Louisa Clein (born 6 July 1979) is a British actress, known for portraying the role of Maya Stepney in the ITV soap opera ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a List of fictional towns and villages, fict ...

''.

Life and career

Clein was born in Poole, Dorset to

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 ...

parents, Peter and Channa Clein (née Salomonson). Her mother is from

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and is a professional violinist. Her father is a doctor. She has a sister called Natalie, a professional cellist. She attended Talbot Heath School in Bournemouth, Dorset. In 2001, Clein made her television debut as Charlie Deed in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

series '' Judge John Deed'', which ran until 2007. She has also appeared in shows such as ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a Spin-off (media), spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' ...

'', ''

Doctors Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

'', ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'', ''

New Tricks ''New Tricks'' is a British television police procedural comedy drama, created by Nigel McCrery and Roy Mitchell, produced primarily by Wall to Wall (until its final year, when it was handled by Headstrong Pictures), and broadcast on BBC On ...

'', ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British Mystery fiction, mystery television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the ''Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series created by Caroline Graham (writer), Caroline Graham. ...

'', ''Fanny Hill'' and played the role of Zelda Kay in ITV's '' Island at War'' in 2004. In 2002, Clein appeared with her sister Natalie at the Holocaust Memorial Day concert and read extracts from her cousin Julia Pascal's ''Holocaust Trilogy''. Clein's theatre performances have included ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', ''My Children, My Africa!'' and ''

The Lady from the Sea ''The Lady from the Sea'' () is a Play (theatre), play written in 1888 by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen inspired by the ballad ''Agnete og Havmanden''. The drama introduces the character of Hilde Wangel who is again portrayed in Ibsen's late ...

''. Her performance as Hilda in ''The Lady from the Sea'' earned her second place in the Ian Charleson Award. Clein also received critical acclaim for her 2005 performance as Anna in ''The Rubinstein Kiss''. In 2006, Clein assumed the role of the radical pianist Harriet Cohen in ''Dearest Tania'' scripted by Duncan Honeybourne. She performed in the

Almeida Theatre The Almeida Theatre is a 325-seat producing house located on Almeida Street off Upper Street in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre opened in 1980, and produces a diverse range of drama. Successful plays are often transferred to West E ...

's 2008 production of ''Waste''. In summer 2009, Clein performed in the

Sylvia Plath Sylvia Plath (; October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963) was an American poet and author. She is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for '' The Colossus and Other Poems'' (1960), '' Ariel'' (1965), a ...

play ''Three Women'' at the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...

. In 2010, Clein toured in an adaptation of the

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

story ''Lord Arthur Savile's Crime'' as Sybil Merton with Lee Mead as her leading man, Lord Arthur. In July 2010, Clein starred in ''

The Railway Children ''The Railway Children'' is a children's book by E. Nesbit, Edith Nesbit, originally serialised in ''The London Magazine'' during 1905 and published in book form in the same year. It has been adapted for the screen several times, of which the ...

'' in the former Waterloo Eurostar Terminal in London, and at King's Cross Theatre in 2015. During 2015 and 2016, she starred in ''City Stories'' at both the St. James Theatre, London, and 59E59 Theaters in New York City. In March 2018, Clein began portraying the role of Maya Stepney in the ITV soap opera ''

''. Her storylines in the series have included splitting up with Dr Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson), her rivalry with Leanna Cavanagh ( Mimi Slinger), getting into a relationship with David Metcalfe ( Matthew Wolfenden) and grooming David's son, Jacob Gallagher (Joe-Warren Plant). Upon the conclusion of the grooming storyline, it was announced that Clein would be leaving ''Emmerdale''. Her exit from the series aired on 19 November 2019. At the 2019 ''Inside Soap'' Awards, Clein received the award for Best Bad Girl. In 2022, she appeared at the Royal Court Theatre in "Jews in their Own Words", playing the parts of

Luciana Berger Luciana Clare Berger, Baroness Berger (; born 13 May 1981) is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament for Liverpool Wavertree from 2010 to 2019, and a Member of the House of Lords since 2025 ...

MP and Tracy-Ann Oberman. In 2023, she portrayed a violinist in the short film '' The One Note Man.'' In 2024, Clein was part of the cast of the West End venue for "Letters, Lights and Love", which served as a fundraiser for the reconstruction of Kibbutz Be'eri following the

October 7 Hamas-Led attack on Israel On October 7, 2023, Hamas and several other Palestinian militant groups launched coordinated armed incursions from the Gaza Strip into the Gaza envelope of southern Israel, the first invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 Arab–Israeli ...

, during which 120 of its residents were murdered. The venue raised £960,000 for the rebuilding of kindergartens, nursery and playgrounds.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clein, Louisa Alumni of the Drama Centre London English stage actresses British soap opera actresses Living people People educated at Talbot Heath School Actors from Poole Jewish English actresses English people of Dutch-Jewish descent 1979 births Actresses from Dorset