Ariel Erin Kaplan (born 4 May 1994) is a South African-born Australian actress, singer and dancer. She is known for her roles as Lisa Atwood in the third season of children's series ''

The Saddle Club ''The Saddle Club'' is an Australian-Canadian children's television series developed by Sarah Dodd, based on the books written by Bonnie Bryant. Like the book series, the scripted live action series follows the lives of three best friends in ...

'' and

Imogen Willis Imogen Willis is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours'', played by Ariel Kaplan. The actress was cast in the role after a quick process, in which she auditioned once and attended a screen test. She began filming he ...

in the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours''.

Early life

Ariel Erin Kaplan was born in South Africa on 4 May 1994. Kaplan comes from a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family of performers; her father is a musician, her grandfather was an actor and her grandmother was a professional ballerina. Her two older sisters Gemma-Ashley Kaplan and

Dena Kaplan Dena Amy Kaplan (born 20 January 1989) is a South African-born Australian actress, singer, dancer, and DJ. She is best known for her role as Abigail Armstrong in ''Dance Academy''. Life and career Kaplan was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. ...

are also actresses. Dena Kaplan is best known for her role as Abigail Armstrong on ''

Dance Academy ''Dance Academy'' is an Australian teen-oriented television drama produced by Werner Film Productions in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and ZDF. Series one premiered on 31 May 2010, and series two began airing on 12 ...

''. Aside from acting, Kaplan also had extensive training in dancing and singing. She studied various dance styles such as jazz, contemporary, ballet and tap at the Jane Moore Academy of Ballet in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

from 1998 until 2011. Kaplan was home schooled through

distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

Career

As a child, Kaplan appeared in several Australian theatre productions, including '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. S ...

'', ''Oedipus'', '' Annie'' and '' Les Miserables''. In 2002 and 2003, she played the role of Florence in IMG's production of '' Oliver!'' in both Melbourne and Singapore. Between 2003 and 2004, Kaplan had minor roles in sketch comedy shows ''

Skithouse ''Skithouse'' (styled ''skitHOUSE'') was an Australian sketch comedy television series that ran on Network Ten from 9 February 2003 to 28 July 2004. The series was produced by Roving Enterprises. It featured many well-known Australian comedia ...

'' and ''

The Hamish & Andy Show From 2006 to 2017, Australian comedy duo Hamish & Andy hosted a number of radio shows. Their first programme, ''Hamish & Andy'', began on Fox FM in 2006 and was broadcast nationwide on the Hit Network from 2007 to 2010 in the weekday drive ...

'', and appeared in the short film ''The Mischief Maker''. In 2005 and 2006, she played the role of Young Nala in Disney Theatrical's production of ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance ...

'' for both the Melbourne and

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

seasons. Kaplan's first major television role came in 2007, when she took over the role of Lisa Atwood for the third season of ''

''. The third season was filmed from November 2007 to May 2008, and premiered in March 2009. Kaplan recorded several songs for the show's accompanying album ''Best Friends''. Between 2009 and 2012, she made guest appearances in television shows '' John Safran's Race Relations'' and ''

Tangle Tangle may refer to: Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics *''The Tangle'' is the name of the ledger, a directed acyclic graph, used for the cryptocurrency IOTA *Tangle (mathematics), a topological object Natural sciences & medicine ...

'', and appeared in the theatre production ''

Grey Gardens ''Grey Gardens'' is a 1975 American documentary film by Albert and David Maysles. The film depicts the everyday lives of two reclusive, upper-class women, a mother and daughter both named Edith Beale, who lived in poverty at Grey Gardens, a ...

'' as Jacqueline Bouvier. In February 2013, it was announced that Kaplan had joined the cast of the long-running soap opera '' Neighbours'' as

. She won the role after a quick audition process, which included one audition and a

screen test A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an actor or actress for performing on film or in a particular role. The performer is generally given a scene, or selected lines and actions, and instructed to perform in front of a came ...

with cast members

Harley Bonner Harley Bonner (born 27 April 1991) is an Australian actor known for his roles as Josh Willis on ''Neighbours'' (2013–2016) and Logan Bennett on ''Home and Away'' (2021–2022). Early life Bonner was born in Melbourne and lived in Belgrave, V ...

Rebekah Elmaloglou Rebekah Sophie Elmaloglou (born 23 January 1974) is an Australian actress, known for her roles as teenage tearaway Sophie Simpson on ''Home and Away'' and Terese Willis on ''Neighbours''. She also made guest appearances in '' E Street'', ''A Co ...

and

Kip Gamblin Kip Gamblin (born 5 July 1975) is an Australian ballet dancer and actor. From 2003 until 2005, Gamblin played Scott Hunter in ''Home and Away''. The part earned him the 2004 Logie Award for Most Popular New Male Talent. After moving to the UK, ...

. Kaplan made her first appearance as Imogen on 20 May 2013. Kaplan left her role as Imogen on 26 April 2016 to pursue other projects Kaplan reprised the role of Imogen on 22 March 2019 for a guest stint.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaplan, Ariel 1994 births Living people Jewish Australian actresses Australian Jews Australian soap opera actresses 21st-century Australian actresses Australian female dancers South African emigrants to Australia South African Jews People from Johannesburg 21st-century Australian singers 21st-century Australian women singers