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. " 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.
"Watching many family members work in the business and getting to go on set from an early age made me fall in love with storytelling and the magic of filmmaking," she says. "It was all very inspiring. There was never pressure , and my parents were really supportive in every phase I went through of wanting to pursue other things."
Van Patten didn't jump headfirst into acting without preparation. She attended a performing arts high school and then went on to The New School for college, where she studied film. She auditioned throughout college and afterward, taking classes in acting, voice, and improv. "I did everything I could do during my free time," Van Patten shares. "It's been a long, long journey for sure, but I've always been ready to work hard and put my all into something."
Her first big break came in 2021 with a recurring part in HBO Max's Gossip Girl reboot, where she portrayed Grace Byron, the girlfriend of Obie Bergmann and the daughter of a politician. The end of 2024 marked a major turning point: She landed a role in Hulu's The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox, playing Deanna Knox—Amanda Knox's sister—alongside her real-life sister, Grace.
