Mia Wasikowska (born October 14, 1989) is an Australian actress currently working in the United States. She became known for her critically acclaimed work on the HBO television series In Treatment, after which she ventured into American film. A series of smaller parts have led to a starring role as Alice in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (2010), and lead roles in an untitled Gus Van Sant film (2011), and Cary Fukunaga's adaptation of Jane Eyre (2011). She played Bertha Minnix in the period crime drama Lawless (2012). Her character was the naive daughter of devoutly religious parents who became involved with a bootlegger.
Biography[]
Wasikowska was born and raised in Canberra, where she continues to reside with her parents, brother and sister. Her mother is a photographer from Poland, while her father is an Australian painter and collage artist. As a child, Mia frequently accompanied her parents on their gallery rounds in Europe, and in her spare time she continues to enjoy photography.
From the age of nine to 15, Mia trained as a ballet dancer 35 hours a week, aspiring to become a prima ballerina. However, at age 14 she began to turn away from ballet, and turned her attention to acting instead. "Film is a lot more about life, and so it’s all about the things we do that are imperfect. That really interested me more,” Mia says.