A 'Twilight romance' and death threats: What you need to know about Survivor's Sharni Vinson.

Sharni Vinson is no stranger to Australian television. 

She was a household name in the early noughties when she played Cassie Turner on Home and Away. And now she’s returning to our screens in Survivor: Heros vs Villains, which premieres at 7:30pm on Monday, January 30, on Channel Ten. 

Check out Sharni in the trailer for Survivor: Heros vs. Villains. Post continues below. 

Here’s what Vinson’s been up to since her troubled teen days on Australia’s biggest soap:

Sharni Vinson’s time on Home & Away was not ideal.

Vinson originally auditioned for the role of Martha on Home and Away, eventually played by Jodi Gordon, before getting cast as 16-year-old Cassie when she was 22. 

In 2006, Vinson was nominated for ‘Most Popular New Female Talent’ at the Logies for the role. 

While her career was on the rise, Vinson has since spoken to New Idea about the sacrifices she had to make to play the role. 

The actress comes from three generations of dancers, and has been dancing since she was a baby. But the gruelling production schedule meant she had to give dancing up. 

“It felt like something was missing from my life,” she told the magazine. 

When she left Summer Bay, Vinson decided to refocus on her dancing career. 

Her accent helped her land her biggest US role. 

This focus, alongside a move to LA, did wonders for Vinson’s career.

She got cast in a leading role in Step Up 3D against thousands of other hopefuls in New York City. 

The film made $159.2 million USD at the box office, making it the most successful film in the franchise. 

It seems being an Australian helped Vinson stand out in auditions and it was even the reason she snagged her next big role in slasher film You’re Next, according to Flicks.

"I prepared an audition as an American and just went in like everybody else. It was at the end of the day when I was in the room that they sort of said 'Can we hear it in your Australian accent because we think that for some reason the Australian accent sounds tough, it just sounds tougher,'" she told the publication. 

"And so I said 'sure' and then after doing it in the Australian accent, they just loved it. I feel like it was definitely an advantage."

She dated a Twilight cast member. 

Vinson lived every noughties teenager's dream by dating Twilight star Kellan Lutz, who played Emmett Cullen in the movie franchise, between 2011 to 2013. 

The pair reportedly met at a reading for Step Up 3D and dated for two years. 

"When I met Kellan I hadn't seen any of the movies or read any of the books," she told Insider. 

"I knew nothing about this crazy obsession that has become Twilight. That was a good thing because I treated him like a normal person and that's what he is."

Prior to moving to LA and meeting Lutz, Vinson was in a long-distance relationship with actor A.J Buckly (CSI: NY, SEAL Team). 

She's been receiving death threats over the phone. 

This week, Vinson spoke to Kyle and Jackie O about the death threats she received after a scam phone call. 

"They call people around US tax time saying they’re entitled to either a tax refund, or that they have to pay taxes that are overdue," she explained on radio. 

"The ways that they do it is horrendous by threatening your life and to kill you. They have your address, they have your phone number."

Vinson’s eventually got the police involved in a “three-way undercover phone call" calling the scammers back with the sheriff on the line to get more information.

"When the sheriff revealed himself as being the police, this guy got very angry… he started yelling abuse, sexual insults, just hideous stuff and he hung up. He’s been calling back ever since and leaving these detailed voice messages threatening to kill me."

The whole experience left the actress with nightmares and made her eager to return to Australia. 

“I am eager now to come back, especially after this,” she admitted, “I shouldn’t be living like this, in this fear.”

She's about to return to our TV screens. 

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Vinson returns to our TV screens tonight on Australian Survivor: Heroes vs Villains.  

The actress will join the Heros team alongside previous winner Hayley Leake, Nina Diaz-Twine, Benjamin Law and David Zaharakis. 

The villains will see the return of fan favourites Jordie Hansen and Georgi Mladenov, alongside Anjali Rao (The Real Housewives of Melbourne), Miss World Australia Sarah Marshke and journalist Michael Warren. 

"I've never been more ready for a show like this," Vinson told TV Black Box.

"I'm not planning on coming in and being Sharni The Actress. This is an opportunity for me to actually remove myself from the actress side and bring to light Sharni The Person."

The recent promo pit Vinson and Marshke against each other as Scream Queen vs. Beauty Queen, referring to Vinson’s iconic horror role and Marshke’s Miss World win.

"Australia might remember me from Home and Away. I portrayed a survivor in the horror film You’re Next. In America, people call me the Scream Queen."

Survivor: Heroes vs Villains premieres at 7:30pm on Monday, January 30, on Channel 10 and 10Play.

Feature Image: Network 10.