Jess McLeod (born 25 January 1997) is a Canadian actor and writer who played Janae Mathews on both series of
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 ...
teen television drama ''
One of Us Is Lying
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...
. They attended
Claremont Secondary School
Claremont Secondary School (CSS) is a public secondary school in Saanich, a municipality of Greater Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It is operated by School District 63 Saanich. CSS is one of three secondary schools in the school district an ...
. At school they were a part of Claremont Musical Theatre and starred as Elle Woods in its production of the musical ''Legally Blonde''. McLeod is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns. They are based in
Vancouver
Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
.
Career
Mcleod started as a
child actor
The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage, television, or in film, movies. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associa ...
, appearing in 2006 comedy ''
Scary Movie 4
''Scary Movie 4'' is a 2006 American parody film directed by David Zucker, written by Jim Abrahams, Craig Mazin, and Pat Proft, and produced by Mazin and Robert K. Weiss. It is the sequel to '' Scary Movie 3'' and the fourth installment in the ...
'' as a schoolgirl reading ''My Pet Duck'' to
Leslie Nielsen
Leslie William Nielsen (February 11, 1926November 28, 2010) was a Canadian actor and comedian. With a career spanning 60 years, he appeared in more than 100 films and 150 television programs, portraying more than 220 characters.
He made his a ...
as the American president. Their later acting credits include roles in '' Eve of Destruction'', ''Shall We Play?'', and the ''
Van Helsing
Professor Abraham Van Helsing () is a fictional character from the 1897 gothic horror novel ''Dracula'' written by Bram Stoker. Van Helsing is a Dutch polymath doctor with a wide range of interests and accomplishments, partly attested by the P ...
'' TV series. They had a role in Canadian comedy drama series ''
You Me Her
''You Me Her'' is an American-Canadian comedy-drama television series that revolves around a suburban married couple who are entering a three-way romantic relationship, one type of polyfidelity relationship. The series is set in Portland, Oregon ...
''.
In 2019, McLeod was cast in
Peacock
Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...
teen television drama ''
One of Us Is Lying
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
''. McLeod played Janae Mathews on both series of the show.
McLeod could be seen alongside
Sandra Bullock
Sandra Annette Bullock (; born July 26, 1964) is an American actress and film producer. The List of highest-paid film actors, highest-paid actress of 2010 and 2014, Sandra Bullock filmography, Bullock's filmography spans both comedy and drama, ...
and
Viola Davis
Viola Davis ( ; born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and film producer. List of awards and nominations received by Viola Davis, Her accolades include both the Triple Crown of Acting and EGOT. ''Time (magazine), Time'' named her one of ...
in the 2021 film ''
The Unforgivable
''The Unforgivable'' is a 2021 drama film directed by Nora Fingscheidt and written by Peter Craig, Hillary Seitz, and Courtenay Miles, based on the 2009 British miniseries ''Unforgiven'' written by Sally Wainwright. The film stars Sandra Bullo ...
''. They appeared as Bernie Simon in the 2023 film '' It's a Wonderful Knife''. In November 2023, they won the