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 soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffa ...

''.

Life and career

Clein was born in Poole, Dorset to

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

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

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 series '' Judge John Deed'', which ran until 2007. 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''. She has also appeared in shows such as '' Holby City'', '' Doctors'', '' Casualty'', '' New Tricks'', ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of ...

'', ''Fanny Hill'' and played the role of Zelda Kay in ITV's '' Island at War'' in 2004. Clein's theatre performances have included ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', ''My Children, My Africa!'' and '' The Lady from the Sea''. 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'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, novelist, and short story writer. She is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for two of her published collections, '' Th ...

play ''Three Women'' at the Edinburgh Festival. In 2010, Clein toured in an adaptation of the

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

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'' 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 The St. James Theatre, originally Erlanger's Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 246 West 44th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1927, it was designed by Warren and Wetmore in a neo-Georgian style a ...

, London, and

59E59 Theaters 59E59 Theaters is a curated rental venue located in New York City that consists of three theater spaces or stages. It shows both off-Broadway (in Theater A) and off-off-Broadway plays (in Theaters B and C). The complex is owned and operated by ...

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 '' Emmerdale'' is a British soap opera first broadcast on 16 October 1972. The following is a list of characters that first appeared or will appear during 2014, by order of first appearance. William Makepeace (Dudley Sutton) and his grandson, S ...

(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.

References

External links

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