Katie Leung | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 梁佩詩 | |||||||||||||
 Leung in 2020 | |||||||||||||
| Born | (1987-08-08)8 August 1987 (age 38) Dundee, Scotland | ||||||||||||
| Alma mater | |||||||||||||
| Occupation | Actress | ||||||||||||
| Years active | 2004–present | ||||||||||||
| Children | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 梁佩詩 | ||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 梁佩诗 | ||||||||||||
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Katie Leung (born 8 August 1987;pronounced[lœŋ˨˩][1]) is a Scottish actress. She began her career playingCho Chang in theHarry Potter film series. On television, she is known for her roles in the BBC seriesOne Child (2014) andAnnika (2021–2023), theITV seriesStrangers (2018), and theAmazon Prime seriesThe Peripheral (2022). She also voiced Caitlyn Kiramman in theNetflix animated seriesArcane (2021–2024).
Leung was born inDundee to Peter Leung, aHong Kong-born businessman and restaurateur who opened a company inGlasgow, and Kar Wai Li, a banker. Her parents divorced when she was three, and she continued living in Scotland with her father, stepmother, and siblings after her mother moved back to Hong Kong.[2][3] Her father's occupation led to Leung growing up in several towns, includingAyr,Hamilton andMotherwell.[2] She attendedHamilton College.[4][5]
Leung's father saw an advertisement for aHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fire casting call, and suggested she should try out. She queued for four hours for a five-minute audition despite feeling she had little likelihood of obtaining the role.[6] Two weeks later she was called back for a workshop and was cast as Cho Chang, beating more than 3,000 other girls for the part.[7] She has stated that her Scottish accent probably gave her an advantage in the casting,[8] as the casting director asked the girls who attended the audition, "Is there anyone here from Scotland?", to which only Leung raised her hand.[9]
In a 2011 interview Leung recalled how her fondest memory of theHarry Potter experience was the first audition, because both her parents, who were separated at the time, went with her: "It was a really nice moment because my parents hadn't seen each other for a long, long time."[10] In an effort to heavily promoteGoblet of Fire, Warner Bros. sent Leung to China in the film's second week of release, in an atypical move towards a market that was not used to frequent celebrity visits at the time.[11]
Leung reprised her role in the subsequent films in the series, most notablyHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, in which her character had the distinction of beingHarry Potter's first romance. As a result, Leung and co-starDaniel Radcliffe (Harry) shared an on-screen kiss that received much media coverage. While Leung was greeted warmly by most of the fandom, other fans created hate websites in response to her casting and posted many racist messages which were upsetting to her at the time.[12][13] In March 2021 Leung opened up further about the racist harassment she received from fans while filmingHarry Potter; appearing on an episode of theChinese Chippy Girl podcast, she revealed that she was told by her publicists to deny what was happening if any interviewer asked.[14]
Leung was named Scotland's most stylish female and the hottest Scotswoman in 2007 byScotland on Sunday.[15] In July 2007, she was cast byGold Label Records, a subsidiary ofEMI in Hong Kong, to be the female lead in the music videoLove Coming Home(愛回家) byLeo Ku.[16] In her first role outside ofHarry Potter, Leung played Hsui Tai in the episode "Cat Among the Pigeons" ofITV1'sAgatha Christie's Poirot, which premiered on 21 September 2008.[17]
Following the end ofHarry Potter, Leung was uncertain if she wanted to further pursue a career in acting but was inspired to continue after attending a drama course at theRoyal Conservatoire of Scotland.[18] In December 2011, she was awarded the role ofJung Chang as her stage debut role in Chang's autobiographical playWild Swans.[19] In comparing film to live performances, Leung said, "The obvious challenge is of course getting it right the first time, which is weirdly exciting for me."[20] The play made its world premiere inCambridge, Massachusetts in February 2012, before returning to Motherwell and concluding with an April–May run at theYoung Vic in London.[21][22]
In June 2012, it was confirmed that Leung would star in theChannel 4 four-part drama seriesRun as leading character Ying, an undocumented Chinese immigrant living inBrixton.[23] In 2013, Leung starred alongsideVera Chok inThe World of Extreme Happiness, a play about the world of migrant workers in China's rapidly emerging modern era. In the production, staged at The Shed at theNational Theatre, she played the role of Sunny, a female migrant worker.[24]
In April 2014, it was announced that Leung was to play the lead role of Mei, a first-born Chinese girl adopted by an American mother and British father, in the TV miniseriesOne Child. In the story, her character is asked to return to her birthplace,Guangzhou, when her birth mother desperately seeks her assistance in saving her son. The series, a co-production of BBC Drama andSundance TV, filmed in May 2014 in London and Hong Kong, aired on Sundance TV in December 2014, and was broadcast onBBC Two in February 2016.[25] Leung received praise from Catherine Gee ofThe Daily Telegraph, who called her performance "beautifully understated".[26] Leung was named a 2014BAFTABreakthrough Brit.[27]
