Karvan's roles in television series include The Secret Life of Us (2001–2005), Love My Way (2004–2007), Newton's Law (2017) and Halifax: Retribution (2020).

[6][7] George had emigrated to Australia on his own aged 16 from an island in Greece, speaking no English, and started selling ice-cream.

[1][6][8] After returning to Australia, Karvan's family moved to King's Cross, where her stepfather owned a restaurant and nightclub, Arthur's.

[1][9] Andrew Denton interviewed her on Enough Rope in March 2003, where she recalled, "It was great fun, drag queens everywhere and drunk adults.

"[9] AllMovie's Nathan Southern wrote, "Though she spent a short period dabbling in rebellious and somewhat edgy behavior, she remained inherently intellectual and heavily gravitated to literature as a primary source of fascination.

"[11] In 1987, she appeared in Phillip Noyce's Echoes of Paradise and then alongside Judy Davis in Gillian Armstrong's High Tide that same year.

[12] Paul Fischer of Tharunka described how, "virtually stealing the film is talented 14-year old, [Karvan]... she gives a vivid performance... [she] is brilliant in the demanding role, as she works beautifully with face and eyes to evoke various degrees of emotion.

"[17] Gannon used the work for the related TV series, Heartbreak High (1994–1999); where Karvan's character of Christine was portrayed by Sarah Lambert.

[21] For Flynn shooting had started in 1989, when Karvan was 17, but due to various legal and financial disputes it had to be re-shot with some new cast members, a new director and new producers.

[24] The actress took on the character Sola Naberrie in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005), as the older sister of Padmé Amidala (played by Natalie Portman).

[25] As Sola she had also filmed scenes for Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002), but they were cut from the theatrical release and appear only as an extra on the related two-disc DVD.

"[9] In 2006 she took the support role of Alison Berry, a welfare officer, in Footy Legends, a comedy sports drama about rugby league football.

"[26][27] She played the role of Ginny Rogers, the mother of teenager, Hailey (Joanna Levesque), in the American teen fantasy, Aquamarine (2006).

[29] Senses of Cinema's Alexandra Heller-Nicholas observed, "Karvan's place as a major player across almost four decades of Australian screen culture was carved in stone.

"[38] Karvan took the lead role of Asta Cadell, a motorcycle-riding lawyer, in the telemovie Natural Justice: Heat (1996), set in York, Western Australia.

"[47] Gibney explained to Peter Craven of The Age, "when Claudia and I were approached we both insisted that we wanted to play ordinary recognisable women.

[41] Toby Creswell and Samantha Trenoweth listed her in their book, 1001 Australians You Should Know (2006), and described how "[she] has been exploring the highs and lows of fractured family life... She clearly has great range and for the past two years she has starred in and produced the cutting edge drama Love My Way.

[51] She plays a Sydney dentist, Suzy Darling, who has left her husband Steve (Rodger Corser) and moved into a penthouse, which she discovers is haunted by the ghost of a 1980s British rock musician, Henry (Matt King).

[55][56] Anna Brain of The Herald Sun described the role, "Newly separated and working to resurrect her career, the overly anxious mother of one with tiger-parent tendencies is a divisive character.

"[55] Brain continued, "Having delved into the character's psyche and found an intelligent, under-utilised woman, Karvan doesn't feel that Caroline would be likely to return the compliment.

[56] Karvan was co-producer of House of Hancock (February 2015), a fictionalised TV drama of the relationship between Gina Rinehart and her step-mother Rose Porteous.

[60] They finished in third place, despite earning a perfect score from the judges, in the finale episode, "before viewer votes were added to the mix and dropped her down.

[6][61] The Sydney Morning Herald's Craig Mathieson noticed, "Karvan is the show's best asset, needling Halifax with fake compassion... [her character] is a welcome seam of subtlety, a necessary antidote to the burnt-out cop clichés" of castmate Anthony LaPaglia as Tom Saracen.

[65] She also appeared as Kathy "Bubba" Ryan in a production of Summer of the Seventeenth Doll at the Seymour Centre, Chippendale, in August of that year.

[65] Mark Stoyich of Green Left described the play, "[it] begins as a brittle, fairly funny murder mystery turns into a speculation on the meaning of life, with a bit of sex-farce of the slamming door variety.

"[68] Her character of Monica is a TV actress, "neurotic, dippy vegetarian ... [who] dresses sexily and throws herself at Detective Rose (John Adam).

[10][75] She is also stepmother to pop singer Holiday Sidewinder, Sparks' daughter from a previous relationship with Australian actress Lo Carmen.

[78][79] In October 2019 Sidewinder, residing in Los Angeles, recalled growing up with Karvan and Sparks, "My stepmother was a famous actress and the bigger breadwinner in my dad's household.

[10][6] At the "What Women Want" forum in September 2002, Karvan discussed the refugee crisis and criticised the Australian policy of mandatory detention.

They recognise excellence in the film and television industry, both locally and internationally, including the producers, directors, actors, writers, and cinematographers.