Born Dec. 27, 1981 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” (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 L.A., the promising young actress landed yet 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 so successful, that she was asked to return in a regular role 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 re-make of Stephen King’s cult horror novel, “Carrie” (2002) and landed guest-starring roles on numerous series, including “Navy: NCIS” (CBS, 2003- ), “The Handler” (CBS, 2003-04), and “CSI: Miami” (CBS, 2002- ).
Landing a career break in 2004, de Ravin was cast as plane-wrecked (and pregnant!) Aussie Claire Littleton on the highly-anticipated J.J. Abrams adventure series, “Lost” (ABC, 2004- ). Captivating audiences with its unique premise and mysterious plotline, the ensemble drama became one of ABC’s top-rated series, achieving near cult status by the end of its first season. 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. In 2006, de Ravin continued to put her name out there, appearing as Brenda Carter in the re-make of Wes Craven’s 1970’s horror-flick “The Hills Have Eyes.