Elaine Lee had worked extensively in theatre and radio in her native South Africa prior to settling in Australia in 1970. In 1972 she was one of the original cast members of groundbreaking serial Number 96 (1972) in which she played smouldering older sex-symbol Vera Collins and suffered through a series of ill-fated love affairs with various shady men. She reprised the role in the feature film version of the serial Number 96 (1974). Vera Collins was one of the show's most popular characters and survived four and a half years of tribulation until Elaine Lee left the series. Soon after a spin-off featuring Lee as Vera Collins and another former Number 96 actress Abigail was planned but did not eventuate. She then made infrequent guest appearances in television drama series and mini-series, while her career moved more towards the stage with several successful theatrical roles. In 1997 she returned to a regular television role in the comedy series _"Bullpitt" (1997)_. Her character, named Joan Collins, is somewhat of a parody of Vera Collins and of Elaine Lee herself.