Vanja Drach was born to the family of a respectable doctor in Vinkovci, Croatia. Having lost his father at the age of 11, he decided to continue with family tradition and came to Zagreb to study medicine. However, in the big city he fell in love with theater and cinema and, and after only one year in the medical school, he tried to enroll in the Drama Academy. At first, professor 'Branko Gavella' didn't want to admit him because of his natural red hair, but Drach's perfect diction saved the day. After the Academy and two years in the Gavella Theater, Drach listened to the advice of Bojan Stupica and joined Croatian National Theater in Zagreb in 1957. He stayed in the National Theater until 1975 when he joined his good friend Relja Basic and his travelling company "Teatar u gostima" for next five years. After that period, Vanja Drach rejoined Croatian National Theater where he works until the present day. Vanja Drach is married, has a son and a grandaughter.