In a family with six children, nobody wants to be stuck with that "middle child" syndrome. Born the third child to a composer and a grade school teacher in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the Hyatt family was by no means wealthy, but also never seemed to want for much. With two older brothers, Alice came into the Lochley family and effectively ended the run of the little "boys club" they had going there. For the first few of years of her life, her brothers were apparently none too happy about having a baby sister tagging along after them. They soon got over that when the next baby came along, another girl, and Alice proved she could run right alongside her brothers. She found it easy to adjust to being "one of the boys" or the "leader of the girls" in the family. The twins came along when Alice was nine, which completed the tight group of children born into the Hyatt family. Instead of becoming the "middle child" who never quite felt like she fit in, Alice just acclimated to being whatever was needed in her family. She could easily be a "wing man" for her brothers, or a fashion advisor to her younger sisters.

The product of an incredibly Catholic upbringing (French and Italian, Lord help them), Alice went to private schools as a child, complete with uniforms and instructors who served as reinforcement for her parents' strict values. While she didn't much mind her sheltered life as a child, as she grew into her teenage years, she balked against it. She was one of those girls in her Catholic school who rolled up her skirt a few inches when the nuns weren't looking and spent in-between class breaks smoking in the bathroom with her friends. She got in trouble on more than a few occasions for "inappropriate behavior," when she insisted on playing touch-football on school grounds with the boys. No matter how much she disliked the rules and regulations of school, learning itself, she adored. She seemed fascinated by everything else she learned from various classes, but it was always the creative subjects where she excelled. Her father had taught her to play the piano as soon as she could reach the keys, and while she didn't think she'd ever become a concert pianist or anything of the like, her father encouraged the creative side of herself.

Being so artistically inclined from a young age, Alice's mother decided it was only right to nurture such creativity. Or rather, her father encouraged her mother, who finally came around. When an open casting call came to Toronto, her father brought home the news and offered to take her out. At fourteen, Alice was moving away from her home in Canada to live with her mother in California during the shoot for the Nickelodeon show The Secret World of Alex Mack. It was a sacrifice for her family, her mother following her for the duration of her first year with the show. It was several months away from their family, but the acting bug bit her, and bit hard. Her mother made her a compromise, that she could move out on her own at sixteen, but she had to keep up with her schoolwork. The cast had tutors, so that wasn't hard to agree to. As a teenager, having the run of her own space with ever-limited parental supervision was about the craziest thing she could have imagined. Alice would periodically get very homesick, but her drive was in her, and it was hard to give up.

There was a lot of talk about going on to college after Alex Mack finished, and while it was always something that Alice had seen in her future, she was hesitant to stunt her career for school. She ended up working out a whole schedule after she auditioned and was offered the role of Faith in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where she could work her days and still attend UCLA. She barely slept in those first couple of years until her schedule lightened up, but it was so worth it to her. It helped to have a solid job with a guest-starring role, where she didn't feel like she needed to be on the daily grind to find her next great opportunity just yet. Her career naturally progressed after her time in the Whedonverse, and while she had in mind that she wanted to do some films, television was really her home. Her home shifted a bit, at least taking her away from Los Angeles and onto the island of Oahu for several years while filming the critically acclaimed show, Lost. She'd credit her time on Buffy to really preparing her for the sometimes grueling schedule and stunts that went along with it. The notoriety of Lost gained her even more footing when she went off to audition for films, and she started to slowly build up her film resume as well.

Alice spent a few years exclusively doing films, only to have yet another amazing show fall into her lap. When she first read the script for Orange is the New Black, she told her agents that she wanted to be a part of the show, no matter how big or small the role, no matter what. She was lucky enough to be awarded the role of Alex Vause, which to date, she'd say is her absolute favorite character she's ever played. Being a part of a show that is so unabashedly itself and at the forefront of a lot of important conversations has been a career best for her. Throughout her entire career, she's been adamant that she has to fill her personal life with people who keep her grounded, and who don't play any negative influence on her mindset. She loves what she does, and really just wants to continue playing people she finds interesting for the rest of her life. (Or until Hollywood decides she's "too old".)