It’s been a hot minute since Australians last spotted Emma Harrison on their screens – but she’s making sure no one forgets her anytime soon.
The former Neighbours siren, who shot to fame as Joanna Hartman in the ’90s, has resurfaced with a steamy new photoshoot, proving age really is just a number.
After bowing out of Ramsay Street in 1997, the blonde bombshell wasted no time slipping back into the modelling world she first entered at just 15.
And she didn’t exactly do it quietly – landing glossy covers for Loaded, Maxim, Inside Sport and FHM, not to mention posing alongside a then-up-and-coming Isla Fisher.
She even nabbed the coveted Australian Playboy cover in July 1997, with the mag going so far as to crown Emma one of the ten sexiest women in the world at the time.
Now, almost three decades later – and at 52 – Emma is once again back in front of the lens, proving she’s still got it in a sizzling new shoot that’s pure throwback glamour with a modern edge.
Former Neighbours siren Emma Harrison, 52, (pictured) has resurfaced with a steamy new photoshoot, proving age really is just a number
The Australian actress rose to fame playing Joanna Hartman in the iconic soap Neighbours. Pictured
Age, it seems, has done nothing but sharpen her allure.
The photos show a very youthful-looking Emma posing seductively with a copy of her 1997 Playboy cover.
Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail, Emma said the shoot was about coming ‘full circle.’
‘It wasn’t really about nostalgia, or trying to look young again. It was more about honouring where I’ve been and what I’ve become – I’m not the same woman as I was back then’ she said.
‘I feel like I’m stronger, more grounded, more confident… I wanted to celebrate that.’
Emma added: ‘I feel like I’m prouder of who I am now than who I was back then. It felt like closing a beautiful circle.’
There’s no denying that Emma looks ageless in the new photos, particularly when juxtaposed with her 1997 Playboy cover shoot.
So, just what is her secret to looking so young?
After leaving the show in 1997, the blonde bombshell revisited the modelling career she started at age 15, featuring on a raft of high-profile covers including Loaded, Maxim, Inside Sport, and FHM alongside Isla Fisher
She even nabbed the coveted Australian Playboy cover in July 1997, with the mag going so far as to crown Emma one of the ten sexiest women in the world at the time
The photos show a very youthful-looking Emma posing seductively with a copy of her 1997 Playboy cover
‘I do a lot of yoga and I eat really healthily and I always have,’ she said.
‘Look, it could be partly genetics as well, but a lot of it has to do with my lifestyle. I’m just quite a healthy person. I exercise daily, and yoga is definitely my go-to.’
Speaking about her time on Neighbours playing Joanna Hartman, the younger sibling of Annalise Hartman (Kimberley Davies), Emma said she didn’t realise the impact the show had until she first visited the UK.
‘Being famous in England was surreal. The level of recognition that I got was on another scale,’ she said.
‘People would stop me in the streets and send me letters and flowers and inappropriate fan mail. It was just overwhelming at times and really a bit of a culture shock.’
Emma revealed one surprise interaction with a UK fan that ended in a marriage proposal.
‘I just remember this one man he was running ran up to me on the street in Hempstead, of all places, with a big bunch of flowers, and he asked me to marry him,’ she laughed.
‘Moments like that kind of made me realise how unreal the show was. It’s iconic and will always be iconic.’
These days, Emma lives a much quieter life on the Gold Coast with her long-term partner Cade Currey, her daughter from a previous relationship, Jemima, and Cade’s son.
There’s no denying that Emma looks ageless in the new photos, particularly when juxtaposed with her 1997 Playboy cover shoot
‘Look, it could be partly genetics as well, but a lot of it has to do with my lifestyle. I’m just quite a healthy person. I exercise daily, and yoga is definitely my go-to,’ she said of her secret to looking so youthful
Speaking about her time on Neighbours playing Joanna Hartman, the younger half sister of Annalise Hartman (Kimberley Davies), Emma said that she didn’t realise the impact the show had until she first visited the UK. Emma is pictured on Neighbours
‘Being famous in England was surreal. The level of recognition that I got was on another scale,’ she said. Emma is pictured with Neighbours co-star Graham Harvey
Back in 2022, she and Cade built a tiny home, made from two 20ft custom-made designer shipping containers.
The New Zealand-born said that the decision to downsize was all about living more simply.
‘I just wanted to simplify my life and be more intentional about how I live,’ she said.
‘The tiny home movement isn’t about deprivation, it’s about clarity and sustainability, and reducing your footprint on the planet.
Emma said that the decision to reduce her living space had only garnered positive results.
‘For me, it’s incredibly freeing. I feel lighter – mentally and emotionally. I guess it challenges the idea that bigger isn’t always better,’ she said.
‘Some people assume downsizing means giving something up, but for me, it was about gaining time, peace, freedom, and living in a way that’s kind to the planet.’
Since leaving Neighbours, Emma has starred in a raft of television and feature films, including McLeod’s Daughters and the Joel and Ethan Coen comedy Intolerable Cruelty.
These days, Emma lives a much quieter life on the Gold Coast with her long-term partner Cade Currey, her daughter from a previous relationship, Jemima, and Cade’s son
Back in 2022, she and Cade built a tiny home, made from two 20ft custom-made designer shipping containers. Emma said that the decision to downsize was all about living more simply
‘I just wanted to simplify my life and be more intentional about how I live,’ she said. ‘For me, it’s incredibly freeing. I feel lighter – mentally and emotionally. I guess it challenges the idea that bigger isn’t always better’
With her last credit coming in 2024 in the Japanese drama Black Pean, acting had taken a backseat for Emma as she focused on raising her children.
But Emma revealed that the acting bug has never truly left her.
‘These days, I’m still auditioning. I’ve been up for a couple of movie roles, and I go out for commercials quite regularly,’ she said.
‘But as I’ve just gotten older, my priorities have shifted. I still love creativity and storytelling, but I’m pretty passionate about advocacy as well.’
‘So I’m also looking at doing some stuff around giving voices to women and children who feel unheard. I feel a responsibility now to use my voice for something meaningful.’
So if there was a piece of advice Emma could give to the girl on the Playboy cover, what would it be?
‘Being on the cover of the magazine felt like you were chosen, you know? I would walk past a newsstand or a bus shelter, and I’d see my face and I’d think, well, I can’t believe this is really happening – it was so glamorous and it was so surreal and so special,’ she said.
‘I look at those covers now with a lot of compassion for my younger self. She was navigating an industry that rewarded a very narrow idea of femininity.
‘But the advice would just be, you know, to my younger self would be to believe in yourself and just not care what people think of you. I really don’t care what people think of me, and that’s the beauty that comes with ageing.’
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