Yvonne Jeffries (previously Gregory) is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. She was portrayed by Alison Quigan in a guest stint in 2004, before returning in a regular role the following year. She remained on the show until 2011 and returned as part of the shows 20th anniversary in May 2012. Yvonne arrived alongside husband, Ian (Jeffrey Thomas), as the mother of lesbian nurse, Maia Jeffries (Anna Jullienne). Yvonne proved disappointed at Maia's sexuality and in comparison she was proud of her other daughters Libby (Fleur Saville) and Tania (Faye Smythe). Yvonne soon became the receptionist of the hospital and reestablished contact with the son she adopted out at birth, Hamish Flynn (Phil Brown). However Hamish later turned out to be a conman after her money. Following the death of Ian, Yvonne went on to have several more love interests, with the most high profile being that of Tania's ex-boyfriend, Ben Goodall (Shaun Edwards-Brown), who also ended up dying. Yvonne's maternal and kind nature saw her establish several core friendships on the show, primarily with Brenda Holloway (Katherine McRae), Gerald Tippett (Harry McNaughton) and Shobna Kumari (Leela Patel). The characters high profile storylines and positive nature, saw Yvonne become a fan favourite character and the Jeffries family unit to be named one of the show's most popular set of characters.