Anna Torv (born 7 June 1979) is an Australian actress who has worked extensively in the United States. Her performance as Olivia Dunham in the Fox science fiction series Fringe (2008–2013) earned her four consecutive Saturn Awards for Best Actress on Television, a record for any performer. She portrayed psychologist Wendy Carr in the Netflix period crime drama Mindhunter from 2017 to 2019, and Tess in the HBO post-apocalyptic drama series The Last of Us in 2023. She is especially known in Australia for the ABC drama The Newsreader, for which she won two consecutive AACTA Awards. She stars in the Netflix drama series Territory, set in Australia's Northern Territory, which premiered in October 2024.

Early life and education

Torv was born in Melbourne on 7 June 1979, the daughter of Susan (née Carmichael), of Scottish descent and Hans Arvid Torv (Tõrv), of Estonian ancestry. At age six, she moved with her mother and younger brother to the Gold Coast, where she grew up, initially attending All Saints Anglican School before finishing her schooling at Benowa State High School, where she graduated in 1996. Following her high school graduation, she relocated to Sydney, New South Wales, where she had been accepted into the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) at the age of 17. As she was too young to get an electricity account on her own, and to go to pubs, she decided to take "a gap year", during which she worked as cafe and bar staff. She graduated with a performing arts degree in 2001. Torv has been estranged from her father, a property developer and radio presenter, for many years.

Career

In 2003, Torv played the role of Ophelia with the Bell Shakespeare Company in John Bell's production of Hamlet. In 2004, she joined the cast of Australia's acclaimed television drama The Secret Life of Us, 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 did voice work and performance capture for the role of 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 Fringe. She received an Australians in Film Breakthrough award in 2009. She has been nominated five times for the Saturn Award for Best Television Actress from 2009 to 2013, winning a total of four times. Torv appeared as Virginia Grey 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 of Heavenly Sword. In March 2016, Torv was cast in the role of Dr. Wendy Carr, an FBI consultant, in the Netflix drama Mindhunter. In July 2021, Torv was cast in the role of Tess in the HBO post-apocalyptic series The Last of Us. The show premiered in January 2023; despite being a guest role, Torv's performance was seen as an early highlight, with Bernard Boo of Den of Geek writing: "With just about an episode and a half, the terrific Anna Torv leaves an indelible impression as Joel's no-nonsense ride-or-die Tess before literally exiting the series with a bang [...]". Torv played newsreader Helen Norville in the ABC series The Newsreader, released in August 2021, which was set in an Australian TV newsroom in the mid-1980s. The series returned for a second season in November 2023. Torv won the AACTA Award for Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series twice for her performance as Norville, once for each season. For the first season, she won the 2022 Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actress, and the series also won the Logie Award for Most Outstanding Drama Series. She was nominated for a second Logie for the second season. In 2021, Torv also appeared in the television series Fires, produced by the ABC Television network, about the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season, in which megafires devastated Australia. In October 2024, Torv appeared in the Neflix series Territory.

Personal life

Torv's paternal aunt, journalist Anna dePeyster, was married to media mogul Rupert Murdoch for 31 years. Through this marriage, Torv is a cousin of Elisabeth, Lachlan, and James Murdoch. In December 2008, Torv married American actor Mark Valley, with whom she co-starred in Fringe. In April 2010, it was reported that the couple had separated or divorced several months previously. Torv lived in Los Angeles for over a decade, up until shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020. During her time there, she became a mother and bought a house. She then sold her home and returned to Australia's Gold Coast in early 2020, where she stayed with her mother before moving to Melbourne to film The Newsreader. Torv does not use social media. , Torv and her son live in northern New South Wales.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Video games

Awards and nominations