Isabel Lucas was born January 29 1985, in Melbourne, Australia. Her dad Andrew worked as a commercial pilot, which meant that Isabel, her older sister by two years Nina and their parents moved around a lot when she was young. Isabel spent parts of her childhood in several different countries, which she has later explained gave her a travel-bug that has made her travel all around the world later in life. When Isabel was 6, they moved to Switzerland, Europe, her mother’s birth country. They later lived 3 years in Jabiru in the Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory of Australia. The family then moved to Cairns, North Queensland, where her parents still reside. When her dad retired from being a pilot, he went into biodynamic farming. Her mother, Beatrice, works as a special needs teacher.

Isabel became a vegetarian at a young age after watching the documentary Earthlings in the house of Anthony Kiedis. In addition to her vegetarianism, Miss Lucas is also a huge animal lover. Growing up, her family had many different animals. Isabel and her sister Nina even bought their own horse with “pocket money” they had saved up while working at a vegetarian Thai restaurant at a young age, who they named Tiki. Their dad set that initiative for them, to have a goal and work towards it. Isabel has been horse back riding almost her entire life, and even used to compete in various styles.

In 2002, her now agent Sharron Meissner claimed to have discovered Isabel while she was walking on the beach at Port Douglas. However, it has later been revealed in interviews with Isabel that the meeting was arranged well before that. Meissner asked if Isabel was interested in modelling, which she wasn’t at the time. Sharron then suggested acting instead, which Isabel immediately showed interest in. She had previously been involved in drama during her school years, and attended courses at the Victorian College of Arts and Queensland University of Technology.

Once she was discovered by Sharron Meissner, they arranged an audition for Isabel with the popular Australia drama series “Home & Away”. Isabel initially auditioned for the role of Kit Hunter, but while the producer Julie McGauran didn’t think she was right for that role, she was so impressed with Isabel that she created a new role specifically for her. The role was Tasha Andrews, a girl who only spoke pig Latin to help ease Isabel into the television acting job. She eventually learned English, and went on to have several popular storylines over the year – such as learning who her real parents were (a deceased and despised woman in the community, and a wealthy man who wanted nothing to do with her), finding her own family in Summer Bay, a plane crash, getting involved with a cult, getting married to her boyfriend Robbie Hunter and eventually having a baby. Isabel made her debut on the show on in July 2003, and went on to receive great acclaim for her role. In 2004 she won the TV Week Logie award for Most Popular New Female Talent. Isabel stayed on the show for 3 years, before deciding it was time to try something new. Her character, Tasha, and her husband left the bay with their new baby, receiving their perfect happily ever after ending. Isabel has often looked back fondly at her years on the show in interviews, saying it taught her a lot and that she made many life-long friendships. “I feel the people I was on the show with were an especially beautiful bunch of people. I reflect on it with gratitude and think it was a very sweet entry into the film and television industry. The community on that project were very tight-knit and supportive“. Isabel was especially close with her co-stars Chris Hemsworth, who she dated for a couple of years, Jason Smith, Indiana Evans, Sharni Vinson, Jodi Gordon and Bec Hewitt.

Isabel went on to become a popular idol in her home country, and was a regular cover girl on several popular teen magazines in Australia such as Dolly, Total Girl & Girlfriend magazine. For someone as down-to-earth and shy as Isabel, it all eventually became too overwhelming. Therefore, following her exit from the show in 2006, Isabel took the chance to escape the spotlight for a while. She colored her hair dark brown to be less recognized, and took some time away from acting to do charity work and travel to countries such as Namibia, Switzerland and England.

