Known For: Australian actress (born 1972)
Category: Actresses
Country: Australia
Date of Birth: Friday, 19 May 1972
Language English
Claudia Karvan is an Australian actress and producer. As a child actor, she first appeared in the film Molly (1983) and followed with an adolescent role in High Tide (1987). She portrayed a teacher in The Heartbreak Kid (1993) – the film was spun off into a TV series, Heartbreak High (1994–1999), with her character taken over by Sarah Lambert. Karvan's roles in television series include The Secret Life of Us (2001–2005), Love My Way (2004–2007), Newton's Law (2017) and Halifax: Retribution (2020). She won Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Television Drama at the AFI Awards for her appearance in G.P. (1996). She won two similar AFI Awards for her role in Love My Way and in 2014 for her work in The Time of Our Lives (2013–2014). As a co-producer and co-writer on Love My Way, she won three further AFI Awards for Best Drama Series in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Karvan was inducted into the Australian Film Walk of Fame in 2007 in acknowledgment of her contributions to the Australian film and television industry. From 2010 to 2011, she starred in the drama series Spirited, which she co-created and was executive producer. She appeared as Judy Vickers in Puberty Blues. Karvan has co-produced House of Hancock and Doctor Doctor (2016–2021). In 2021 she co-created, co-produced and starred in the TV drama series, Bump.
| BirthPlace | Sydney |
| Wikipedia | Claudia_Karvan |
Claudia Karvan was born in Sydney on 19 May 1972. She grew up with her mother, Gabrielle Goddard, and two siblings. Her biological father, Peter Robins (died 2022) had separated from her mother when Karvan was a newborn. He was later diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. Her surname comes from her stepfather, Arthur Karvan, the son of a Greek immigrant, George Karvouniares (1910–1972), who had Anglicised his surname to Karvan. George had emigrated to Australia on his own aged 16 from an island in Greece, speaking no English, and started selling ice-cream. From the age of eight Karvan spent a year living in Bali with her mother and two brothers. After returning to Australia, Karvan's family moved to King's Cross, where her stepfather owned a restaurant and nightclub, Arthur's. Andrew Denton interviewed her on Enough Rope in March 2003, where she recalled, "It was great fun, drag queens everywhere and drunk adults. It was also like a home, because we lived across the road, so after school I'd come there, and it would be a hive of industry." For primary school Karvan attended Glenmore Road Public School, Paddington. She then attended the Sydney Church of England Girls Grammar School (SCEGGS), "I went to SCEGGS, which was around the corner in Darlinghurst. And over the intercom they said, 'No girls are supposed to go beyond King's Cross Station any further down into Victoria Street.' That's where I live!... I do remember my street was out of bounds." AllMovie's Nathan Southern wrote, "Though she spent a short period dabbling in rebellious and somewhat edgy behavior, she remained inherently intellectual and heavily gravitated to literature as a primary source of fascination."
