Mia Wasikowska

Mia Wasikowska is an Australian actress born on 25 October 1989 in Canberra, Australia. She first gained wide public recognition for her critically acclaimed role on the HBO television series In Treatment and her starring turn as Alice in Tim Burton's 2010 film Alice in Wonderland. Over the course of her career, she has built a prominent filmography spanning major studio releases and independent cinema.

Wasikowska was raised in Canberra alongside an older sister, Jess, and a younger brother, Kai. Her mother, Marzena Wasikowska, is a Polish photographer, while her father, John Reid, is an Australian photographer and collagist. In 1998, her family spent a year living in Szczecin, Poland. At age nine, Wasikowska began studying ballet with hopes of pursuing a professional career, training up to 35 hours a week. However, a heel spur and a desire to move away from the pressures of ballet led her to quit at age fourteen. Exposure to European and Australian cinema inspired her to pursue acting instead.

Wasikowska made her screen acting debut in 2004 with a two-episode appearance on the Australian television drama All Saints, followed by her feature film debut in Suburban Mayhem in 2006. After roles in Australian projects such as September and Rogue, she secured her international breakthrough in 2008 playing Sophie, a suicidal gymnast, on HBO's In Treatment. Her performance brought her critical acclaim and an Australians in Film Breakthrough Award. Soon after, she appeared in feature films including Defiance, Amelia, and That Evening Sun, earning a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female for her role in That Evening Sun.

In 2010, Wasikowska achieved global recognition starring as the title character in Alice in Wonderland, which became one of the highest-grossing films of the year, and as Joni in the comedy-drama The Kids Are All Right. Her performances earned her the Hollywood Awards' Breakthrough Actress Award and the Australian Film Institute International Award for Best Actress. In 2011, she was named to the Time 100 list of the world's most influential people and was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Throughout the 2010s, Wasikowska starred in a wide range of film adaptations and auteur-driven projects. Her notable film credits include Cary Fukunaga's Jane Eyre (2011), Gus Van Sant's Restless (2011), Albert Nobbs (2011), Lawless (2012), Park Chan-wook's Stoker (2013), Jim Jarmusch's Only Lovers Left Alive (2013), John Curran's Tracks (2013), Richard Ayoade's The Double (2013), David Cronenberg's Maps to the Stars (2014), Madame Bovary (2014), and Guillermo del Toro's Crimson Peak (2015). She also made her directorial debut on a segment of the 2013 anthology film The Turning.

After reprising her lead role in Alice Through the Looking Glass in 2016, Wasikowska shifted her focus primarily toward independent productions. Her subsequent screen and stage projects include the historical thriller The Man with the Iron Heart (2017), Spike Jonze's stage show Changers: A Dance Story (2017), the dark comedy western Damsel (2018), Piercing (2018), Judy and Punch (2019), Bergman Island (2021), and Leviticus (2026).