# Anna Torv
**Anna Torv** (born 1979) is an Australian actress known for starring as FBI agent Olivia Dunham in five seasons of J.J. Abrams' science-fiction series *Fringe*, as psychologist Dr Wendy Carr in [David Fincher](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-fincher)'s Netflix series *Mindhunter*, and as Tess in HBO's adaptation of *[The Last of Us](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-last-of-us-tv-series)*, a role that brought her a 2024 Emmy Award nomination.[1](https://www.aactafestival.com/speaker/anna-torv) In Australia she has won multiple awards for playing newsreader Helen Norville in three series of *The Newsreader*.[1](https://www.aactafestival.com/speaker/anna-torv)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1979, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/29335/anna-torv) |
| Training | Graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) with a degree in Performing Arts (Acting) in 2001[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/29335/anna-torv) |
| Breakthrough role | Olivia Dunham in all five seasons of Fox's *Fringe* (2008–2013)[1](https://www.aactafestival.com/speaker/anna-torv) |
| US profile | Dr Wendy Carr in *Mindhunter*, seasons 1 and 2 (2017–2019)[1](https://www.aactafestival.com/speaker/anna-torv) • [3](https://www.itv.com/presscentre/sites/default/files/2024-09/PressKit_So%20Long%2C%20Marianne_Final_240829.pdf) |
| Emmy recognition | 2024 Primetime Emmy Award nomination for playing Tess in HBO's *The Last of Us*[1](https://www.aactafestival.com/speaker/anna-torv) |
| Acclaimed Australian role | Helen Norville in *The Newsreader* (2021–2025, 18 episodes), multiple awards[1](https://www.aactafestival.com/speaker/anna-torv) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1396022/) |
| Upcoming | Detective Antigone "Tig" Pollard in *Dustfall*, an Apple TV crime drama premiering in 2027[5](https://www.apple.com/tv-pr/news/2026/10/apple-tv-lands-gripping-crime-drama-dustfall-starring-emmy-award-nominee-anna-torv/) |
## Early life and training
Torv was born in Melbourne, Victoria, to parents Susan (née Carmichael) and Hans Torv, and she is of Estonian and Scottish descent.[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/29335/anna-torv) She graduated from Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) with a degree in Performing Arts (Acting) in 2001.[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/29335/anna-torv)
Her first screen work came in Australian television: by the early 2000s she had roles in *Young Lions*, *The Secret Life of Us*, and *McLeod's Daughters*, where she played Jasmine, a cousin of Bridie Carter's character Tess.[6](https://www.nowtolove.com.au/lifestyle/anna-torv-the-newsreader-2025/) A period in the UK brought little work beyond a small part as a nurse in the telemovie *Frankenstein*, after which she was cast in *Mistresses*.[6](https://www.nowtolove.com.au/lifestyle/anna-torv-the-newsreader-2025/)
## Fringe and Mindhunter
**Television breakthrough.** Torv starred as FBI agent Olivia Dunham for all five seasons of *Fringe*, the Fox science-fiction series created by J.J. Abrams, from 2008 to 2013.[1](https://www.aactafestival.com/speaker/anna-torv) The series centered on the Fringe Division of the FBI, which investigated bizarre events involving fringe-science concepts such as psychokinesis and reanimation, alongside co-stars [Joshua Jackson](https://www.edgepedia.org/joshua-jackson) and [John Noble](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-noble).[7](https://www.welhamgirls.com/pdf/publication/2015-2016/T79W3-FINAL%20DELPHIC%20SEPT%202015.pdf) Torv has described the hours on *Fringe* as "excruciating."[6](https://www.nowtolove.com.au/lifestyle/anna-torv-the-newsreader-2025/)
She returned to prominence in the United States as Dr Wendy Carr, the psychologist who helps lead the FBI's early [Behavioral Science Unit](https://www.edgepedia.org/behavioral-science-unit) in *Mindhunter*, the David Fincher-directed Netflix series loosely based on [John E. Douglas](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-e-douglas)'s autobiographical book.