Phoebe Tonkin was born in Sydney in 1989 and from the age of 4 participated in various dance classes including ballet, tap, hip hop and contemporary dance. Her experience in acting comes from completed courses at Australian Theater for Young People (ATYP) and the Wharf Theater from the age of 12. Courses at ATYP included Shakespeare, Script to Stage, Clowning Around and Musical Theater.
She attended Queenwood school at Balmoral, renowned for its excellent drama department, Phoebe attended private drama classes and became involved in all school productions including Antigone, White Crane and Venetian Twins. Each year Phoebe took part in the school's Shakespeare festival culminating in winning the state final in 2005 in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Phoebe is the youngest member of the principal cast of H2O: Just Add Water and her role as Cleo is her first TV appearance. Although she is not the strongest swimmer, she worked hard to develop her swimming skills during pre-production.