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Miranda Otto (born 16 December 1967) is an Australian actress. She is the daughter of actors Barry and Lindsay Otto and the paternal half-sister of actress Gracie Otto. Otto began her acting career in 1986 at age 18 and appeared in a variety of independent and major studio films in Australia. She made her major film debut in Emma's War (1987), in which she played a teenager who moves to Australia's bush country during World War II.

After a decade of critically acclaimed roles in Australian films, Otto gained Hollywood's attention during the 1990s after appearing in supporting roles in the films The Thin Red Line (1998) and What Lies Beneath (2000). She rose to fame in the early 2000s for her role as Éowyn in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film series (2001–2003), based on the classic fantasy novel of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien, and will reprise her role in Kenji Kamiyama's 2024 prequel film The War of the Rohirrim.

Early life
Otto was born on 16 December 1967 in Brisbane and was raised there and in Newcastle. She briefly lived in Hong Kong following her parents' divorce at age six. She spent weekends and holidays with her father in Sydney and developed an interest in acting through him.

During her childhood, Otto and her friends wrote scripts and designed costumes and flyers in their spare time. She appeared in several plays at the Nimrod Theatre, which attracted the attention of casting director Faith Martin. Subsequently, Otto received a role in the 1986 World War II drama Emma's War.

She had wanted to be a ballerina but was forced to abandon this goal due to moderate scoliosis. Otto graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney in 1990. Prior to graduation, she appeared in minor film roles including Initiation (1987) and The 13th Floor (1988).