In late 2016, Leung appeared in theTony Kushner playThe Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures (iHo) at theHampstead Theatre in London.[28] In 2017, she co-starred withJackie Chan andPierce Brosnan inThe Foreigner, playing Fan, Chan's character's daughter. This was followed by a supporting role as Lau Chen in theITV dramaStrangers, also known by the titleWhite Dragon.[29] Leung subsequently appeared in recurring roles as DC Blair Ferguson in theAlibi seriesAnnika, the voice of Caitlyn in theNetflix seriesArcane, and Ash in theAmazon Prime Video seriesThe Peripheral.[30][31][32]
In January 2022, Leung's essay "Getting into Character" was published in the bookEast Side Voices: Essays Celebrating East & Southeast Asian Identity in Britain.[33] In her essay, Leung wrote about how her ethnicity impacted her experiences growing up and her acting career.[34] In 2023, Leung starred in the first season ofParamount+'sseries adaptation ofSimon Beckett's novelThe Chemistry of Death.[35] In 2024, she appeared in theBBC One miniseriesNightsleeper.[36] In 2026, Leung appeared in the fourth season ofBridgerton asLady Araminta Gun, Countess of Penwood.[37][38][39][40]
In 2007, Leung helpedThe Prince's Trust charity raise £100,000 by launching a children's art competition, donating one of her own paintings that was auctioned for £960.[41] In 2009, she donated a photo toSightsavers International's I:Click 2009 competition, with benefits going to treat and prevent blindness for residents of impoverished countries.[42][43] In 2018, Leung ran a10K run forMy Body Back, a charity that supports victims of sexual violence.[44] She is also a supporter of the Free-Palestine movement and donated to victims of Gaza and the West Bank[45]
Leung speaks fluentCantonese and basicMandarin.[46][47] She is avegetarian.[48]
Leung delayed plans to go toart college and university to filmHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. During this period, Leung had said she was undecided about pursuing an acting career afterHarry Potter and wished to attend university to study art and design.[7] Leung briefly studied painting atUniversity of the Arts London before completing a photography degree atEdinburgh College of Art.[10][49] Following this, she attended the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow, where she completed the BA in Acting course.[50]
On 19 August 2018, Leung participated in the wedding of herHarry Potter castmateAfshan Azad.[51]
Leung was based inGlasgow as of 2016 and London as of 2018.[52][53] On 1 January 2023, for New Year's Day, Leung revealed onInstagram that her son had been born the previous Halloween.[54] Her pregnancy was worked into the second series ofAnnika, which she filmed prior to giving birth.[55]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Agatha Christie's Poirot | Hsui Tai | Episode: "Cat Among the Pigeons" |
| 2013 | Run | Ying | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Father Brown | Jia-Li Gerard | Episode: "The Prize of Colonel Gerard" |
| One Child | Mei Ashley | 3 episodes | |
| 2018 | Leading Lady Parts | Assistant | Television short |
| The Feast | Hayley | ||
| Strangers | Lau Chen | 8 episodes | |
| 2019 | Chimerica | Liuli | 4 episodes |
| Moominvalley | Too-Ticky | Voice; 2 episodes | |
| 2020 | The Promise | The Thief | Television short |
| The Nest | Eleanor | 5 episodes | |
| Roadkill | Margaret Moore | 3 episodes | |
| 2021 | Dodo | Additional voices | Voice; 4 episodes |
| 2021–2023 | Annika | DC Blair Ferguson | 12 episodes |
| 2021–2024 | Arcane | Caitlyn Kiramman | Voice; 14 episodes |
| 2022 | The Peripheral | Ash | 8 episodes |
| 2023 | The Chemistry of Death | Maggie Cassidy | 4 episodes |
| The Wheel of Time | Yasicca | 3 episodes | |
| 2024 | Nightsleeper | Rachel Li | 6 episodes |
| 2026 | Bridgerton | Lady Araminta Gun, Countess of Penwood | Season 4; 8 episodes |
| TBA | Careless | TBA | 4 episodes |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | Cho Chang | Voice |
| 2009 | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | ||
| 2020 | Cyberpunk 2077 | Unknown | |
| 2022 | Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga | Rose Tico |
| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1984 | Ling | Destiny Ekaragha | Voice |
| 2025 | Flesh and Code | Lily Rose[56] | Voice |
| Year | Title | Role | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil | Alice |
| Year | Song | Artist | Role | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Love Coming Home | Leo Ku | Girlfriend | Ricky Hayashi |
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Wild Swans | Jung Chang | Young Vic, London | |
| 2013 | The World of Extreme Happiness | Sunny | Royal National Theatre, London | |
| 2014 | The Hypochondriac | Béline | Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow | |
| 2015 | You For Me For You | Junhee | Royal Court Theatre, London | |
| 2016 | iHo | Sooze | Hampstead Theatre, London | |
| 2017 | Snow in Midsummer | Dou Yi | Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon | |
| 2019 | White Pearl | Sunny | Royal Court Theatre, London | |
| 2024 | The Comeuppance | Kristina | Almeida Theatre, London |
| Year | Presenter | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Asian Excellence Awards | Outstanding Newcomer | Nominated | [57] |
| Young Scot Award | Achievement in Entertainment | Nominated | [58] | |
| 2007 | Scottish Style Awards | Most Stylish Female | Won | [59] |
| CosmoGirl | Hot 100 List | Won | [60] | |
| 2008 | MTV Movie Awards | Best Kiss (withDaniel Radcliffe) | Nominated | [61] |
| 2014 | BAFTA | Breakthrough Brit | Won | [62] |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
