Jessica Elise De Gouw (born 15 February 1988) is an Australian actress. She is known for her role as Helena Bertinelli/The Huntress in the television series ''

Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

'', as

Mina Murray Wilhelmina "Mina" Harker (née Murray) is a fictional character and the main female character in Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic novel, Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. In the novel She begins the story as Miss Mina Murray, a young schoolmistress who ...

in the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

TV series ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...

'', and as Elizabeth Hawkes in the WGN series '' Underground''.

Early life

De Gouw grew up in Lesmurdie, an eastern suburb of

Perth, Western Australia Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, where she attended Lesmurdie Senior High School. She appeared in an episode of '' The Sleepover Club'', as well as a short film. In 2010, she graduated from

Curtin University Curtin University (previously Curtin University of Technology and Western Australian Institute of Technology) is an Australian public university, public research university based in Bentley, Western Australia, Bentley, Perth, Western Australia. ...

with a degree in performance studies. She also appeared in another short film the same year.

Career

After graduation, De Gouw moved to Sydney for her acting career. While there, she appeared in a number of TV series, mainly in guest starring roles. In 2012, she debuted in the film '' Kath & Kimderella'' as Isabella, Kath and Kim's maid. She moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

later that year and landed the recurring role of Helena Bertinelli/The Huntress in the action-adventure series, ''

''. In 2013, De Gouw was cast in the

series ''

'' as

alongside

Jonathan Rhys Meyers Jonathan Rhys Meyers (born Jonathan Michael Francis O'Keeffe; 27 July 1977) is an Irish actor. He is known for his roles in the films '' Michael Collins'' (1996), '' Velvet Goldmine'' (1998), ''Titus'' (1999), ''Bend It Like Beckham'' (2002), ' ...

and

Oliver Jackson-Cohen Oliver Mansour Jackson-Cohen (born 24 October 1986) is an English actor. He is known for his roles in the Netflix horror television series '' The Haunting of Hill House'' (2018) and '' The Haunting of Bly Manor'' (2020), as well as for his role ...

. The series was cancelled after the first season. In 2016, De Gouw was cast as fictional

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

Elizabeth Hawkes in the WGN series, '' Underground''. She played the lead role Ren Amari in the 2017 feature film '' OtherLife'' based on the novel ''Solitaire'' by Kelley Eskridge. De Gouw appeared in the 2018 Australian television movie ''Riot'', about the 78ers, the Australian LGBTQ rights movement who fought for decriminalisation, recognition and equality. She played the role of Sergeant Klintoff's wife, Louisa, in

Leah Purcell Leah Maree Purcell (born 14 August 1970) is an Aboriginal Australian stage and film actress, playwright, film director, and novelist. She made her film debut in 1999, appearing in Paul Fenech's ''Somewhere in the Darkness'', which led to rol ...

's debut feature film, '' The Drover's Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson'' (2021). On 11 July 2024, De Gouw was named for Stan Australia series '' Sunny Nights.'' On 31 January 2025 De Gouw was named as part of the cast for Netflix series ''The Survivors.''

Personal life

De Gouw was in a relationship for several years with her ''Dracula'' costar,

. In a June 2022 interview, she described herself as

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

and said that she was in a relationship with a woman. De Gouw and her girlfriend, hairstylist Sophie Roberts, spoke about the pair's relationship for the February edition of ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

'' in 2023.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:De Gouw, Jessica Living people 1988 births 21st-century Australian actresses Actresses from Perth, Western Australia Australian expatriates in England Australian film actresses Australian people of Dutch descent Australian television actresses Curtin University alumni Australian LGBTQ actresses Queer actresses