- Lynette Forday is selling her six-bedroom Westmere home to downsize after her children left.
- The house, bought in 2012 for just over $1.2m, features a studio and wild garden.
- Forday plans to find a smaller home, citing frequent filming and a desire for less maintenance.
Former Shortland Street star Lynette Forday has put her Auckland home on the market for sale as she prepares to downsize to something more manageable.
Start your property search
Forday last appeared on television screens in 2022 as a well-toned and muscular contestant on Celebrity Treasure Island.
The former soap star, who is best known for her portrayal of the straight-talking Dr Grace Kwan, bought 14 West View Road, in Westmere, in 2012 for just over $1.2 million.
The six-bedroom home overlooks Auckland Zoo and Western Springs lake, and for the last 13 years, Forday and her family have been able to sit on their balcony and enjoy the chatter of monkeys as the sun sets.
Forday’s six-bedroom home at 14 West View Road, in Auckland’s Westmere, overlooks Western Springs Park. Photo / Supplied
The property started life as a 1920s workman’s cottage but has been added to over the years. Photo / Supplied
Now that her children have flown the nest, Forday no longer needs the house, let alone the adjoining 108sqm studio, which was built by the previous owner, renowned Kiwi artist Derrick Cherrie.
“My children have left home. I’m now a single, fabulous woman, and I no longer need this mansion,” she said.
Forday compared the house to the Tardis: a tiny builder’s cottage at the front, but on the inside, it goes “on and on”. Adding to the magic is the wild garden at the back. “It’s basically a fairyland. I can’t see my neighbours. It’s all just forest,” she said.
“It was an amazing place for my children. We had amazing birthday parties in the forest and the studio. And then my daughter grew up, and there were teenage parties in the back – wild teenage parties. Very wild.”
Discover more:
- Max Key's epic villa renovation: 'My mum and I designed the whole thing'
- Media boss selling his $4m 'Opera House' mansion as he quits life in Fiji
- Bachelor stars Art and Matilda shed 'happy tears' after house sale
Forday has on occasion rented out the studio, telling OneRoof it has hosted everything from a puppy school to sustainable sewing workshops and drama workshops. At one point, the Aussie-born actress planned to build two indoor swimming pools in the studio.
The house also borders the old speedway track, but Forday never minded that. “We bought it knowing that 12 nights a year is the speedway and that’s over Christmas, New Year’s, when I’m off and away on a holiday somewhere. So it never bothered me. But now it’s gone.”
The daily noise from the zoo is something she will greatly miss. “At night, I hear the lions roar and the monkeys because it’s near the zoo. It’s gorgeous.”
Forday told OneRoof she was selling up so she could move to something smaller. “It’s time to find a smaller cottage for myself. Plus, I spend a lot of time filming. Last year, I spent five months in Queenstown. That’s going to be happening again this year. I need to find a place that looks after itself.”
The balcony offers views of the lake. Forday has enjoyed the chatter of the nearby zoo animals. Photo / Supplied
The property has an RV of $2.55m and goes to auction next month. Photo / Supplied
The Ray White agent marketing 14 West View Road, Elaine Ferguson, is the same one who sold it to Forday 13 years ago. Ferguson said the house was special.
“It’s in a lovely little crescent, so it’s very private. The first time [I saw it] I thought it was just a little cottage – one of those little, heritage railway cottages – but as soon as I got past the front door, I thought, ‘Oh my, this is huge’.”
Forday told OneRoof that when she bought the property, she had just agreed to a return stint on Shortland Street. “Grace Kwan is iconic. She was the role that got a Chinese person on mainstream television – an Asian face on television. That was my first and most well-known role, and I still get called Grace by people. It’s a lovely compliment.”
She’s currently filming A Remarkable Place to Die where she plays Queenstown police chief Sharon Li Feng. “This role is amazing because it’s totally against stereotypes. This small, feminine, Asian looking woman is the head of the police force. I relish that because it’s breaking all stereotypes. That is a real passion of mine.”
Forday also opened up about her stint on Celebrity Treasure Island, where a feud between her and former Race Relations Commissioner Dame Susan Devoy made headlines.
Forday told OneRoof that she was baffled as to why Dame Susan would dislike her so much. “Susan took a fabulous dislike to me. It was great TV. She just couldn’t stand me and I was just totally baffled by the whole thing.
“I’m quite a girly girl. That was the issue. And she’s quite competitive. That’s why she’s a winner.”
- 14 West View Road, Westmere, Auckland, goes to auction on June 4
