Emilie De Ravin was born in Mount Eliza, Victoria, Australia, an outer southeastern suburb of Melbourne, on December 27, 1981. Her father is a general practitioner and her mother is a retired pathologist. She has two older half-sisters. She has French ancestry, and De Ravin means of (the) ravine in French. Having studied ballet since the age of nine at Christa Cameron School of Ballet in Melbourne, and being home schooled by her mother, she was accepted into the Australian Ballet School at fifteen. There, she performed in productions with The Australian Ballet as well as Danceworld 301. De Ravin studied acting at Australia’s National Institute of Dramatic Art, and with the Prime Time Actors Studio in Los Angeles.

De Ravin’s first major role was a recurring part as demon Curupira in the Australian TV series BeastMaster. One month after moving to Los Angeles at the age of 18, she landed the role of alien/human hybrid Tess Harding in the teen television series, Roswell. She was originally hired for a recurring role, but was added as a series regular in the show’s second season. After the Roswell role ended in 2001, De Ravin appeared in the TV movie remake of Stephen King’s Carrie. She also guest starred on television series The Handler, NCIS, and CSI: Miami.

In 2004, De Ravin was working on the film Santa’s Slay in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, when she was asked to send an audition tape for the tv series Lost. She was cast as Claire Littleton, a young, pregnant, Australian woman. The ABC series, produced by J.J. Abrams, was a huge hit. De Ravin was a series regular for the first four seasons, but did not return as a series regular for the fifth season. She returned as a regular in the sixth and final season. In answer to if she expected the success of Lost, De Ravin said: “It’s sort of hard to say. You read something and have a good feeling about it, it sounds great, ties nicely together and then shooting something, editing it, the music, the actors involved, everything sort of plays a huge part. Everyone involved had a great feeling towards it, but you never really know”.

In 2005, De Ravin portrayed Emily Kostich, a heroin addicted teen, in the neo-noir film Brick. A year later, De Ravin starred as Brenda Carter in a remake of the classic horror film The Hills Have Eyes. She also starred in Ball Don’t Lie, which premiered at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival. De Ravin appeared in William Dear’s The Perfect Game and the 2009 film Public Enemies as a bank teller named Barbara Patzke. She starred as Lt. Phoebe McNamara in the Lifetime TV movie High Noon.

After four years of dating, De Ravin and actor Josh Janowicz became engaged on New Year’s Day 2005 in Melbourne. The couple married June 19, 2006 in Melbourne, Australia. Six months after their marriage, it was announced they had separated. In June 2009, it was reported that they had filed for divorce.

In 2010, De Ravin starred as Ally in Remember Me, a tragic romance co-starring Robert Pattinson. She also appeared in the action film Operation Endgame and the independent drama The Chameleon, which is still awaiting release in the U.S.

De Ravin, who describes herself as a “homebody”, lives a low-key life in Los Angeles. She enjoys watching movies, cooking, and hiking with her dog, Bella.