Leah Lewis
Leah Lewis | |
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![]() Lewis in July 2023 | |
Born | Shanghai, China | December 9, 1996
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 2005–present |
Leah Lewis (born December 9, 1996[1][2][3][4]) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Georgia "George" Fan in The CW series adaptation of Nancy Drew (2019–2023) and Ellie Chu in the Netflix comedy-drama film The Half of It (2020). She also has starred in her voice lead role as Ember Lumen in the Pixar animated film Elemental (2023).
Early life and education
[edit]Lewis was adopted from an orphanage in Shanghai when she was eight months old and raised in Windermere, Florida.[5] Her younger, non-biologically related sister, Lydia, was later adopted from the same orphanage. Their parents, Frederick and Lorraine Lewis, are both realtors.[6]
Leah discovered performing arts at Crenshaw School in Orlando, Florida. She attended Thornebrooke Elementary School in Ocoee, Florida and Southwest Middle School in Orlando. She and her mother moved back and forth between Los Angeles and Orlando during her teen years. At 17, she went back to Orlando to finish high school at Olympia High School and then moved back to Los Angeles by herself at 20.[7]
Career
[edit]At a young age, Lewis started acting in commercials. Once her family moved to Los Angeles, she acted in the 2012 Nickelodeon film, Fred 3: Camp Fred as the character Spoon.[7]
In 2013, she auditioned for the fourth season of The Voice, singing "Blown Away" by Carrie Underwood. None of the coaches turned their chairs, meaning that she did not make it onto the show.[5][8]
In 2015 and 2016, she was featured in the Disney shows Best Friends Whenever and Gamer's Guide to Pretty Much Everything.[7] She also was a main character on season 2 of the Michelle Trachtenberg-produced Go90 web series, Guidance.[9] Once she moved back to Los Angeles after graduating from high school, she began booking roles in TV shows like Station 19 and The Good Doctor. She had a recurring role in The CW series Charmed. She then later joined the main cast of another The CW show, a 2019 TV adaptation of Nancy Drew on which she plays Georgia "George" Fan, based on the original character George Fayne.[7]
Her first major film role was as the lead character, Ellie Chu, in the 2020 Netflix film, The Half of It.[10][1][11] She starred alongside Mamoudou Athie in the 2023 Pixar animated film Elemental directed by Peter Sohn, which she voiced the character Ember Lumen in her main role of the film.[12][13][14][15] In 2024, she joined the cast of Paramount animated film The Tiger's Apprentice, where she voiced Räv.[16][17]
Personal life
[edit]Beyond acting, Lewis sings, plays guitar, and does photography.[18][19] In May 2016, she began dating singer and actor Payson Lewis.[20][21] The couple coincidentally share the same last name.[22][23]
Filmography
[edit]Film
[edit]Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2007 | Nanking | Banner Girl | |
2020 | The Half of It | Ellie Chu | |
How to Deter a Robber | Heather Williams | ||
2023 | Elemental | Ember Lumen (voice) | [13] |
2024 | The Tiger's Apprentice | Räv (voice) | [17] |
Television
[edit]Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2006 | The New Adventures of Old Christine | Tess | Episode: "The Passion of the Christine" |
Paloozaville | Leah | ||
2012 | Fred 3: Camp Fred | Spoon | Television film |
Madison High | Peyton Hall | Pilot | |
2013 | The Voice | Herself - Contestant | Blind Auditions |
2015–2016 | Gamer's Guide to Pretty Much Everything | Lika | 2 episodes |
2016 | Best Friends Whenever | Alex | Episode: "Girl Code" |
2018 | Light as a Feather | Gabby Darwish | Episode: "Innocent as a Lamb" |
The Good Doctor | Katherine "Kitty" Kwon | Episode: "Tough Titmouse" | |
Charmed | Angela Wu | 3 episodes | |
2018–2019 | Station 19 | Shannon | 2 episodes |
2019 | The Gifted | Young Clarice | Episode: "home" |
2019–2023 | Nancy Drew | Georgia "George" Fan | Main role |
2021 | It's Pony | Max (voice) | 2 episodes |
2022–present | Batwheels | Cassandra Cain / Batgirl (voice) | Main role |
Web
[edit]Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | Sing It! | Sophie Chu | Recurring role; 6 episodes |
Teens React | Herself | 2 episodes | |
Guidance | Liddy | Main role (season 2) | |
2018 | My Dead Ex | Amber | Episode: "The Z Word" |
Music videos
[edit]Song | Year | Artist | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
"Love Generation" | 2005 | Bob Sinclar featuring Gary Pine | [24] |
Awards and nominations
[edit]Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2013 | Young Artist Awards | Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries, Special or Pilot - Leading Actress | Fred 3: Camp Fred | Nominated | [25] |
2016 | Best Performance in a TV Series - Guest Starring Actress | Gamer's Guide to Pretty Much Everything | Nominated | [26] | |
Young Entertainer Awards | Best Guest Starring Young Actress - Television Series | Best Friends Whenever | Nominated | [27] |
References
[edit]- ^ a b Feller, Madison (May 2, 2020). "'The Half Of It' Star Leah Lewis Really Wanted to Cry During That Dumpling Scene". ELLE. Archived from the original on May 5, 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
- ^ leahmlewis (December 9, 2018). "Turning 22 means CHAAANGGGE. This is the year. Low key, last year was the year too. 21 brought so much love into my life. The growth is worth a smile and a half. The experiences exceeded what I'd ever expect the year to have had, and the people have made my last year feel like the best most entertaining rom-com. I am so happy and so grateful to experience life. Thank you. Here's a ridiculous video of me ripping off my 21 year old skin". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 25, 2021.
