Alicia Gardiner was born in Australia and studied at the Victorian College of the Arts, where she honed her craft in theatre and performance. She began her career in the late 1990s and quickly established herself as a versatile actress, appearing in a wide range of television series and stage productions.
Her breakthrough came with the role of Kim Akerholt in Offspring, a character she portrayed across all seasons of the award-winning show. She has also appeared in Wolf Creek, Redfern Now, Kath & Kim, Rosehaven, Wakefield, and the mini-series Queen Kat, Carmel and St Jude. In 2023, she joined the cast of Deadloch as Cath York, further cementing her reputation as a respected performer in Australian television.