Born in 1976 to Scottish parents in the Middle Eastern country of Oman, her family moved to Australia in the early 1980s. From a young age Isla showed an interest in both acting and writing. At nine years old she was appearing in Australian TV commercials. She landed some small parts in the Australian TV series "Bay Cove" (1993) (aka "Bay City"). This led to a bigger part in the series "Paradise Beach" (1993). When that show ended she landed a role in the long-running Australian soap opera "Home and Away" (1988). While working on that show she indulged in another of her passions, writing, and published two best-selling novels, "Seduced By Fame" and "Bewitched". In 1997 she was picked by the readers of FHM magazine as #35 on the list of the "100 Sexiest Women in the World", and in 2003 she placed 26th.