Lenka was raised in an Australian coastal town of New South Wales until age seven, when her family moved to Sydney, where she received her schooling, acting and music training, and started to work as a highly regarded actress and later musician. As a teenager, Lenka studied acting at the Australian Theatre For Young People, where she trained with actress Cate Blanchett. Lenka starred in the Australian ABC-TV drama series GP as Vesna Kapek in the 1990s. She also hosted Cheez TV and has guest starred in other Australian TV series, including Home and Away, Wild Side, Head Start, and Spellbinder. She appeared in Australian feature films The Dish and Lost Things, as well as in theatre productions. She then moved to California in 2007.