In 2007, Isabel auditioned for a role in “Daybreakers,” a vampire film written and directed by Peter and Michael Spiering. She went on to land the role of Alison Bromley, a human survivor in a world were almost all humans have turned into vampires. The film began filming on the Gold Coast at Warner Bros. Movie World studios and in Brisbane on 16 July 2007, and completed in September the same year. The film premiered on 11 September 2009 at the Toronto Film Festival to mixed reviews. At some point between August 10, 2007, and May 2008, Isabel filmed the World War II miniseries “The Pacific” for HBO. The show was released in March 2010, two years later, when Isabel had already received some recognition internationally through her performances in “Daybreakers” and “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”. “The Pacific” received widespread critical acclaim, with Rotten Tomatoes’ critical consensus reading, “An honest, albeit horrifying, exploration of World War II, The Pacific is a visually stunning miniseries not for the faint of heart.”

Once Isabel had completed filming of “The Pacific” in 2008, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue her acting career further. Steven Spielberg, who Isabel had worked with on “The Pacific” (where he served as the series’ executive producer), suggested Isabel for the role of Alice to Michael Bay for his Transformers (2007) sequel “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”. She got the part, and with its June 8, 2009 release, it became Isabel’s first released film role. While the film went on to receive low ratings, it became Miss Lucas’ big international break, and the part landed her the award “Breakout Female Performance” at the 2009 Scream Awards. Following her breakthrough, Isabel took on several different roles in films such as “The Loft”, “Careful What You Wish For” and “Knight of Cups”. She explained in interviews that she wanted to do a string of different things to continue to grow as an actress, with only one exception – she would never do horror. “I have definitely said no to things if they are not line with my convictions. I don’t have any judgement for anyone who is inclined in a different way or direction, that is fine, but for me, at this point of my life, I want to have integrity and stand for what I believe in.”

With her new starlet-status, several brands and products aspired to have Isabel face their campaigns. However, Isabel has been very picky when choosing which products to endorse. “I have been of­fered things but tend to turn them down if they don’t resonate with things I believe in. Like leather – I’m vegetarian so it’s not in line with my beliefs so I’m not going to promote something like that.” In 2014, she signed on to promote Linney’s Cote d’Azur jewellery collection, and she has appeared in big advertising campaigns such as Tourism Victoria, Gap and Outland Denim, and in 2016 she was the face of Melbourne Spring Fashion Week. While she was excited to be their ambassador, a lot of research and thought went into her decision before she agreed to step aboard the project – “I am an ambassador for the Human Rights Arts & Film Festival in Melbourne, so before stepping into the shoes of Melbourne Spring Fashion Week ambassador I wanted to make sure I had HRAFF’s backing, so I did check with them first and they said I had their support. I was also really pleased that Melbourne Spring Fashion Week has been so supportive of my convictions concerning ethical fashion. Nearly everything I’m wearing to the runway shows is sustainable, or the labels are taking some kind of conscious steps in that direction.

Whilst she’s passionate about acting and her work, Isabel is even more fervent about her activism. In 2004, Lucas served as a spokesperson for the Australian National Breast Cancer Foundation and has since provided support to many organisations, including World Vision, The Humour Foundation, Oxfam Community Aid Abroad, Global Green Plan, Save the Whales Again and Sea Shepherd. In October 2007, she was part of a group of 30 people from Surfers for Cetaceans, including American actress Hayden Panettiere, surfers David Rastovich and Vaya Phrachanh, who took part in a protest against the dolphin culling in Taiji, Wakayama, Japan. The group paddled out on surfboards to the dolphins in a peaceful paddle-out ceremony, to raise awareness about the issue. However, while they were getting ready to leave the country on the following day, they learned that Japanese fishermen were going out to kill dolphins in the cove that same day. Isabel and a few of the others decided to return for another peaceful paddle-out ceremony, but this time they were forced to turn around after being intercepted by one of the fishing boats. They drove straight to Kansai International Airport and left the country to avoid being arrested for trespassing by the Japanese police following the protest. There is still an outstanding arrest warrant for Isabel in Japan. In an interview, Lucas stated that the cull was grounded on purely economic reasons, claiming polls show that 70% of Japanese oppose whaling. In 2010 Isabel took part in another big charity project, by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro with the Summit on the Summit team to raise awareness of the global clean water crisis.

