Gabriella Leon (born 29 March 1996) is an English actress, known for her role as Jade Lovall in the

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medical drama series ''

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''. Leon is deaf and portrayed the first regular deaf character on ''Casualty''. For her portrayal of Jade, she was nominated for a TRIC Award for Soap Actor of the Year.

Early life

Leon was born on 29 March 1996. She was born "moderately deaf", and has learnt

British Sign Language British Sign Language (BSL) is a sign language used in the United Kingdom and is the first or preferred language among the Deafness in the United Kingdom, deaf community in the UK. While private correspondence from William Stokoe hinted at a f ...

. She attended Cardinal Newman High School and Priestley College, later training as an actress at East 15 Acting School. After graduating in 2016 with a

BA (Hons) A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

from East 15, Leon began working with theatre company We Are Kilter.

Career

Leon made her professional debut as Julia in a show at the

2014 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony The opening ceremony for the 2014 Commonwealth Games was held at Celtic Park in Glasgow, Scotland, between 21:00 and 23:40 BST, on 23 July 2014. Proceedings Countdown The ceremony began with a dramatic countdown, starting at 30 seconds, which ...

. In 2015, she made her screen debut as Maria Alpert in the drama film ''Connections: The Marcello Story''. She then continued to make stage appearances in productions such as ''Little Revolution'' (2015), ''Tesla'' (2016), ''The Lesson'' (2017) and ''Close'' (2018). Her performance in ''The Others'' (2018), which she devised, was praised by critics, with Jeremy Mortimer of

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describing it as "brilliant and inventive". In May 2018, Leon auditioned for the role of Jade Lovall in the

medical drama series ''

''; she was informed in July of that year that she had got the role, and began filming later that month. Her casting was announced on 4 October 2018, and she made her debut appearance on 3 November 2018. She described her character as a "bolshie, chaotic loveable rogue, with a lot of her own flaws. She's a little work-shy and plays by her own rules. She wants to get things right when wanting to impress her mentors but is clumsy. She's cheeky, a real party girl and great fun to be around – if you're on the right side of her! I think she's funny though and also very relatable." Leon portrays the first regular deaf character on ''Casualty'', and in an interview with ''

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'', she said: "It is so lovely to play someone like me. I'm able to add such depth and understanding to Jade, having experienced most of what she has experienced regarding her disability. I feel proud to be the first disabled regular in the show's history." In 2021, Leon received a nomination for Soap Actor of the Year for her portrayal of Jade. In September 2021, Leon departed from the cast of ''Casualty''. Then in February 2022, she portrayed the role of Pollie Grisham in an episode of the BBC series '' Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators''. Later that year, Leon starred in the film ''

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

'', as well as portraying Audrey in a production of ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...

'' at the

@sohoplace @sohoplace is a West End theatre operated by Nimax Theatres. It is adjacent to the site of the previous London Astoria, as part of development around the Elizabeth line's Tottenham Court Road station. It is the first purpose-built West End thea ...

theatre.

Stage

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leon, Gabriella 1996 births Actresses from Warrington Alumni of East 15 Acting School British deaf actresses English child actresses English film actresses English stage actresses English television actresses Living people