Birthday: Nov. 19, 1970.
Birthplace: Sydney, Australia; I grew up in New Guinea.
Real name: Peta is my real name. It’s more common in Australia than in the States.
Occupation: Actress.
Current home: We film my TV show in Toronto, and I also live in the Hollywood Hills and New York.
Marital status: Single, but I’ve had the same boyfriend for six years.
Car: A 1959 cream-colored Thunderbird with coral interior and a 1989 white Bronco.
Working on: “La Femme Nikita” on the USA Network, and I’m doing a Tennessee Williams project.
Favorite pigout food: The icing from my mother’s cake.
Favorite performers: Aretha Franklin, U2, James Brown, John Malkovich and everyone else from Steppenwolf Theatre.
Favorite childhood memories: Fishing with my grandfather on the beach in Australia; going for nature walks in the wilds of New Guinea with my father; and camping trips with my family were a real hoot.
Prized possession: A sculpture of a fish. It’s 4 feet high; I carried it on the plane with me.
The worst advice my mother ever gave me: “Don’t trust men.”
The things I can’t stand: Fear and guilt.
People who knew me in high school thought I was: Outrageous. I went to 15 different schools, and I had to assimilate quickly.
The best time in my life: From 1 to 7, when I lived with my parents on a houseboat in New Guinea, and we went from island to island.
The worst time in my life: When I was 16. I felt lonely and I was anorexic.
If I weren’t an actress, I’d be: A child psychologist or a photojournalist for National Geographic, traveling to unknown corners of the world.
Major accomplishment: Setting attainable goals and reaching them.
The three words that best describe me: Energetic, vulnerable, spontaneous.
