# Anna Torv

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

Torv was born in Melbourne on 7 June 1979, the daughter of Susan (née Carmichael), of Scottish descent and Hans Arvid Torv (Tõrv), a property developer and radio presenter 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. As of 2008, Torv had been estranged from her father for many years.
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.
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.

## 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 the 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

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.
As of 2021, Torv does not use social media. As of January 2024, Torv and her son live in northern New South Wales.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role |
| 2003 | Travelling Light | Debra Fowler |
| 2006 | The Book of Revelation | Bridget / Gertrude |
| 2014 | Heavenly Sword | Nariko (voice) |
| 2014 | Love Is Now | Virginia Grey |
| 2015 | The Daughter | Anna |
| 2017 | Stephanie | Jane |
| 2023 | Scarygirl | The Keeper (voice) |
| 2024 | Force of Nature: The Dry 2 | Alice Russell |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2002 | White Collar Blue | Neighbour | Television film |
| 2002 | Young Lions | Irena Nedov | Recurring role (series 1) |
| 2004 | McLeod's Daughters | Jasmine McLeod | 2 episodes |
| 2004–2005 | The Secret Life of Us | Nikki Martel | Recurring role (series 4) |
| 2007 | Frankenstein | ITU nurse | Television film |
| 2008 | Mistresses | Alex | Recurring role (series 1) |
| 2008–2013 | Fringe | Olivia Dunham | Main role |
| 2010 | The Pacific | Virginia Grey | Episode: "Peleliu Landing" |
| 2011 | The Cleveland Show | Herself | Episode: "A Short Story and a Tall Tale" |
| 2011 | CollegeHumor Originals | Officer Alia | Episode: "Can I Give You a Ticket?" |
| 2014 | Open | Windsor | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2015 | Deadline Gallipoli | Gwendoline Churchill | Main role; miniseries |
| 2016–2019 | Secret City | Harriet Dunkley | Main role |
| 2017–2019 | Mindhunter | Wendy Carr | Main role |
| 2021 | Fires | Lally Robinson | 2 episodes |
| 2021–25 | The Newsreader | Helen Norville | Main role |
| 2023 | The Last of Us | Tess | 3 episodes |
| 2024 | Nautilus | Revna | 1 episode |
| 2024 | Territory | Emily Lawson | Main role |
| 2024 | So Long, Marianne | Charmian Clift | Main role |

### Theatre

| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Notes |
| 1986 | The Night Before Christmas | Bess | Roman Scandals Theatre Restaurant | |
| 1998–2001 | Undiscovered Country | Unknown | Unknown | Credited from playbill of the 2003 production of Hamlet |
| 1998–2001 | Bodyline: Time's Up | Unknown | Unknown | Credited from playbill of the 2003 production of Hamlet |
| 1998–2001 | Richard III | Unknown | Unknown | Credited from playbill of the 2003 production of Hamlet |
| 1998–2001 | Basic Burlesque | Unknown | Unknown | Credited from playbill of the 2003 production of Hamlet |
| 2001 | Plenty | Susan Traherne | NIDA Theatre | 2 April 2001 |
| 2001 | Language of the Gods | Alicia | NIDA Theatre | 5 May 2001 |
| 2001 | Ring Round the Moon | Capulat | NIDA Studio | 27 June 2001 |
| 2001 | Goodnight Children Everywhere | Ann | NIDA Studio | 28 September 2001 |
| 2001 | Kiss Me, Kate | Chorus Girl | Parade Theatre | 17 October 2001 |
| 2002 | The Credeaux Canvas | Amelia | SBW Stables Theatre | In association with the Griffin Theatre Company |
| 2003 | Hamlet | Ophelia | Bell Shakespeare | |
| 2005 | The Cherry Orchard | Anya | Sydney Theatre Company | |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2007 | Heavenly Sword | Nariko (voice) | Also motion capture |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 2008 | NAVGTR Awards | Lead Performance in a Drama | Heavenly Sword | Nominated |
| 2009 | Saturn Awards | Best Actress on Television | Fringe | Won |
| 2009 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV Actress Fantasy/Sci-Fi | Fringe | Nominated |
| 2009 | Scream Awards | Breakout Performance – Female | Fringe | Nominated |
| 2010 | Saturn Awards | Best Actress on Television | Fringe | Won |
| 2010 | Scream Awards | Best Television Performance | Fringe | Nominated |
| 2010 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV Actress Fantasy/Sci-Fi | Fringe | Nominated |
| 2011 | Saturn Awards | Best Actress on Television | Fringe | Won |
| 2011 | International Online Cinema Awards | Best Actress in a Drama Series | Fringe | Nominated |
| 2011 | Scream Awards | Best Science Fiction Actress | Fringe | Nominated |
| 2011 | Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Actress in a Drama Actress | Fringe | Nominated |
| 2011 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV Actress Fantasy/Sci-Fi | Fringe | Nominated |
| 2012 | Saturn Awards | Best Actress on Television | Fringe | Won |
| 2012 | IGN Awards | Best TV Actress | Fringe | Nominated |
| 2012 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV Actress Fantasy/Sci-Fi | Fringe | Nominated |
| 2013 | Saturn Awards | Best Actress on Television | Fringe | Nominated |
| 2016 | AACTA Awards | Best Supporting Actress | The Daughter | Nominated |
| 2017 | Logie Awards | Most Outstanding Actress | Secret City | Won |
| 2019 | AACTA Awards | Best Lead Actress in a Television Drama | Secret City | Nominated |
| 2021 | AACTA Awards | Best Lead Actress in a Television Drama | The Newsreader | Won |
| 2022 | Logie Awards | Most Popular Actress | The Newsreader | Nominated |
| 2022 | Logie Awards | Most Outstanding Actress | The Newsreader | Won |
| 2022 | Equity Ensemble Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Series in a Drama Series | The Newsreader | Won |
| 2023 | Online Film & Television Association | Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series | The Last of Us | Nominated |
| 2023 | International Online Cinema Awards | Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series | The Last of Us | Nominated |
| 2023 | Gold Derby Awards | Drama Guest Actress | The Last of Us | Nominated |
| 2023 | TV Scholar Awards | Best Guest Performance in a Drama | The Last of Us | Nominated |
| 2023 | MTV Movie Awards | Best Kiss | The Last of Us | Nominated |
| 2024 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series | The Last of Us | Nominated |
| 2024 | CinEuphoria Awards | Merit - Honorary Award Shared with the cast | The Last of Us | Won |
| 2024 | AACTA Awards | Best Lead Actress in a Television Drama | The Newsreader | Won |
| 2024 | Logie Awards | Best Lead Actress in a Drama | The Newsreader | Nominated |
| 2025 | AACTA Awards | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Force of Nature: The Dry 2 | Nominated |
| 2025 | AACTA Awards | Best Lead Actress in a Television Drama | Territory | Nominated |