option in her world. And don't even think about asking her to lie for you or to help cover up a mistake you've made — Erica is the first to put her hand up and admit error or a lack of knowledge and she expects the same from those around her.

That's not to say that Erica is uptight or prefect-like. She's far from it. She's a ray of sunshine, able to see the best in the worst, the silver lining in the darkest cloud. An eternal optimist, Erica has a charming naïve quality about her that makes others want to protect her. She tends to state the obvious at times but it's never done in a confrontational manner. It simply is what it is and it's almost always what other people are thinking anyway.

Erica is sexy and feminine. She'll pick a flower on her way into work, organise the next social event and help love blossom wherever she can.

And as a nurse, what she lacks in experience, she more than makes up for in compassion and commitment. She'll be the first to put her hand up to babysit a patient, empty a bedpan or change a soiled bed while the more experienced nurses handle Resus. She's proactive and works hard at everything she does.

Erica is at her professional best when she's made a personal connection. Her curious nature and vibrant personality allows her to connect with almost anyone. People fascinate her. She respects their weaknesses as much as their strengths and judges no one. It's all about energy, hers and theirs.

That's the key to her — personal connection. And that applies to her work colleagues as strongly as it does the patients in her care.