Ariel Erin Kaplan (born 4 May 1994) is a South African-born Australian actress, singer and dancer. She is known for her roles as Lisa Atwood in the third season of children's series ''

The Saddle Club ''The Saddle Club'' is an Australian-Canadian children's television series developed by Sarah Dodd, based on the books written by Bonnie Bryant. Like the book series, the scripted live action series follows the lives of three best friends in ...

'' and

Imogen Willis Imogen Willis is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Ariel Kaplan. The actor was cast in the role after a quick process, in which she auditioned once and attended a screen test. She began filming her fi ...

in the Australian soap opera ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons and ...

''.

Early life

Ariel Erin Kaplan was born in South Africa on 4 May 1994. Kaplan comes from a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family of performers; her father is a musician, her grandfather was an actor and her grandmother was a professional ballerina. Her two older sisters Gemma-Ashley Kaplan and Dena Kaplan are also actresses. Dena Kaplan is best known for her role as Abigail Armstrong on ''

Dance Academy ''Dance Academy'' is an Australian teen drama television series produced by Werner Film Productions in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and ZDF. Series one premiered on 31 May 2010, and series two began airing on 12 Ma ...

''. Aside from acting, Kaplan also had extensive training in dancing and singing. She studied various dance styles such as jazz, contemporary, ballet and tap at the Jane Moore Academy of Ballet in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

from 1998 until 2011. Kaplan was home schooled through

distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance; today, it usually involves online ...

Career

As a child, Kaplan appeared in several Australian theatre productions, including ''

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' is a sung-through musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice ...

'', ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

'', ''Oedipus'', '' Annie'' and ''

Les Miserables LES or Les may refer to: People * Les (given name) * Les (surname) * L.E.S. (producer), hip hop producer Space flight * Launch Entry Suit, worn by Space Shuttle crews * Launch escape system, for spacecraft emergencies * Lincoln Experimental ...

''. In 2002 and 2003, she played the role of Florence in IMG's production of ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before opening in the W ...

'' in both Melbourne and Singapore. Between 2003 and 2004, Kaplan had minor roles in sketch comedy shows ''

Skithouse ''Skithouse'' (styled ''skitHOUSE'') is an Australian sketch comedy television series that ran on Network Ten from 9 February 2003 to 28 July 2004. The series was produced by Roving Enterprises. It featured many well-known Australian comedians, ...

'' and ''

The Hamish & Andy Show ''Hamish & Andy'' was a radio show hosted by Australian comedy duo Hamish & Andy, which ran from 2006 to 2013, and then again from 2015 to 2017. Originating on Fox FM, it was broadcast nationally on the Hit Network from 2007 to 2010 in the wee ...

'', and appeared in the short film ''The Mischief Maker''. In 2005 and 2006, she played the role of Young Nala in Disney Theatrical's production of ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...

'' for both the Melbourne and

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

seasons. Kaplan's first major television role came in 2007, when she took over the role of Lisa Atwood for the third season of ''

''. The third season was filmed from November 2007 to May 2008, and premiered in March 2009. Kaplan recorded several songs for the show's accompanying album ''Best Friends''. Between 2009 and 2012, she made guest appearances in television shows ''

John Safran's Race Relations ''John Safran's Race Relations'' is an Australian comedy documentary television series by John Safran broadcast on ABC1 in 2009. The eight-part series is about cross-cultural, interracial and interfaith love. His globetrotting takes him to Pales ...

'' and ''

Tangle Tangle may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Tangle, a character in '' The Golden Key'' by George MacDonald * Tangle the Lemur, a character from IDW Publishing comic series ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' Music * ''Tangle'' (alb ...

'', and appeared in the theatre production ''

Grey Gardens ''Grey Gardens'' is a 1975 American documentary film by Albert and David Maysles. The film depicts the everyday lives of two reclusive, upper-class women, a mother and daughter both named Edith Beale, who lived in poverty at Grey Gardens, ...

'' as Jacqueline Bouvier. In February 2013, it was announced that Kaplan had joined the cast of the long-running soap opera ''

'' as

. She won the role after a quick audition process, which included one audition and a

screen test A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an actor or actress for performing on film or in a particular role. It is typically a secondary or later stage in the audition process. The performer is generally given a scene, or sel ...

with cast members

Harley Bonner Harley Bonner (born 27 April 1991) is an Australian actor known for his roles as Josh Willis on ''Neighbours'' (2013–2016) and Logan Bennett on ''Home and Away'' (2021–2022). Early life Bonner was born in Melbourne and lived in Belgrave, ...

Rebekah Elmaloglou Rebekah Sophie Elmaloglou (born 23 January 1974) is an Australian actress, known for her roles as teenage tearaway Sophie Simpson on ''Home and Away'' and Terese Willis on ''Neighbours''. She also made guest appearances in '' E Street'', '' A ...

and Kip Gamblin. Kaplan made her first appearance as Imogen on 20 May 2013. Kaplan left her role as Imogen on 26 April 2016 to pursue other projects Kaplan reprised the role of Imogen on 22 March 2019 for a guest stint and later for the series reboot in 2023.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaplan, Ariel 1994 births Living people Jewish Australian actresses Australian soap opera actresses 21st-century Australian actresses Australian female dancers South African emigrants to Australia 21st-century South African Jews People from Johannesburg 21st-century Australian singers 21st-century Australian women singers