Katie Leung (born 8 August 1987; ) is a Scottish actress. Initially famous for playing
Cho Chang, the titular character's first love interest in the
''Harry Potter'' film series, she is also known for her roles as Caitlyn in the animated series ''
Arcane'' and Ash in the sci-fi series ''
The Peripheral''. In 2012, Leung made her stage debut in the play ''
Wild Swans'', and has since appeared in many other stage productions.
Leung has an interest in the arts, having studied painting and design at the
University of the Arts London
University of the Arts London is a collegiate university in London, England, specialising in arts, design, fashion and the performing arts. It is a federation of six arts colleges: Camberwell College of Arts, Central Saint Martins, Chelsea Coll ...
, and has degrees in photography from
Edinburgh College of Art and theatre from the
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
Early life
Leung was born in
Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
, Scotland, to Peter Leung, a
Hong Kong-born businessman and
restaurateur
A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspec ...
who opened a company in
Glasgow, 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.
Leung's father's work led to her growing up in a variety of Scottish cities, including
Ayr,
Hamilton, and
Motherwell
Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...
.
She attended secondary school at
Hamilton College.
Career
2005–2011: ''Harry Potter'' and other early roles
Leung's father saw an advertisement for a ''
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and the fourth novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series. It follows Harry Potter, a wizard in his fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and W ...
'' casting call, and suggested she should try out. She waited four hours in line for a five-minute audition, despite feeling she had little likelihood of obtaining the role.
Two weeks later, she was called back for a workshop and was cast as Cho Chang, beating over 3,000 other girls for the part.
In retrospect, she stated in an interview with the ''
Daily Record'' that her
Scottish accent probably gave her an advantage in the casting, as the casting director asked the girls who attended the audition, "Is there anyone here from Scotland?", to which only Leung raised her hand.
In a 2011 interview, Leung said her fondest memory of the ''Harry 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," Leung recalled.
In an effort to heavily promote ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'', Warner Bros. sent Leung to China in the film's second week of release, in an atypical move toward a market that was not used to frequent celebrity visits at the time.
She reprised her role in the subsequent films in the series, most notably ''
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and the fifth novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series. It follows Harry Potter's struggles through his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witc ...
'', in which her character had the distinction of being Harry Potter's first romance. As a result, Leung and
Daniel 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
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
messages which were upsetting to her at the time. In March 2021, Leung opened up further about the racist abuse she had received from fans while filming ''Harry Potter''; appearing on an episode of the ''Chinese Chippy Girl'' podcast, she revealed that she was told by her publicists to deny what was happening if anyone asked.
Leung was named as Scotland's most
stylish female and as the hottest Scotswoman in 2007 by ''
The Scotsman''. She has also been featured in ''
Teen Vogue
''Teen Vogue'' is an American online publication, formerly in print, launched in January 2003, as a sister publication to ''Vogue (magazine), Vogue'', targeted at teenagers. Like ''Vogue'', it included stories about fashion and celebrities. Since ...
'' and the ''
Evening Standard''. In July 2007, she was cast by
Gold Label Records, a subsidiary of
EMI in Hong Kong, to be the female lead in the music video ''Love Coming Home'' ''()'' by
Leo Ku. Leung filmed the video in London while promoting the new ''Harry Potter'' film. Ku described Leung's acting as "professional" and "mature".
In her first role outside of ''Harry Potter'', Leung played Hsui Tai in the episode "Cat Among the Pigeons" of
ITV1's ''
Agatha Christie's Poirot,'' which premiered on 21 September 2008.
2011–present: Continued stage and screen roles
Following the end of the ''Harry Potter'' films, Leung said she was uncertain if she wanted to pursue a further career in acting, but was inspired to continue after attending a drama course at the
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. In December 2011, she was awarded the role of
Jung Chang as her debut stage role in Chang's autobiographical play ''
Wild Swans''. 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."
The play made its world premiere in
Cambridge, Massachusetts in February 2012, before returning to Motherwell and concluding with an April-May run at the
Young Vic
The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth.
The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Kwame Kwei-Armah has been Artistic Director since February 201 ...
in London.
In June 2012, it was confirmed that Leung would star in the
Channel 4 four-part drama series ''
Run
Run(s) or RUN may refer to:
Places
* Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia
* Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant
People
* Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...
