Vanessa was born and raised in County Durham in the north east of England. Her musical training began while still in grade school, learning piano, cello and singing. Before high school graduation, she had produced four shows, sung in three countries and directed her first Shakespeare production.

Having trained as an actor, a voice & dialect coach and a classical musician in London, Vanessa balanced a successful performing career acting, directing and singing throughout the UK, alongside coaching young actors and singers, coaching voice and text work, singing and dialects.  

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Moving to San Diego, California in 2007, Vanessa became active in the theatre and music communities of the city. She held the position of Artistic Director of San Diego Shakespeare Society for three years, producing and directing all their performance and outreach programs. More recently, she has worked at Cygnet Theatre, The Old Globe Theatre, San Diego Rep., The Welk Theatre, San Diego Musical Theatre, San Diego Symphony, San Diego Opera, Backyard Renaissance Theatre Company, Scripps Ranch Theatre, Oceanside Theatre Company, Lamb's Players Theatre, New Fortune Theatre Company, Bodhi Tree Concerts, Moonlight Stage Productions, North Coast Repertory Theatre School and Coronado Playhouse, among others, as well as guest teaching at UCSD (Osher), SDSU and CSUSM universities. She has served as a teaching artist for Character Physics, North Coast Rep, Cygnet Theatre, SDSS, and The Globe.

 

She currently serves on the board of advisors for Bodhi Tree Concerts.

 

Vanessa is in demand as an actor, director and singer, and as voice and dialect coach in and around San Diego. She also plays cello and piano and is a member of the UK Actors’ Equity.