Leah Diane Gibson (born January 3, 1985) is a Canadian film and television actress.

Early life

Leah Gibson was born in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...

. She has a

twin sister Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two e ...

named Erin. She began dancing at the age of four, which led to training and performance in vocational interests, such as ballet and many forms of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

. In early years of dancing and singing, she discovered musical theatre. She transferred to a high school that specialized in

fine arts In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

, maintaining honor-roll grades and graduating at the top of her class. Gibson studied

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

at the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary instit ...

, among the select few who were asked to study under the UVic honours program. She was simultaneously cast in her first professional

theatre production Stagecraft is a technical aspect of theatrical, film, and video production. It includes constructing and rigging scenery; hanging and focusing of lighting; design and procurement of costumes; make-up; stage management; audio engineering; and pr ...

, and withdrew from university. The touring company lost its funding within 2 months, and the show was canceled. Gibson consequently moved to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

in pursuit of a career in film acting.

Career

In 2007, Gibson began her acting career in television, appearing on ''

Psych ''Psych'' is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks for USA Network. The series stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observ ...

'', in the television film ''Second Sight'', and on the miniseries '' Tin Man''. She also played

Penelope Penelope ( ; Ancient Greek: Πηνελόπεια, ''Pēnelópeia'', or el, Πηνελόπη, ''Pēnelópē'') is a character in Homer's ''Odyssey.'' She was the queen of Ithaca and was the daughter of Spartan king Icarius and naiad Periboea. Pe ...

in '' Odysseus: Voyage to the Underworld'' (2008). Gibson's very first lead role in a feature film, namely Amy Singer in ''The Devil's Ground'' (2009), was booked within six months of signing an agent. That same year, she portrayed the

supporting role A supporting character is a character in a narrative that is not the focus of the primary storyline, but is important to the plot/protagonist, and appears or is mentioned in the story enough to be more than just a minor character or a cameo ap ...

of Silhouette's Girlfriend in

Zack Snyder Zachary Edward Snyder (born March 1, 1966) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and cinematographer. He made his feature film debut in 2004 with '' Dawn of the Dead'', a remake of the 1978 horror film of the same name. Since t ...

's ''

Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is an American comic book Limited series (comics), maxiseries by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins (comics), John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 a ...

'', as well as a role in ''Happy to Be Here'' (2009). She continued her television career in ''Stranger with My Face'' (2009), and appeared as the character Hannah in two episodes of '' Riese'' (2009). In 2010, Gibson played Nettie in '' The Twilight Saga: Eclipse'', and was also attached to the cast of ''A Night for Dying Tigers''. From 2010 to 2011, she starred in the two short films ''The Metal Box'' (2010) and ''The Fence'' (2011). In 2010, she also played a minor character in the TV movie called ''Betwixt''. Gibson portrayed the

avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...

Emmanuelle on ''

Caprica ''Caprica'' is an American science fiction drama television series. A spin-off prequel of the re-imagined '' Battlestar Galactica'' (2004), Caprica is set 58 years before the main series. ''Caprica'' shows how humanity first created the Cylo ...

'' (2010), which accredited three episodes. She then made a

guest appearance In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other p ...

as Palomino on ''

Supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

'' in the episode " Two Minutes to Midnight". In 2011, she was credited in ''

Rise of the Planet of the Apes ''Rise of the Planet of the Apes'' is a 2011 American science fiction film directed by Rupert Wyatt from a screenplay by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. It is a reboot of the ''Planet of the Apes'' film franchise, which is based on the 1963 nov ...

'' as playing Alyssa Williams. Subsequent television credits included ''He Loves Me'' (2011) and ''Soldiers of the Apocalypse'' (2011). She played supporting characters in '' Kill for Me'' (2013) as Natalie Ross, ''Indie Jonesing'' (2012) as Gina, and lead role in the short film ''Leave Us Alone'' (2012). In the course of five episodes, she has played Candi Lussier in a recurring role on ''

Arctic Air ''Arctic Air'' is a Canadian drama television series that began airing on CBC Television on January 10, 2012. The series was canceled on March 17, 2014, due to government budgetary cuts. Synopsis ''Arctic Air'' is about a Yellowknife-based mav ...

'' (2012–2013). Gibson's work for the rest of 2012 consisted of episodes on ''The True Heroines'', and the pilot episode for ''

American Housewife ''American Housewife'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from October 11, 2016, to March 31, 2021. It is created and written by Sarah Dunn and co-executive produced with Aaron Kaplan, Kenny Schwartz, Rick Wiener, and for the p ...

''.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Leah 1985 births Living people University of Victoria alumni Actresses from Victoria, British Columbia Canadian film actresses Canadian television actresses 21st-century Canadian actresses Canadian twins