Laya Lewis (born 14 May 1992) is an English actress, best known for her role as

Liv Malone Olivia "Liv" Malone is a fictional character from the third generation of the British teen drama '' Skins'', portrayed by Laya Lewis. According to Lewis, "On first impressions she is the cool one of the group, she is very much laid back. Liv d ...

in the fifth and sixth series of the hit British TV drama '' Skins''.

Early life

Laya Lewis was born in

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

, St George's Hospital but grew up in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

. Her mother was born in Britain to Jamaican parents who moved to England in the 60's as part of the

Windrush generation British African-Caribbean people are an ethnic group in the United Kingdom. They are British citizens whose ancestry originates from the Caribbean or they are nationals of the Caribbean who reside in the UK. There are some self-identified Afro-C ...

. She studied at Fairfield Secondary School and then 6th Form at

Cotham School Cotham School is a secondary school with academy status in Cotham, a suburb of Bristol, England. The catchment area for this school is Cotham, Clifton, Kingsdown ,southern Redland, Bishopston, St Paul’s and Easton The school shares a sixth fo ...

. She went on to study Media and Cultural Studies 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 ...

Career

While in

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

Lewis made her television debut in the fifth series of E4's teen drama '' Skins'', which started on 27 January 2011. She gained the role of

through open auditions in Bristol. Members of the show's production team visited some of the local schools and she was asked to attend an audition. At the age of 16 she auditioned for the second generation of ''Skins'', however when she arrived she decided not to participate. In April 2012, Lewis starred in

Emeli Sandé Adele Emily Sandé, ( ; born 10 March 1987), known professionally as Emeli Sandé, is a Scottish singer and songwriter. Born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, and raised in Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, by an English mother and a Zambian father ...

's music video " My Kind of Love", directed by

Dawn Shadforth Dawn Shadforth is a British director of music videos, TV, and film and a visual artist. She was originally a fine artist making work with objects, light, video and sound. She won the Whitworth Young Contemporaries Award for the installation "Swe ...

. It recounts the story of the ambiguous relationship of two female characters, and how the younger girl, played by Lewis, lives with cancer. In 2013 she filmed ''The Line'', a short movie written and directed by BAFTA nominated Faye Gilbert about a teenage girl and young boy running for their lives in a futuristic world. Next Lewis will play the lead role of Beverly in ''Beverley'', a short film produced by

Cass Pennant Carol "Cass" Pennant (born 3 March 1958), is an English writer and former football hooligan. Background Pennant's mother emigrated from Jamaica while pregnant and he was born in Doncaster, Yorkshire. Six weeks old, he was abandoned and was plac ...

telling the true story of a mixed-race girl growing up in the city of

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

in the 1980s. Laya once provided the idents for ''

BBC Radio 1 Breakfast show ''Radio 1 Breakfast'' is a radio show that is broadcast across the UK on BBC Radio 1. It is hosted by Greg James since 20 August 2018 as the show's 16th presenter. The show ran six days a week until February 1968 (seBBC Genome Project, then fi ...

'' with

Nick Grimshaw Nicholas Peter Andrew Grimshaw (born 14 August 1984), also known as Grimmy, is an English television and former radio presenter, podcaster and author. He became known for having hosted a variety of shows on BBC Radio 1. He is also known as a t ...

. She has since continued to do VO work. She won the BBC award for up and coming artist at the British Urban Film Festival.

Filmography

References

External links

* * 1993 births Living people English television actresses Actresses from Bristol Black British actresses English people of Zambian descent {{England-screen-actor-stub