Miranda Otto was born in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia on December 16, 1967. She is the daughter of famed Australian actor, Barry Otto.

She graduated from the prestigious NIDA Theatrical School in 1990 and has been nominated four times in the Australian Film Institute's for best actress.

Otto made her film debut in Emma's War in 1986 and gained recognition in 1991's The Girl Who Came Late. She has been in many critically acclaimed but little-seen films. Otto finally got Hollywood's attention with small roles in major motion pictures such as The Thin Red Line (1998) and Robert Zemeckis' What Lies Beneath (2000).After Cameron Diaz decided to star in Charlie Kaufman's Being John Malkovich, Otto lost the role. However, she was later cast in the movie Human Nature, penned by Kaufman, much to Otto's delight.Otto landed the role of Eowyn in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and plays Tolkien's only really detailed female character in the books. She spent six-months on set learning sword fighting and horseback riding.

Otto is currently living in Australia and is married to Australian actor Peter O'Brien. They met in 2002 while

A Doll's House on stage in Australia and wed January 1st,