[1] Russ served as casting director on the television soap opera Neighbours from the show's inception in 1984 to her departure in 2009.
[3] She appeared in productions of Man of La Mancha, Oliver!, Fiddler on the Roof, Godspell, The New Adventure of Pinocchio and Funny Girl.
[6] In September 2014, Russ was featured in The Past Is A Foreign Country, a two part episode of the ABC documentary series Australian Story.
[10][11] During this time Russ was contacted by Reg Watson, who explained that he was working on a new drama series and wanted her to make a list of actors to look at.
[12] Russ wanted a mix of new talent and experienced but not as well known actors, believing viewers would find it harder to engage with their characters if they were too well known.
[9] The new show, now titled Neighbours, was commissioned by Seven Network in 1984 and launched in early 1985, with a mix of seasoned veteran actors alongside several newcomers.
[12][13] She is credited not only for casting "seasoned performers", including Ian Smith, Anne Charleston, Tom Oliver, Jackie Woodburne, Alan Fletcher,[12] but for "discovering" and casting many upcoming younger actors, who have gone on to forge international careers, such as Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan in their famous roles of Charlene Mitchell and Scott Robinson,[1] Guy Pearce, Daniel MacPherson,[12] Delta Goodrem, Natalie Imbruglia, Guy Pearce and Jesse Spencer,[14] Craig McLachlan, Holly Valance, Madeleine West, and Brooke Satchwell.
[18] Adelaide Kane (Lolly Allen) and Sam Clark (Ringo Brown) were eventually chosen and given a three-month contract with the show.
[19] The Dolly competition ran again in 2008 and Russ handpicked Mauricio Merino Jr. and Chelsea Jones to star as Simon and Tegan Freeman, respectively.
"[12] Russ worked as casting director for Grundy Television, and its successor FremantleMedia for a total of twenty-five years.