[8](https://time.com/5652275/mindhunter-season-2-serial-killers/) The series ran for two seasons, from 2017 to 2019.[3](https://www.itv.com/presscentre/sites/default/files/2024-09/PressKit_So%20Long%2C%20Marianne_Final_240829.pdf) A Guardian interview noted how Torv's coolness suited the character, who remains necessarily detached from the horror of her research subjects in Fincher's gloomy world.[9](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/sep/25/from-mindhunter-to-newsreader-anna-torv-on-how-she-chooses-her-next-role) In a [USA Today](https://www.edgepedia.org/usa-today) interview she discussed being frequently mistaken for the American actress Carrie Coon.[10](https://www.annatorverse.com/usa-today-interview/)
## The Last of Us
In 2021, HBO announced Torv as Tess, Joel's partner and fellow smuggler in its series adaptation of the video game *The Last of Us*, joining [Pedro Pascal](https://www.edgepedia.org/pedro-pascal) and [Bella Ramsey](https://www.edgepedia.org/bella-ramsey).[11](https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/fringe-alum-anna-torv-joins-the-last-of-us-at-hbo) • [12](https://as.com/meristation/2021/07/22/noticias/1626984865_393852.html) Tess appears in the show's first episodes; IMDb lists her as playing Theresa "Tess" Servopoulos in 3 episodes in 2023.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1396022/) Her performance garnered international praise, including the 2024 Emmy Award nomination.[1](https://www.aactafestival.com/speaker/anna-torv)
## Australian work and awards
Torv's Australian credits include the political thriller *Secret City*, in which she played Canberra press-gallery journalist Harriet Dunkley, who uncovers interlocked conspiracies threatening her career and her life; for this she received a TV Week Logie award in 2015.[3](https://www.itv.com/presscentre/sites/default/files/2024-09/PressKit_So%20Long%2C%20Marianne_Final_240829.pdf) • [13](https://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/entertainment/anna-torv-the-gold-coasts-quiet-achiever/news-story/abcdf45ef61dc72b5a064ced50fe67fa?nk=9b1f847e4e8aab02faee54a3b7003f3e-1726814643) She appeared in the ABC anthology *Fires*, about the Black Summer bushfires, and in *Deadline Gallipoli* (2014).[9](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/sep/25/from-mindhunter-to-newsreader-anna-torv-on-how-she-chooses-her-next-role) • [3](https://www.itv.com/presscentre/sites/default/files/2024-09/PressKit_So%20Long%2C%20Marianne_Final_240829.pdf)
Her most awarded role is Helen Norville, the star newsreader of ABC's 1980s-set drama *The Newsreader*, which she played across three series from 2021 to 2025, screening internationally to acclaim.[1](https://www.aactafestival.com/speaker/anna-torv) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1396022/) She has won both AACTA and Logie awards for the performance, including Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series, an award recognized among the series' wins at the 2021, 2024, and 2026 [AACTA Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/aacta-awards).[14](https://www.wernerfilmproductions.com.au/about/) At the 2021 AWGIE Awards she was also presented with Best Lead Actress in a Drama.[15](https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/SA-Annual-Report-2021-2022.pdf?v=1775616038)
Recent credits include the Netflix Australian neo-Western *[Territory](https://www.edgepedia.org/territory-tv-series)* (2024, as Emily Lawson), *Nautilus*, and *So Long, Marianne*, in which she plays writer Charmian Clift opposite [Alex Wolff](https://www.edgepedia.org/alex-wolff) as [Leonard Cohen](https://www.edgepedia.org/leonard-cohen).[1](https://www.aactafestival.com/speaker/anna-torv) • [3](https://www.itv.com/presscentre/sites/default/files/2024-09/PressKit_So%20Long%2C%20Marianne_Final_240829.pdf) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1396022/)