'' as leading character Ying, an undocumented Chinese immigrant living in
Brixton
Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...
. In 2013, Leung starred alongside
Vera Chok in ''The 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 the
National Theatre, she played the role of Sunny, a female migrant worker.
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 miniseries ''
One Child
''One Child'' is a memoir by American author and psychologist Torey Hayden. It was first published in the United States in 1980, becoming a best seller in the 00s. This book has been translated into 27 languages and dramatized as an interacti ...
''. 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 and
Sundance TV, filmed in May 2014 in London and Hong Kong, aired on Sundance TV in December 2014, and was broadcast on
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
in February 2016. Leung received praise from Catherine Gee of ''
The Daily Telegraph'', who called her performance "beautifully understated".
In late 2016, Leung appeared in the
Tony Kushner play ''
The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures'' (''iHo'') at the
Hampstead Theatre in London. In 2017, she co-starred with
Jackie Chan and
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan (; born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He is best known as the fifth actor to play secret agent James Bond in the Bond film series, starring in four films from 1995 to 2002 (''GoldenEye'', ''Tomorrow ...
in ''
The Foreigner'', playing Fan, Chan's character's daughter. This was followed by a supporting role as Lau Chen in the
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
drama ''
Strangers
A stranger is a person who is unknown to another person or group. Because of this unknown status, a stranger may be perceived as a threat until their identity (social science), identity and Character structure, character can be ascertained. Differ ...
'', also known by the title ''White Dragon''.
Leung has subsequently appeared in recurring roles as DC Blair Ferguson in the
Alibi series ''
Annika'', the voice of Caitlyn in the
Netflix series
''Arcane'', and Ash in the
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...
series ''
The Peripheral''.
In 2023, she starred in the first season of
Paramount+'s series adaptation of
Simon Beckett's novel ''
The Chemistry of Death
''The Chemistry of Death'' is a novel by the British crime fiction writer Simon Beckett, first published in 2006. The novel introduced the character of Dr David Hunter, who has gone on to feature in other novels by the writer.
''The Chemistry o ...
''.
Personal life
Leung delayed plans to go to
art college and university to film ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix''. During this period, Leung had said she was undecided about pursuing an acting career after ''Harry Potter'' and wished to attend university to study art and design.
In 2007, she helped
The Prince's Trust charity raise £100,000 by launching a children's art competition and also donated one of her own paintings which was auctioned for £960.
Leung has also expressed a passion for photography. In 2009, she donated a photo to
Sightsavers International's I:Click 2009 competition, with benefits going to treat and prevent blindness for residents of impoverished countries. While appearing in ''Wild Swans'', Leung worked to complete her photography degree at
Edinburgh College of Art.
Afterwards, she attended the
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow, where she completed the BA in Acting course. For her final-year performance at the Conservatoire in 2014, Leung appeared as Béline in a production of
Molière's ''
The Hypochondriac''.
On 19 August 2018, Leung participated in the wedding of another former ''Harry Potter'' cast member,
Afshan Azad.
In January 2022, Leung's essay "Getting into Character" was published in the book ''East Side Voices: Essays Celebrating East & Southeast Asian Identity in Britain''. In her essay, Leung wrote about how her ethnicity impacted her experiences growing up and her acting career.
On New Year's Day 2023, Leung revealed on
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
that her son Wolf had been born the previous Halloween.
Leung speaks fluent
Cantonese and basic
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
.
Filmography
Film
Television
Theatre credits
Awards
References
External links
*
Katie Leungat
Curtis Brown
Curtis Lee "Curt" Brown Jr. (born March 11, 1956) is a former NASA astronaut and retired United States Air Force colonel.
Background
Colonel Brown was born March 11, 1956. He graduated from East Bladen High School in Elizabethtown, North Caroli ...
Leung's photography blogon
Tumblr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leung, Katie
1987 births
Living people
21st-century Scottish actresses
Alumni of the Edinburgh College of Art
Alumni of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
British actresses of Chinese descent
People educated at Hamilton College, South Lanarkshire
Scottish film actresses
Scottish people of Chinese descent
Scottish people of Hong Kong descent
Scottish stage actresses
Scottish television actresses