Anne Phelan, or Annie to her friends, started acting in amateur theatre productions and also worked as a singer before turning to full-time acting. One of Australia's best loved character actresses, Anne has combined her acting career with tireless work for many AIDS-related charities, such as Positive Women and Oz Showbiz Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. In February 2000, Anne was on the organizing committee of the 21st anniversary reunion party for the highly popular TV series Prisoner (1979), in which she played top dog Myra Desmond, which saw the cast gathering at the Forum Theatre in Melbourne to entertain fans who had flown in for the event from around the world and raise money for AIDS charities.