Born and raised in Victoria, on the southern tip of Canada's Vancouver Island, Ocean Hellman began her acting career as a three year old, on the suggestion of a local TV newscaster and family friend,
Pamela Martin. Hellman first stepped before a camera for a dairy commercial, and eventually grew into larger roles. Her movie debut came in a small role opposite
Jane Seymour in
The Haunting Passion (1983), filmed in nearby Vancouver. However, it wasn't until a year or so later that Hellman first became known to most of her fans when she was cast as Nicole, the bright, wholesome daughter of Dr. Grant Roberts (
Donnelly Rhodes) on the Vancouver-based family series
Danger Bay (1983). Since the end of that show's run in 1989, Hellman has continued working on television, including a number of guest appearances on other series being shot in or near British Columbia. In 1996, she managed to put her squeaky-clean Danger Bay image behind her, when she played the beautiful, mysterious Alexa in
Timeless (1996).