MIA WASIKOWSKA

Date of Birth

14 October 1989, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia 

Height

5' 4" (1.62 m) 

Mini Biography

Mia is an Australian born actress. She was born and raised in the country's capital Canberra. 

She is the middle child of three children. She has an older sister, Jess, and a younger brother, Kai. Her parents are both photographers. Her mother is Polish and her father is Australian. At age 8, her family moved to Poland for a year. 

At age 9, Mia took ballet classes with dreams of becoming a professional ballerina. However, an injury prevented this from happening and she quit at age 14. Mia turned to acting, having been excited by European and Australian cinema. She was attending Canberra High School, but left to pursue her career as an actor. 

She had just turned 15 when she landed the role of Lilya in Suburban Mayhem (2006). Her breakthrough role came when she was cast as Alice in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (2010).

Trivia

Studied ballet while growing up.

One of Variety magazine's Top Ten Actors to watch (2008).

Last name pronounced "vash-i-kosska".

Completed school via the Karabar High School Distance Education Centre, a form of correspondence school based in Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia, just outside of Canberra, so that she could continue acting while still in High School.

Has an older sister, Jess, and a younger brother, Kai.

Tied with Alice in Wonderland (2010) co-star Johnny Depp as the second highest-grossing actor of 2010, behind Leonardo DiCaprio.

Good friends with Jamie Bell.

Personal Quotes

I just wanted to try a different type of performance - ballet is more an image of perfection, and film can show a grittier side. Sometimes it's the more realistic topic of real life that really intrigues me.

When I decided to pursue acting at 15, I heard that you had to have an agent to do film and television, so I did a Google search for acting agencies in Sydney. I hounded one to take me on and started auditioning. I did some films in Australia, and then I started working in America on "In Treatment" (2008) when I was 17.

[on Jane Eyre (2011)] The challenge is that the book, start to finish, is Jane Eyre's internal monologue - everything we know is because of what we're hearing directly from her. So my concern was 'How do we keep that intensity?' I was excited about seeing how we could portray all that's going on inside, all that she's observing and feeling, thinking.

What I like about film is it explores imperfections. That was something that really attracted me.

I really love doing things that are different and challenge me in different ways. And I think to remain interested and excited by acting it's really great to have such diverse opportunities, and I feel really lucky that I've been able to do that so far.