Emilie de Ravin

Born in the Melbourne suburb of Mount Eliza, Victoria, Australia, where De Ravin was also raised, the young actress began studying dance at the age of nine. Accepted into Melbourne's prestigious Australian Ballet School at the age of 15, she went on to perform as a teenager in productions for the Australian Ballet Company, as well as Danceworld 301. Forgoing a career in dance in order to pursue acting, de Ravin went on to study her craft at Australia's Swinburne University and at the National Institute of Dramatic Art. Making her professional acting debut in 1999, de Ravin appeared in a recurring role as the demon Curupira on the syndicated series "Beastmaster: The Legend Continues" (Sci Fi Channel, 1999-2002). Hoping to further her career, she relocated to Los Angeles the following year and enrolled at the Prime Time Actors Studio.Within a month of moving to Los Angeles, the promising young actress landed another recurring role on yet another fan-boy favorite, WB's hit sci-fi series "Roswell" (1999-2002). Portraying alien Tess Harding on the series, de Ravin's initial six-episode arc at the end of the series' first season proved successful enough for her to return in a regular capacity during the second season. Following her success on "Roswell," de Ravin went on to find work on a number of other television projects. She appeared in the television remake of Stephen King's cult horror novel, "Carrie" (2002), playing the chief tormentor of a shy high school girl (Angela Bettis) possessed with telekinetic powers. Meanwhile, de Ravin continued to appear in series television, landing guest-starring roles on numerous series, including "NCIS" (CBS, 2003-), "The Handler" (CBS, 2003-04), and "CSI: Miami" (CBS, 2002-12). In a major career break, de Ravin was cast as the plane-wrecked and pregnant Aussie, Claire Littleton, on the hit adventure series, "Lost" (ABC, 2004-10), created by J.J Abrams. Captivating audiences with its unique premise and mysterious plotline that centered on a remote island possessed of strange powers and an even more bizarre past, the ensemble drama became one of the network's top-rated series, achieving near cult status by the end of its first season. Over the course of the show, de Ravin's character gave birth to a son, Aaron, and formed a special bond with former heroin addict, Charlie Pace (Dominic Monaghan), before mysteriously disappearing by the end of season four. Though de Ravin missed all of the fifth season, she reprised the role for the show's highly-anticipated sixth and final year. Meanwhile, the series went on to win a number of awards, including the 2005 Emmy Award for Best Drama and the 2006 Golden Globe for Best Television Series - Drama. Taking advantage of her recent success as a castaway, de Ravin branched out into film work while on hiatus from the series, appearing in the Brett Ratner-produced dark comedy "Santa's Slay" (2005) and starring opposite Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the gritty neo-noir drama, "Brick" (2005) - the latter of which took home the Special Jury Prize at the 2005 Sundance Festival for her performance as the heroin-addicted girlfriend of an upper-class high school student (Gordon-Levitt) who takes it upon himself to solve her murder. In 2006, de Ravin continued to make her mark, appearing as Brenda Carter in the re-make of Wes Craven's 1970s horror-flick "The Hills Have Eyes," a role she was set to reprise in the inevitable sequel. De Ravin had her first starring role in "Nora Roberts' High Noon" (Lifetime, 2009), in which she played Lieutenant Phoebe MacNamara, chief hostage negotiator for the Savannah, GA police department, who tries to find her would-be assailant following an attack in her precinct house. After a small role in Michael Mann's period thriller, "Public Enemies" (2009), de Ravin starred in the romantic drama "Remember Me" (2010) opposite Robert Pattinson and Pierce Brosnan.