She is perhaps best known to small screen audiences for her soap opera roles, especially in the World War II period-piece drama The Sullivans as matriarch Grace Sullivan, as well as roles in legal drama Carson's Law as Jennifer Carson and briefly in serial Neighbours as Faye Hudson, the sister of patriarch Doug Willis played by Terence Donovan.

[4][5] At ages 5–9, she wrote, directed and starred in plays in the local jail; her father being a policeman, amateur magician and ventriloquist.

She has appeared in professional theatre since 1954, her roles including Chase Me Comrade with Stanley Baxter, playing Linda Loman in Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller's The Last Yankee, Sheila in John Misto's Shoehorn Sonata, Mrs Patrick Campbell in Dear Liar, Margaret in Rough Justice, D H Lawrence's The Daughter-in-Law, David Williamson's Travelling North and Birthrights, Bella in Gaslight and The Male of The Species with Edward Woodward.

In 2010 Bayly starred in the well known play Calendar Girls and more recently in David Williamson's When Dad Married Fury and The Sound of Music[1] listed among Lorraine Bayly's many television credits: The miniseries 1915 (ABC), The Challenge playing Eileen Bond, in Grim Pickings (SAFC) as Betsy Tander and as Lindy Chamberlain's mother Avis Murchison in Through My Eyes: The Lindy Chamberlain Story.

[2] Lorraine Bayly's film roles include Fatty Finn (AFI nominated), Ride a Wild Pony for Disney and The Man From Snowy River alongside acting legend Kirk Douglas.