Lucas was involved in drama during her school years and attended courses at the Victorian College of Arts and Queensland University of Technology. In 2002, her now agent Sharron Meissner claimed to have discovered Lucas walking on the beach at Port Douglas. In fact, the meeting was arranged well before. Lucas auditioned for the role of Kit Hunter in "Home and Away"; although the producer of the show, Julie McGauran, felt that role was not right for Isabel, she was sufficiently impressed to have a new character, Tasha Andrews, created just for her.