Australian actress Anna Torv was born in Sydney, but spent most of her years growing up in the Gold Coast. She pursued her passion for acting and was educated at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Australia, and graduated in 2001. She earned a degree in Performing Arts (Acting) and credited her years there for her subsequent paid roles. She made her stage debut as the lead in a production of The Credeaux Canvas, which she found as a magnificent experience. She soon landed her first role on television, cast as the character Irena Nedov on the Australian TV Series Young Lions. She starred in 13 episodes until the show ended its run in 2002. Her next film was Traveling Light in 2003, and she had to move to Adelaide for her role as Debra Fowler. That year, she toured Australia on stage as well, playing Ophelia in a production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
In 2004, Anna Torv appeared in two episodes of the series McLeod’s Daughters as Jasmine McLeod. This was followed by a recurring role as Nikki Martel on The Secret Life of Us. She returned to Melbourne to film 20 episodes of the drama. Soon after, Torv was given a role in the film The Book of Revelation, a drama thriller directed by Ana Kokkinos. It premiered in 2006, the same time Torv became part of the Sydney Theatre Company’s production of The Cherry Orchard. It was directed by Howard Davies, who cast Torv for the role of Anya. She struggled to find more work when she moved to London, and even lived off her credit card. She continued to work there, getting extra roles as a nurse in the TV movie Frankenstein and doing voicework for the video game Heavenly Sword. Her big break came when she was cast in the BBC series Mistresses, where she plays Alex for one season. It was her performance here that led her to being discovered by J.J. Abrams, creator of the Emmy Award-winning series Lost. Torv was cast as Olivia Dunham, the lead role in Abrams’ science fiction drama Fringe. Her character is that of a young but tough FBI agent who is forced to face the unexplained phenomena of her work with Dr. Walter Bishop, played by John Noble.