Anna Torv (born 7 June 1979) is an Australian actress. She is best known for her role as FBI agent Olivia Dunham on the Fox science-fiction series ''

Fringe Fringe may refer to: Arts * Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival, known as "the Fringe" * Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival * Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre * The Fringe, the ...

'' (2008–2013), for which she was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series and received four Saturn Awards for Best Actress on Television. She also starred as Wendy Carr in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

crime thriller series '' Mindhunter'' (2017–2019).

Early life

Torv was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, the daughter of Susan (née Carmichael) and Hans Arvid Torv. She grew up on the

Gold Coast, Queensland The Gold Coast is a coastal city in the state of Queensland, Australia, approximately south-southeast of the centre of the state capital Brisbane. With a population over 600,000, the Gold Coast is the sixth-largest city in Australia, the na ...

. Her father was born to a Scottish mother in

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

, Scotland; her paternal grandfather is of

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also * ...

descent. Her mother is of Scottish descent. She is estranged from her father."Torv is her own mistress"
''The Sydney Morning Herald''. Retrieved 20 April 2015. She has a younger brother, Dylan. Her paternal aunt is writer Anna Murdoch Mann, who was married for 31 years to media mogul

Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...

. Torv graduated from Benowa State High School in 1996, having previously attended All Saints Anglican School.Anna Torv's story
, perthnow.com.au. Retrieved 20 April 2015. She graduated from Australia's

National Institute of Dramatic Art The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts is based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, many of Australia's leading actors and directors trained at NIDA, including Cat ...

with a degree in

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perfo ...

in 2001.

Career

In 2003, Torv played the role of Ophelia with the Bell Shakespeare Company in John Bell's production of ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

''. In 2004, she joined the cast of Australia's acclaimed television drama ''

The Secret Life of Us ''The Secret Life of Us'' is an Australian television drama series set in the beachside neighbourhood of St Kilda, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is primarily a drama with some comedic moments. The series was produced by Southe ...

'' playing Nikki Martel. In 2005, Torv recorded a series of audio books for Scholastic Australia's Solo Collection, including titles ''Little Fingers'', ''Jack's Owl'', ''Spike'', and ''Maddy in the Middle'' and later voiced Nariko in the 2007 video game '' Heavenly Sword.'' She then appeared in the BBC series '' Mistresses'' in 2008. From 2008 to 2013, Torv played Agent Olivia Dunham in the American television series ''

''. She received an Australians in Film Breakthrough award in 2009. She has been nominated five times for the

Saturn Award The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...

for Best Television Actress from 2009 to 2013, winning a total of four. Torv appeared as

Virginia Grey Virginia Grey (March 22, 1917 – July 31, 2004) was an American actress who appeared in over 100 films and a number of radio and television shows from the 1930s to the early 1980s. Biography Grey was born on March 22, 1917, in Edendale, Calif ...

on HBO's mini-series '' The Pacific'' and later starred in a ''CollegeHumor Original'' video as a tyrannical traffic cop. In 2014, Torv reprised her role as Nariko in the

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...

of ''Heavenly Sword''. In March 2016, Torv was cast in the role of Wendy Carr, an FBI consultant, in the Netflix drama '' Mindhunter'' from

David Fincher David Andrew Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American film director. His films, mostly psychological thrillers and biographical dramas, have received 40 nominations at the Academy Awards, including three for him as Best Director. F ...

. In July 2021, Torv was cast in the role of

Tess Tess or TESS may refer to: Music * Tess (band), a Spanish pop band active from 2000 to 2005 * TESS (musician), a UK musician Film and theatre * ''Tess'' (1979 film), a 1979 film adaptation of '' Tess of the d'Urbervilles'' * ''Tess'' (2016 fil ...

in the HBO post-apocalyptic series ''

The Last of Us ''The Last of Us'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Players control Joel (The Last of Us), Joel, a smuggler tasked with escorting a teenage girl, Ellie (The Last of Us), Ell ...

''. Torv played newsreader Helen Norville in the ABC series '' The Newsreader'', released in August 2021, for which she won the

AACTA award The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the film and television industry, ...

Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series and also the 2022 Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actress. In 2021, Torv also appeared in the television series ''

Fires Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames are pr ...

'' produced by the

ABC Television network The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the ABC Entertainment Group division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, Califor ...

about the 2019–20 bushfire season mega-fires which devastated Australia.

Personal life

In December 2008, Torv married her ''Fringe'' co-star

Mark Valley Mark Thomas Valley (born December 24, 1964) is an American film and television actor, best known for his roles as Brad Chase in the TV drama '' Boston Legal'', Oliver Richard in the NBC drama '' Harry's Law'', FBI Special Agent John Scott in t ...

. In April 2010, it was reported that the couple had separated. In 2021, it was reported that the couple had divorced in 2009.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Video games

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Torv, Anna 1979 births 21st-century Australian actresses Actresses from Melbourne Actresses from the Gold Coast, Queensland Australian expatriate actresses in the United States Australian film actresses Australian Shakespearean actresses Australian television actresses Australian video game actresses Australian voice actresses Living people Logie Award winners National Institute of Dramatic Art alumni Murdoch family