Marjorie "Marj" Brasch (previously Neilson) is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. Being part of the original cast, she was portrayed by Elizabeth McRae from the show's first season in 1992 up until 1996. She returned as a guest character in 1998, 2002, as part of the show's 20th anniversary in May 2012 and again for the show's 25th anniversary in 2017. Matriarch of the original family unit – the Neilsons, Marj was the mother of four sons; Patrick (Uncredited), Damien (Mark Ferguson), the villainous Darryl (Mark Ferguson) and Stuart (Martin Henderson) alongside a daughter Jane (Katherine McRae). She was staunchly Catholic and often found herself fighting for her beliefs and her family. The character also resonated the archetypical soap opera gossip, something which McRae suggested was integral to the show. Originally married to Tom (Adrian Keeling), Marj soon became a widow and married boyfriend Laurie Brasch (Chic Littlewood) before leaving the show in 1996, to become a politician. She returned in 1998 to aide in the exit of Jenny Harrison (Maggie Harper), briefly in 2002 to attend good friend Nick's (Karl Burnett) wedding, in 2012 to support Rachel McKenna (Angela Bloomfield), and in 2017 for her onscreen death. Throughout Marj's run, she maintained several long lasting character relationships, primarily with; Jenny Harrison, Kirsty Knight (Angela Dotchin) and Rachel McKenna, some of which have had on-lasting effects on archetypical character moulds. The character was used largely for comedic scenes but as she developed, she was also used for dramatic effect, with numerous storylines being fronted by Marj. She was hugely popular and iconic, being named as the most iconic character to feature on the soap of all time. Creation and casting One of the goals of creating Shortland Street, was to have strong powerful women as primary characters to counter stereotype the weak and vulnerable women often portrayed in dramas. Marj was created as one of the characters to fulfill this role. A family unit was needed to pull in a broader audience and so Marj was written with a husband and two children. Elizabeth McRae was cast in the role and was delivered an initial 30 scripts in February 1992. McRae was sceptical the show would last over a year and was curious how her character could develop over such a long period. She went on to realise the writers craft, stating; "You learn