Her feature films include *The Daughter*, Simon Stone's 2016 directorial debut, *Love Is Now*, *Travelling Light*, *The Book of Revelation*, and *Stephanie*, and she appears opposite [Eric Bana](https://www.edgepedia.org/eric-bana) in *Force of Nature*, directed by Robert Connelly.[1](https://www.aactafestival.com/speaker/anna-torv) • [3](https://www.itv.com/presscentre/sites/default/files/2024-09/PressKit_So%20Long%2C%20Marianne_Final_240829.pdf) She also voiced the character Nariko in the 2007 video game *Heavenly Sword*.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1396022/)
## Current projects
Torv is filming a new crime series in Australia for the ABC, again working with director Emma Freeman, with whom she collaborated on *Secret City* and *The Newsreader*.[1](https://www.aactafestival.com/speaker/anna-torv) That project is *Dustfall*, a six-episode crime drama adapted from Vikki Petraitis's Davitt Awards Readers' Choice-winning novel *The Unbelieved*, written by Dianne Taylor and set and filmed on the [Gold Coast](https://www.edgepedia.org/gold-coast). Torv stars as detective Antigone "Tig" Pollard, a seasoned investigator whose sense of justice is tested when a sexual assault case darkens after a key suspect turns up dead, and she also serves as an executive producer. Apple TV will premiere the series in 2027, with screenings on ABC and ABC iview in Australia.[5](https://www.apple.com/tv-pr/news/2026/10/apple-tv-lands-gripping-crime-drama-dustfall-starring-emmy-award-nominee-anna-torv/)
## References
1. [Anna Torv, AACTA Festival speaker profile](https://www.aactafestival.com/speaker/anna-torv)
2. [Anna Torv, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/29335/anna-torv)
3. [So Long, Marianne press kit, ITV Press Centre (2024)](https://www.itv.com/presscentre/sites/default/files/2024-09/PressKit_So%20Long%2C%20Marianne_Final_240829.pdf)
4. [Anna Torv, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1396022/)
5. [Apple TV lands crime drama Dustfall starring Anna Torv, Apple TV Press (October 8, 2026)](https://www.apple.com/tv-pr/news/2026/10/apple-tv-lands-gripping-crime-drama-dustfall-starring-emmy-award-nominee-anna-torv/)
6. [Anna Torv talks McLeod's Daughters, the "excruciating" hours on Fringe, and letting loose on The Newsreader, Now To Love](https://www.nowtolove.com.au/lifestyle/anna-torv-the-newsreader-2025/)
7. [Fringe series description, Welham Girls' School publication (2015)](https://www.welhamgirls.com/pdf/publication/2015-2016/T79W3-FINAL%20DELPHIC%20SEPT%202015.pdf)
8. [The True Stories Behind the Serial Killers of Mindhunter Season 2, TIME](https://time.com/5652275/mindhunter-season-2-serial-killers/)
9. [From Mindhunter to Newsreader: Anna Torv on how she chooses her next role, The Guardian (September 25, 2021)](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/sep/25/from-mindhunter-to-newsreader-anna-torv-on-how-she-chooses-her-next-role)
10. [USA Today interview with Anna Torv about Mindhunter, AnnaTorverse](https://www.annatorverse.com/usa-today-interview/)
11. [Fringe alum Anna Torv joins The Last of Us at HBO, Syfy Wire](https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/fringe-alum-anna-torv-joins-the-last-of-us-at-hbo)
12. [Tess, la compañera de Joel, será interpretada por Anna Torv en The Last of Us, AS MeriStation (July 22, 2021)](https://as.com/meristation/2021/07/22/noticias/1626984865_393852.html)
13. [Anna Torv: The Gold Coast's quiet achiever, Gold Coast Bulletin](https://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/entertainment/anna-torv-the-gold-coasts-quiet-achiever/news-story/abcdf45ef61dc72b5a064ced50fe67fa?nk=9b1f847e4e8aab02faee54a3b7003f3e-1726814643)
14. [Werner Film Productions, About (The Newsreader AACTA wins)](https://www.wernerfilmproductions.com.au/about/)
15. [Screen Australia Annual Report 2021–2022 (AWGIE Awards 2021)](https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/SA-Annual-Report-2021-2022.pdf?v=1775616038)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › Australian actors › Surnames T to Z*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license