Isabel has regularly been described as a shy and quiet person, though she states that that’s only until you get to know her. She has spoken out about being overwhelmed by how people would see her when she went on her first audition for Home and Away, and that acting has since helped her become confident and sociable. “I like to keep relatively separate from the buzz and keep grounded. I prioritise what is important to me and there is a lot happening in the world right now that is distracting us from the more important issues on the planet. I don’t want to be part of the distraction, I want to be part of the solution and keeping positive.” Isabel has always been private about her personal life, especially her love life. “My whole life is based on listening to my gut instinct, so I follow my body and listen to it. It’s usually a very quick moment and it’s a real instinct of “yes” or “no”. I’m so grateful because my intuition is always right.” She dated her “Home and Away” co-star Chris Hemsworth during their time on the show, before breaking up around 2007. Isabel then dated actor Adrian Grenier for some time, and between 2010 and 2012 she was in a relationship with the Australian singer Angus Stone – who she did several projects with, including a music video for his song “Bird on the Buffalo” and an ad for Protect Our Coral Sea.

After several years in Los Angeles, Isabel craved the environment and privacy she had in her home-country Australia. While she says she appreciated her experience in the states, she states that it became clear to her that it wasn’t a healthy environment for her over time. “It’s just like being in a little fishbowl and over a long time it’s not healthy. It’s not a natural, healthy sense of community, we don’t function naturally that way.” Therefore, in 2016, Isabel bought a treehouse close by the surf in Byron Bay to $857,500, where she has been living since. “I love the ocean, especially seeing the whales migrating, and all the dolphins. I love being able to walk to the beach and have healthy, pristine nature around. It’s very encouraging and inspiring.” Next to her acting jobs, she is a beekeper – “it’s my way to support healthy bee populations and natural pollination. I prioritise and practise conscious healthy living.” Still, she remains passionate about her acting. She taken on several different classes to grow as an actress, including The Perdekamp Emotional Method workshops. PEM is a fundamental acting tool that ensures the skillful, exact and instant use of authentic emotions, and following her classes Isabel has also been an ambassador for the class. However, even though she is now living in Australia, she aspire to continue making films in the US as well. “It just felt right to be based in Australia and to travel there for work to film and to shoot projects. For me it’s just prioritising lifestyle and what fills you with joy and what is replenishing creatively and for me it’s having shorter visits to LA but more frequent, as opposed to being based over there.”

Isabel is a big supporter of freedom of choice, and has been vocal about her concerns regarding the potential of human rights breeches following the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020. In 2020 and 2021, several news paper wrongly started to refer to her as an “anti-vaxx activist”, despite Isabel’s repeated claims that she wasn’t against vaccines in themselves – she was against making them mandatory, and forcing anyone to take one against their will. The tabloids kept on twisting her words and narrowed her long career as an activist fighting for both human and animal rights, conservation of the environment and so much more into one single thing – despite Isabel not ever stating that she was against vaccines. On social media she explained that she has been vaccinated her entire life, and that she is a supporter of vaccines – she just wants to encourage open and honest conversations regarding mandatory vaccines, vaccine passports and freedom of choice. She has repeatedly quoted the saying “You can be in favour of something, but opposed to it being mandatory. You can be against something, but not in favour of it being banned” on her Instagram following the claims, as well as the words by Anna Gala: “What is right for you, may not be right for me. What is right for me, may not be right for you. But what is NOT right for either of us is being stripped of the freedom to choose what is right for ourselves”.

So what’s up next for miss Lucas? She has landed the role of Marie Curie in an upcoming film titled “Radiant”, which is set to start filming in 2022. She has also landed a part in the “The Ogilvy Fortune”, but the Covid-19 pandemic has temporarily paused the production.

“I feel like we live in a society where competition gets pushed in our face a lot. But success for me would be seeing a healthy world, healthy community, and friends and family around me.”

Written by the Unicorn staff, and last update was November 24, 2021.