Liv Hewson is an Australian actor and playwright. They starred as Abby Hammond in the Netflix series Santa Clarita Diet from 2017 to 2019, and has portrayed Van Palmer in Yellowjackets since 2021.
Early life and education Liv Hewson was born around 1996 in Canberra. one of four children, with three brothers. Their mother, Angela, is a public servant and their father, Tony, is a psychologist. They grew up in the suburb of Hughes and attended Alfred Deakin High School and Canberra College.
Hewson began acting as part of the Canberra Youth Theatre. Growing up, the family watched a lot of American television shows, such as The Simpsons and Futurama, which Hewson later said made it easy to act with an American accent.
Career Hewson has written plays as well as acted in several TV series.
Hewson's play, Bona Mors, was produced by the Canberra Youth Theatre (CYT) in 2013 as part of Triptych — A Trilogy of New Works alongside Lachlan Philpott's Run! Rihanna! Run! and Jessica Bellamy's Fight or Flight. The three works were published as an anthology by Currency Press. They had been a member of CYT for three years in the lead-up to the production. Their written work includes "lots of re-imaginings of fairytales and mythology with a queer and dark slant."
In 2014, Hewson traveled to Los Angeles to attend an acting workshop. In 2016, they played the lead role of Claire Duncan in the fantasy web series Dramaworld.
In 2017, they starred in the film Before I Fall and had recurring roles in the second series of Top of the Lake and in the miniseries Inhumans. They played Abby Hammond in the Netflix series Santa Clarita Diet from 2017 to 2019, and has portrayed Van Palmer in Yellowjackets since 2021.
Hewson plays a lead role as detective Nell Buchanan, opposite Michael Dorman, in the Australian crime drama series Treasure & Dirt, made for ABC Television and the BBC, and premiering in Australia on 19 July 2026.
Personal life Around 2012, Hewson came out as non-binary at age 16. They are gay and use they/them pronouns. In 2020, Hewson received the Human Rights Campaign Visibility Award for their LGBT+ advocacy. In 2023, Hewson underwent gender affirming surgery, after years of considering it, after which they said they felt much happier.
Filmography Film Year Title RoleNotes 2013 Alfonso Frisk Fenny Frisk (older) Short film 2015 Survey Says Hillary Short film So Romantic Gurt Short film 2016 Lets See How Fast This Baby Will Go Gloria Short film 2017 Before I Fall Anna Cartullo 2018 Puzzle Nicki 2019 Let It Snow Dorrie Bombshell Lily 2020 Under My Skin Denny 2023 ScarygirlBug-Eye (voice) 2025 For WorseEsther
Television Year Title RoleNotes 2014 I've Got No Legs Liv Unknown episodes 2014–2015 Do You Mind? Gurt, Matilda, Lana 3 episodes 2016 The Code Elle Episode: "Episode 6" (series finale) 2016–2021 Dramaworld Claire Duncan Lead role, 19 episodes2017 Top of the Lake Michaela 3 episodes, recurring role (series 2) Inhumans Audrey 3 episodes, recurring role 2017–2019 Santa Clarita Diet Abby Hammond Series regular 2018 Back In Very Small Business Ashley Piper 8 episodes 2021–present Yellowjackets Teenage Vanessa Palmer Recurring (season 1); main (season 2–present) 2023 Party Down Escapade Episode: "Once Upon a Time Proms Away Prom-otional Event" 2025 He Had It ComingDetective ShepherdMain castKing of DragThemself1 episode, guest judge2026Among UsBlack (voice)Treasure & Dirt Nell Buchanan Main cast
Web series +YearTitleRoleNotes2018Homecoming QueensChloë Reeson
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