Jessica Mei Li (born 27 August 1995) is an English actress. She is best known for her starring role as the main character and protagonist Alina Starkov in the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

fantasy series ''

Shadow and Bone ''Shadow and Bone'' is a young adult fantasy adventure and the debut novel written by the Israeli–American author Leigh Bardugo. It was published by Macmillan Publishers on June 5, 2012. The novel follows Alina Starkov, a teenage orphan who ...

'' (2021–2023). She also played as Ellie in the 2025 Netflix film ''

Havoc havoc, Havoc, Havocs, Havok, or Havock may also refer to: People with the name * Havoc (musician) (born 1974), American rapper and record producer * Johnny Devine (born 1974), Canadian professional wrestler who uses the ring name Havok * Jimmy H ...

.''

Early life and education

Li was born in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

to an English mother and a Chinese father who was raised in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. She grew up in

Redhill, Surrey Redhill () is a town status in the United Kingdom, town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead within the county of Surrey, England. The town, which adjoins the town of Reigate to the west, is due south of London Borough of Croydon, Croydon in ...

and has an older brother. Li attended

Reigate College Reigate College is a state sixth form college, college in Reigate, Surrey, England, for students aged 16–19. The college occupies part of the town centre between the High Street and Reigate railway station, railway station. Reigate College wa ...

from 2010 to 2012 and began studying French and Spanish at the

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

, but eventually dropped out. For nearly two years, Li worked as a teaching assistant for children with special needs at

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

. Li joined the

National Youth Theatre The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) is a youth theatre and charity in London, created with the aim of developing young people's artistic skills via theatrical productions and other creative endeavours. Founded in 1956 as the world ...

in 2015 and trained part-time at

Identity School of Acting The Identity School of Acting (IDSA) is a part-time drama school that was founded in London, England by Femi Oguns in 2003. A second branch and campus opened in Los Angeles, California in 2018. Identity School of Acting began in 2003 with 10 stu ...

from 2016 to 2017.

Career

Li made her professional stage debut in February 2019 playing the role of Claudia Casswell in ''

All About Eve ''All About Eve'' is a 1950 American Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It is based on the 1946 short story (and subsequent 1949 radio drama) "The Wisdom of E ...

'' at

Noël Coward Theatre The Noël Coward Theatre, formerly known as the Albery Theatre, is a West End theatre in St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster, London. It opened on 12 March 1903 as the New Theatre and was built by Sir Charles Wyndham behind Wyndham's ...

, directed and adapted for the stage by

Ivo van Hove Ivo van Hove (born 28 October 1958) is a Belgian theatre director. He is known for his Off-Broadway avant-garde experimental theatre productions. For over twenty years, he served as the director of the Toneelgroep Amsterdam. On Broadway, he has d ...

, alongside

Gillian Anderson Gillian Leigh Anderson ( ; born August 9, 1968) is an American actress, writer, and activist. She is best known for her roles as FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the sci-fi series ''The X-Files'' (1993–2002; 2016–2018), Lily Bart in the dr ...

and

Lily James Lily Chloe Ninette Thomson (born 5 April 1989), known professionally as Lily James, is an English actress. She studied acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and began her career in the British television series '' Just Wi ...

. In October 2019, it was announced Li would star in the lead role of Alina Starkov in the 2021

series ''

'', an adaptation of Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse fantasy book series ''

'' and ''

Six of Crows ''Six of Crows'' is a fantasy novel written by the Israeli–American author Leigh Bardugo and published by Henry Holt and Co. in 2015. The story follows a thieving crew and is primarily set in the city of Ketterdam, which is loosely inspire ...

''. Li initially had reservations about auditioning for the character of Alina Starkov, whose ethnicity was changed from white to mixed race for the show, citing concerns about whether the change was being made due to a

diversity quota Quotaism is the concept of organizing society by a quota system, whether by racial, gender, language or another demographic attribute. Examples of quotas include gender quotas, racial quota, and reservations. The basic premise is to have demog ...

. However, during the audition process, Li observed that the change in Starkov's ethnicity "wasn't just a diversity box ticker" and "was something to help build the world and to help build her character." Li appears as Lara Chung in Edgar Wright's 2021 film ''

Last Night in Soho ''Last Night in Soho'' is a 2021 British psychological horror film directed and co-produced by Edgar Wright, and co-written by Wright and Krysty Wilson-Cairns. It stars Thomasin McKenzie as a naive teenager who moves to London to study fashio ...

''.

Personal life

Li uses

she/her In Modern English, ''she'' is a singular, feminine, third-person pronoun. Morphology In Standard Modern English, ''she'' has four shapes representing five distinct word forms: * ''she'': the nominative (subjective) form * ''her'': the acc ...

and

they/them Singular ''they'', along with its inflected or derivative forms, ''them'', ''their'', ''theirs'', and ''themselves'' (also ''themself'' and ''theirself''), is a gender-neutral third-person pronoun derived from plural they. It typically occu ...

pronouns, and identifies as

gender nonconforming Gender nonconformity or gender variance is gender expression by an individual whose behavior, mannerisms, and/or appearance does not match masculine or feminine gender norms. A person can be gender-nonconforming regardless of their gender identity ...

. Li was diagnosed with

ADHD Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple ...

as an adult. Li has spoken on growing up with a lack of positive East Asian and biracial representation onscreen. Her conflict over her dual heritage was compounded when she began auditioning, where she noticed mixed-race roles would sometimes go to fully East Asian or white actors. In an April 2021 interview, Li emphasized the importance of nuanced portrayals of East Asians in media.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music video appearances

Stage

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Jessie Mei 1995 births 21st-century English actresses Actors from Redhill, Surrey Actresses from Brighton Actresses from Surrey Alumni of the Identity School of Acting English actors with disabilities English female taekwondo practitioners English film actresses English LGBTQ actors English people of Hong Kong descent English television actresses Living people National Youth Theatre members People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder English queer actresses 21st-century English sportswomen