Claudia Karvan

Claudia Karvan was born on 19 May 1972, in Sydney, Australia. She moved to Bali with her mother and brothers when she was eight and lived there for a year before returning to Australia. Later on, the family moved to King's Cross where her stepfather owned the famous nightspot Arthur's.

She was an intelligent and organized girl from childhood and attended the SCEGGS Darlinghurst, an independent, Anglican school for girls.

As a young girl she dreamed of becoming a dog trainer or a horse trainer, and the thought of becoming a performer never crossed her mind. However, destiny had other plans for her, and soon she found herself becoming an actress at the age of 11.

Claudia Karvan made her debut as a child actress in the 1983 film, ‘Molly’. The movie was about a real life singing dog, Molly, who was owned by Phillip Roope and had appeared on the Mike Walsh television show.

In 1987, she appeared along with Judy Davis in the movie ‘High Tide’, which was about the bond between a mother and her long-lost daughter. Claudia’s portrayal of the unhappy teen Ally was well received by the audience. The same year, she also appeared in Phillip Noyce’s ‘Echoes of Paradise’.

After playing supporting roles so far as a young girl, she landed her first leading role in 1990 when she was offered the part of Joanna Johnson in the comedy film, ‘The Big Steal’. The movie, which also had Ben Mendelsohn playing his first leading role, was a huge hit.

In 1993, she appeared alongside Alex Dimitriades in the film, ‘The Heartbreak Kid’, which was based on a play of the same name by Richard Barrett. She played the role of a young and vivacious high school teacher who develops an illicit affair with one of her students.

Claudia Karvan appeared as Alfhild de Luce in the 1999 drama film, ‘Passion’, which was based on some incidents from the life of the pianist and composer Percy Grainger. The same year, she starred opposite Hugh Jackman in the comedy movie ‘Paperback Hero’.

Her portrayal of the character of Alex Christensen in the television drama series, ‘The Secret Life of Us’, is one of her finest performances. The show was immensely popular in Australia and was also shown in other countries like Ireland, New Zealand, France and Norway. She was critically acclaimed for her role which earned her several awards and nominations.