Anna Van Patten on Becoming the Actress She Was Always Meant to Be

As a child, Anna Van Patten had big dreams. For a time, she imagined a future in architecture; at other moments, she saw herself working with animals. Though these fantasies may appear unrelated, Van Patten now understands that all her dreams—regardless of how different—centered on storytelling.

“I really loved architecture and thought I would pursue it in school,” she tells me over Zoom. “At the same time, I also always wanted to work with animals. I used to say that I wanted to be a monkey trainer.” She pauses, then laughs, acknowledging that she’s not even sure what that meant.

Even before she understood it, Van Patten was crafting stories and building entire universes in her mind. However, acting, she discovered, offered a way to step into her imagination and bring these stories to fruition. “[Acting] was a way for me to play the roles I wanted to in life while seeing the world,” she says.

Storytelling is more than a passion for Van Patten—it runs in her blood. Her father, Timothy Van Patten, is a director, writer, and producer; her sister, Grace Van Patten, is an actress; and her uncle and aunt are actors Dick and Joyce Van Patten. Despite growing up immersed in the world of television and film, she never felt pressure to follow in her family’s footsteps. Instead, it only deepened her appreciation for the industry and made her excited about what her future could hold.