- ^ "Payson Lewis on Instagram: "the absolute happiest of birthdays goes out to this spectacular cosmic ray of star shine; the one that keeps this big goofy smile glued to…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 25, 2021. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ "Leah Lewis - Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Archived from the original on December 12, 2019. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
- ^ a b "The Voice 2013". IMDb. Archived from the original on September 4, 2021. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
- ^ Mason, Aiden (October 13, 2019). "10 Things You Didn't Know about Leah Lewis". TVOvermind. Archived from the original on April 11, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Freed, Tim (January 2, 2020). "Actress Leah Lewis discovered her passion while growing up in Windermere". Orange Observer. Archived from the original on April 11, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
- ^ Phillips, Hedy (April 27, 2020). "Leah Lewis Auditioned For The Voice". POPSUGAR Celebrity. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ "Guidance - TV Review". www.commonsensemedia.org. December 16, 2018. Archived from the original on May 17, 2021. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ Vlessing, Etan (April 22, 2019). "Leah Lewis, Alexxis Lemire to Star in Alice Wu's 'The Half of It' Teen Romance for Netflix". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 1, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
- ^ "Netflix's "The Half of It" Star Leah Lewis Explains Why Ellie Chu's Story Is Vital to the Coming-of-Age Canon". Teen Vogue. May 2020. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
- ^ Webster, Andrew (November 17, 2022). "Elemental's first teaser trailer is a steamy meet-cute from Pixar". TheVerge. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
- ^ a b Radulovic, Petrana (May 16, 2023). "How The Good Dinosaur's director found his perfect Elemental cast". Polygon. Archived from the original on May 17, 2023. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
- ^ "'Elemental' Trailer: Pixar Unveils an Eye-Popping New World Where Fire, Earth, Water and Air Co-Exist". Variety. November 17, 2022.
- ^ "'Elemental' Teaser Trailer Introduces Disney-Pixar Audiences to Element City's Fire, Water, Land and Air Residents (Video)". TheWrap. November 17, 2022.
- ^ Milligan, Mercedes (December 7, 2023). "Teaser: 'The Tiger's Apprentice' Brings Mythical Martial Arts Tale to Paramount+ on Feb. 2". Animation Magazine. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
- ^ a b Kit, Borys (November 10, 2020). "'Half of It' Star Leah Lewis Joins Henry Golding in Paramount Animation's 'The Tiger's Apprentice' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
- ^ Phillips, Hedy (April 27, 2020). "Leah Lewis Is a Budding Photographer". POPSUGAR Celebrity. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ "Ellie Chu in 'The Half of It' Is Leah Lewis' Breakout Role". Distractify. April 10, 2020. Archived from the original on May 16, 2020. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ "Leah Lewis on Instagram: "1 year down, forever to go. @paysonlewis"". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 25, 2021. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ Phillips, Hedy (April 27, 2020). "Leah Lewis Has Been With Her Boyfriend For Years". POPSUGAR Celebrity. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- ^ "5 things to know about Leah Lewis, star of Netflix's The Half of It". South China Morning Post. May 8, 2020. Archived from the original on May 9, 2020. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
- ^ "Who is Leah Lewis dating? Is Payson Lewis her boyfriend?". PopBuzz. Retrieved May 9, 2020.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Leah Lewis's Tweet". Twitter. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
- ^ "34th Annual Young Artist Awards - Nominations / Special Awards". archive.is. April 17, 2016. Archived from the original on April 17, 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
- ^ "Nominations » Young Artist Awards". April 24, 2016. Archived from the original on April 24, 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
- ^ "Young Entertainer Awards Submissions". www.youngentertainerawards.org. Archived from the original on November 15, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
External links
[edit]- Leah Lewis at IMDb
- 1996 births
- Living people
- Actresses from Florida
- Actresses from Shanghai
- American adoptees
- American film actresses
- American television actresses
- American web series actresses
- Chinese emigrants to the United States
- People from Orange County, Florida
- 21st-century American actresses
- American actresses of Chinese descent