- Julia Vahry is selling her Hamilton home to pursue an acting career in Europe.
- Vahry moved to Dublin to study at Bow Street Academy and has secured roles in TV pilots.
- She continues to run her insurance business to fund her acting dream.
One of the stars of The Traitors NZ is selling her Art Deco Hamilton home and leaving New Zealand for good to pursue an acting career overseas.
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Julia Vahry appeared in the first season of the hit reality TV show as a “faithful” – an experience that changed her life.
The former police officer turned insurance broker told OneRoof she decided to give acting a go after a talent agency approached her at the end of The Traitors. “It was always something I had wanted to give it a crack,” she said.
Julia Vahry got her first taste of being in front of the camera when she appeared in The Traitors in 2023. Photo / Supplied
“I was like, ‘I’m nearly 40, so if I’m going to learn or check out if I’m any good at this, I don’t want to waste time having people blow smoke up my ass or learn from somebody who is not very good’.”
Vahry enrolled in a five-week acting course run by New Zealand acting royalty Miranda Harcourt, who encouraged her to take it further. A year later, she moved to Dublin to study at Bow Street Academy – the National Screen Acting School of Ireland.
She rented out her Art Deco home overlooking Hamilton Lake and moved herself and her two children, Isla, 12, and James, 11, halfway across the world.
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The course started in January this year, and Vahry is already making headway. She has been picked to appear in a dark comedy with one of the stars of Slumdog Millionaire and has booked acting jobs in several TV pilots.
Vahry, who is still running her insurance broking business, Vahry Insurance, to help fund her acting dream, has decided to put her home on the market. “Letting it go was a hard decision, but it was the right decision too because I’m here now and this is where I want to be,” she told OneRoof.
Vahry bought the four-bedroom, two-bathroom home at 39 Marama Street in 2020 just before lockdown. “It was the view that got me, and I thought, ‘Gosh, imagine waking up to that every day’.”
The four-bedroom home has impressive views of Hamilton Lake. Photo / Supplied
It is a piece of art in its own right and has retained a lot of its original Art Deco features. Photo / Supplied
The pool was also a clincher. “The summers there with young kids were fantastic. They were in the pool from eight in the morning to eight at night.”
The Art Deco home is one of two perched up on the hill and is a Hamilton landmark. “When you do the lake walk , it just sticks out like a wedding cake up there on the hill. It’s a unique, beautiful-looking house. It’s definitely a heart purchase.”
She added: “I feel incredibly excited I can close that chapter now. I loved my time there – it served such a wonderful purpose for the kids, and it’s such a sunny house.”
Bayleys listing agent Rachel Waldegrave said the house had “one of the best water views in the city”.
The house was designed by renowned architect Terence Vautier in the 1920s, who made his name in Napier before arriving in Hamilton to design homes for city's elite.
“Unfortunately, some have been lost to inner city development, so it really is a special home. It’s amazing to see how beautiful architecture stands the test of time,” Waldegrave said.
Waldegrave said interest so far had come from people looking for a family home with a spectacular outlook. She would not be drawn on price, but the property has an RV of $1.7m.
- 39 Marama Street, in Frankton, Hamilton, goes to auction on May 22
