.
Guest Character Profiles > Mary Smith Gina Liano

Mary Smith 2015, 2016
Marital Status: John Smith (Divorced)
Children: Ethan, Paige (Adoptive)
Occupation: Events Manager for VDF Group

The glamorous adoptive mother of Paige Smith, Mary and her husband John had adopted Paige at birth, believing that they could never have children of their own, only for their son, Ethan, to come along a couple of years later. Consequently, Paige had often felt that she wasn't really wanted as much as her adoptive brother, and at the age of ten, she had overheard Mary saying to John that all of their problems had begun when Paige had come into their lives. Thinking that this confirmed her worst fears, Paige had then grown up with a lot of resentment towards Mary, unaware that her argument with John had actually stemmed from the fact that she'd just learnt that he had illegally acquired Paige, and had been lying to Mary for years that Paige's birth mother was a drug addict who couldn't look after her. At the time, Mary had attempted to find Paige's birth parents, Lauren and Brad, but had hit a brick wall and given up.

Having believed that her daughter had died at birth, it wasn't until Paige was 20 years old that Lauren finally learnt of her existence, and eventually told Brad, who hadn't even been aware that Lauren had been pregnant all those years ago. When Paige found out that her parents had been searching for her, she moved to Erinsborough, but it wasn't until a few months later that Brad and Lauren found out who she was. They quickly accepted her into their lives, and after years of Mary's lack of attention, Paige finally felt like part of a real family as she got to know both Brad and Lauren's families and her new half-siblings. Only Brad's wife Terese truly struggled to accept Paige, feeling threatened by the bond she created between Brad and his ex, and she even phoned Mary at one point to try and get her to come and visit Paige, though Mary was too busy. When Lauren's husband Matt died, Terese's insecurities worsened as Brad proved to be a huge support to Lauren. When she then saw a text on Paige's phone, from Ethan asking whether she had made any progress with her plan to get Brad and Lauren back together, Terese was left unsure how to deal with it, knowing the trouble it could cause.

The following year, as a pop star themed party was being thrown for Paige's 21st birthday, she was shocked when Mary turned up unannounced, having heard about the party from Ethan. Though Paige wanted little to do with her, Terese encouraged Mary to stick around and try to fix the relationship, after Mary mentioned that she was hoping to convince Paige to return to Singapore with her. Seeing the chance to get Paige out of town, Terese persuaded Brad that it was unhealthy for Paige to hold so much resentment for her adoptive mother, and that Mary seemed genuine in her desire to fix things. After listening to Terese, Brad set up a meeting between Paige and Mary, and Paige finally opened up about the conversation she'd overheard when she was ten years old, with Mary able to explain what she'd really meant, and how she'd tried to fix the whole mess all those years ago. Though she felt slightly better, Paige still felt that Mary had been a terrible mother, making no effort to come to any important events or to celebrate birthdays with her, as her work had always come first. Mary agreed that she hadn't done a very good job, but she wanted to find a way for them to get along now. Though the meeting ended badly, Terese once again intervened, telling Lauren that Mary was planning to check out of the hotel, which would leave everything unresolved. Lauren then went to Mary's hotel room, pointing out to her that they'd both been lied to about Paige's illegal adoption and they were both victims of the whole mess. She then said that Paige had turned out to be a wonderful young woman, and clearly Mary must have paid some small part in that, so she asked her if she'd stick around for a while and try to fix some of the damage that had been done to Paige.

A couple of days later, Terese found out that Mary was still planning to return to Singapore as she had a large conference to organise. Desperate to get Mary and Paige to spend time together, Terese suggested that Melbourne, and Lassiter's, might be the perfect venue for the conference, adding that it would also allow Mary to spend a little more time with Paige. Mary agreed to the idea and met with the hotel's owner, Paul Robinson, but her mood quickly changed when she learnt that Paul's executive assistant was Naomi Canning. As the conference would involve advertising executives including Naomi's old boss, and married lover, Charles Tranner, Mary knew that there would be no way that Lassiter's would win the contract if the senior executives found out that Naomi was involved, so she told Paul that she'd only go ahead with it if Naomi had no part to play. Meanwhile, Terese found further evidence of Paige's desire to get Brad and Lauren back together when she saw her drop a photograph, and as she picked it up, she saw that it was a family snap, with Terese folded over so it just included Paige, Lauren and Brad. More determined than ever that Mary would be taking Paige back to Singapore with her, Terese encouraged her to keep trying, after Mary's 21st birthday present of an engraved box of art supplies had helped to diffuse some of the tension between the pair. Mary and Paige then spent time together at a jewellery making class at Off Air Bar, which had the desired effect and they were soon getting on a lot better. Paige was still hiding a dark secret from her family, however - her half-brother Bailey had stolen a car as he struggled to cope with his grief following Matt's death, and Paige had covered for him, but in the process had found herself caught up in the murky illegal activities of Dennis Dimato. As her friend Tyler had already admitted to his involvement, Paige was struggling to cope with her guilt, and knew that it couldn't be long until her name was mentioned, so she wrote a letter to Brad and Lauren, confessing everything. Then, when Mary asked her if she'd like to come back to Singapore for a while, Paige wondered if she'd just found the perfect escape route.

However, when Tyler then went missing, Paige was forced to confess her involvement to the police, and she helped to find Tyler and capture Dimato and his associates. Though the police didn't charge her, she had to go and tell the full story to Brad, Lauren and Mary, explaining that she wouldn't be able to go to Singapore with her until the investigation was over. Though disappointed, Mary was also pleased to have finally started fixing her relationship with Paige, and that she'd be leaving her with two lovely people like Brad and Lauren. She did, however, warn Paige to be careful of Terese, explaining that she had been very keen to get rid of her stepdaughter as quickly as possible, and pointing out that she might not be entirely trustworthy.

The following year, Mary returned for Paige's wedding to police officer Mark Brennan. Unfortunately, as a consequence of her involvement with Dimato the previous year, Paige had been set up by him and Michelle Kim in revenge for Paige and Tyler getting them sent to prison. Believing that she'd changed, Paige had helped Michelle to get a new phone and an apartment of her own away from Dimato, putting the SIM card and the apartment lease in her own name. Dimato and Michelle had then framed Paige for a series of burglaries in the area, using the apartment to store the stolen goods, and using the phone to keep track of where they'd come from. Though Paige had managed to avoid being caught by emptying out the contents of the apartment, and later putting them in a Salvation Army donation bin, it wasn't long before the police linked her to the items. Mark then turned up at his own wedding and arrested the bride in front of everyone. After being questioned, she was released, still in a state of shock and unable to get any answers from Mark as to whether their engagement was still on. As she arrived home in a daze, Paige was surprised to find Mary there, and she broke down, then decided to destroy her wedding dress. Seeing that Paige just needed some answers from Mark, Mary went to talk to him, but he refused to speak to her. Finally, later on that day, he realised that perhaps he'd made a mistake and that he should talk to Paige - but when he went to find her, he found out that she'd gone back to Singapore with Mary.

Tenure
7157, 7158, 7159, 7162, 7165, 7167, 7299

Back