Claudia Karvan

Claudia Karvan's work has always imitated her life, but there's one family story she hasn't been able to speak about until now...

"A lot of it is about not allowing yourself to be contaminated by anger or self-pity. "Claud certainly grew a lot, as did I, and in that we probably grew apart. "The way I evaluate and understand my life is putting it into drama," Karvan says. By the time she was in her early 20s she was a bona fide movie star, appearing opposite Guy Pearce and Hugh Jackman. "I think Claudia has to be regarded as the most successful producer in Australia," Edwards says. "She was always very sensible and pragmatic but also kind of a wild child as well," Clarke observes, recalling how they'd go clubbing together in their early 20s and Karvan would always bring a cardigan. She remembers her older brother as a gorgeous child with a wild mop of curly blond hair and an infectious giggle. "It was always, 'the daughter of Arthur from Arthur's, raised in the Cross'," Karvan says. He became an increasingly difficult presence and was eventually diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, a combination of schizophrenia and, in his case, bi-polar. "When my dad was alive, I was a lot more protective of my privacy," Karvan tells Australian Story. "My first reaction was anger and tears for a couple of hours and then I was sort of disappointed in myself – sort of, why do I have these positive expectations? "It was a stressful way, I think, to raise a family, have three kids.