Anna Torv

Early life

Torv was born in Melbourne 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, attending 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 [...]". For the series, she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, marking her first ever Emmy nomination.

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.

On 20 November 2025, Torv was named a lead in the new ABC series Dustfall.

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 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 lives in northern New South Wales.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Video games

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. "On This Day: June 7". The New York Times.
2. "Busy keeping secrets on ''Fringe'' Aussie stars in hot new show". Philadelphia Daily News.
3. (8 April 2010). "Anna Torv on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson 4/7/10". AnnaTorvDotCom.
4. (2 June 2016). "The secret life of Anna Torv". Sydney Morning Herald.
5. [http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/mistress-anna/story-e6frg12c-1111116339605 Anna Torv's story] {{Webarchive. link. (2 April 2013, perthnow.com.au. Retrieved 20 April 2015.)
6. (4 May 2008). "Torv is her own mistress".
7. Moore, Ann Wason. (13 June 2016). "Anna Torv: The quiet achiever".
8. [http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/03/06/1046826478970.html Info re Torv and Bell Shakespeare Company], ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 3 June 2003. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
9. (1 February 2023). "Revisit Anna Torv's Iconic Early Role In The Secret Life Of Us".
10. (22 April 2016). "Anna Torv Audiobooks".
11. Fussman, Cal. [http://www.esquire.com/women/women-we-love/anna-torv-nude-0310 Anna Torv Is a Woman We Love], ''Esquire'', 8 February 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
12. Woman, The. (25 June 2010). "2010 Saturn Award Winners". Dreadcentral.com.
13. (21 November 2011). "Can I Give You A Ticket? (With Anna Torv)".
14. (30 October 2013). "First Look: Heavenly Sword Movie". IGN.com.
15. (31 January 2008). "Torv takes lead role in Abrams' drama".
16. (18 October 2017). "We Should Be More Excited That ''Mindhunter'' Has Brought Anna Torv Back Into the Spotlight".
17. (8 March 2016). "Anna Torv Boards David Fincher's Netflix Drama ''Mind Hunter''".
18. (22 July 2021). "HBO's ''The Last of Us'' Casts Anna Torv in Key Role".
19. Andreeva, Nellie. (16 February 2022). "'The Last Of Us': HBO Chief Gives Premiere Date Update On Video Game Adaptation".
20. Boo, Bernard. (22 January 2023). "The Last of Us Episode 2 Review: Anna Torv Steals the Show as Tess".
21. Sarkisian, Jacob. (December 24, 2023). "Emmy nominee profile: Anna Torv ('The Last of Us') makes the ultimate sacrifice in standout episode".
22. Lobb, Adrian. (9 November 2023). "The Newsreader star Anna Torv on how hit drama explores journalistic ethics".
23. (9 November 2023). "TV tonight: Anna Torv returns in classy drama The Newsreader".
24. "AACTA announce the winners for the 2024 AACTA Awards presented by Foxtel Group".
25. (10 February 2024). "AACTA Awards winners: Talk to Me, The Newsreader win big, Margot Robbie recognised as trailblazer".
26. (8 September 2023). "Logie winner Anna Torv returns for season two of The Newsreader".
27. (23 June 2022). "The Victorian projects that swept the 2022 TV Week Logies".
28. (18 August 2024). "All the winners of the 2024 Logie Awards".
29. Slatter, Sean. (17 July 2024). "Netflix turns 'Desert King' into 'Territory' with Anna Torv leading the cast".
30. "Anna Torv leads ABC's new crime drama ''Dustfall''".
31. [[Kristin Dos Santos. Dos Santos, Kristin]]. [http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b81893_Fringe_Stars_Anna_Torv_and_Mark_Valley_Married.html "''Fringe'' Stars Anna Torv and Mark Valley Married!"] [[E!]], 2 February 2009.
32. Jordan, Julie. (9 April 2010). "Anna Torv and Mark Valley Split".
33. D'Zurilla, Christie. (12 April 2010). "Divorce in bulk: Kate Walsh, Anna Torv and Mark Valley -- and birds". The Los Angeles Times.
34. Torv, Anna. (1 August 2023). "Anna Torv: "I fought back the tears and carried on!"".
35. Connaughton, Maddison. (24 September 2021). "From Mindhunter to Newsreader: Anna Torv on how she chooses her next role".
36. (10 July 2021). "Why you won't find ''The Newsreader'' actor Anna Torv on social media". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
37. Neill, Rosemary. (January 2024). "The gruelling shoot Anna Torv will never forget".
38. (11 July 2022). "Filming underway on the Newsreader S2".
39. "Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA (2010)".
40. "Scream Awards (2010)".
41. "Teen Choice Awards (2010)".
42. (3 August 2025). "Logies 2025: Lynne McGranger wins Gold Logie, Fisk sweeps up comedy awards — as it happened". [[ABC News (Australia).