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Lilly Van der Meer Seven Facts Including Her Role Xanthe Canning And Anti-Bullying Initiative

Dahlia Published On Thu Jan 16 2020   Modified On Thu Jan 16 2020
Lilly Van der Meer Seven Facts Including Her Role Xanthe Canning And Anti-Bullying Initiative

The Australian actress Lilly Van der Meer is known for the portrayal of Xanthe Canning in  the Neighbours alongside Felix Mallard. She also had spin-off appearances in Xanthe ♥ Ben, Pipe Up, and Summer Stories. 

She is undoubtedly one of the promising actresses and here we have summed up seven interesting facts about the future superstar.   

7. She Faced Difficulty Doing Serious Scenes While Filming Neighbours     

Lilly gave a fantastic performance in the Neighbours as Xanthe Canning. But she had a lot of difficulties doing serious scenes especially with her two co-stars: Gary Canning and Colette Mann.   

If you are wondering why then she explained how her co-stars would always make her laugh, and she would find it hard to do serious scenes in an atmosphere of hilarity.  

Nevertheless, Gary and Colette are her two favourite characters to work with; Gary played her father while Colette portrayed the role of grandmother. 

6. Lilly Has A Galeophobia

Whenever Lilly returns to her home state during production breaks, her first port of call is the beach for a surf. It is one of her favourite outdoor passions. 

However, Lilly is phobic about sharks. And, this comes from her encounter with a shark while she was out surfing. 

She described the experience of watching a shark move close to her board in the ocean as the scariest one filled with moments of panic. Nevertheless, she started to paddle as fast as she can and escaped from the nerve-racking ordeal. 

5. Meer Has Huge Crush On Two Actors

When asked by a fan who her celebrity crush was, Lilly started gushing over her childhood crush, Shia LaBeouf. Though for her, it isn't about crushing on Shia but being obsessed with his films and performance.

Lily Van der Meer
Lily Van der Meer at The George Ballroom

Source: Pinterest

But currently, she has a huge crush on Riverdale actor KJ Apa. She likes his accent and would go on forever, describing her fondness for KJ if asked about him!

4. She Has Dutch Ancestors

While Lilly was born in Australia, her father comes from Holland and is of Dutch ethnicity. Moreover, Van der Meer is a Dutch toponymic surname, which means "from the lake."

The Neighbours actress revealed that most of her family member still resides in Holland and she gets packages sent from Holland from her closest relatives.

3. Neighbours Actress Lilly Owns Online Shopping Store   

In addition to enjoying acting from just five years old, Lilly has a penchant for fashion too.  

Lily Van der Meer
Lily Van der Meer posing in the apparel from her shopping store

 Source: Instagram

She launched her online shopping store called Bohemian Gypsea in 2015. The store offers an array of bohemian-inspired clothing with matching belts, hats, and jewellery.

2. Shared Her Experience With Bullying 

In 2017, Lilly joined forces with youth mental health agency Headspace and launched an anti-bullying initiative. The campaign Lilly fronted has also released a book called Bullying. 

While discussing her own experience, Lilly opened up about the harrowing ordeal she faced in school.   

In the interview with News Corp Australia, Lilly stated,

"It was discreet bullying — I was in a group of girls, and we were really happy, a close group of friends, and then it changed, and I wasn't good enough to be in their group anymore."

She went on to explain how she managed to rise above the bullying abuse, admitting that she simply deletes negative comments that are thrown her way in social media.  

1. Xanthe Canning is Her First Major Acting Job

Acting had been Lilly's calling since she was five years old. In primary school, she took speech and drama lessons. At the age of 13, she focused on studying acting to establish a career in television and film. 

After taping an audition with the help of her mother at their home, Lilly learned she had won the role of Xanthe during her lunch break while she was at school. 

This marked her first main acting job, and she continued to portray the character for three years. The actress received a positive response from critics becoming nominated for the Best Newcomer accolade. 

However, she departed from the show in January 2019 and relocated to the US following her exit.