Genesis Lynea Edwards (born 20 October 1989) is a Bermudian actress, dancer and singer. She originated the role of Anna of Cleves in '' Six''. On television, she is known for her roles as in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

medical drama '' Casualty'' (2019–2020) and the crime drama '' Silent Witness'' (2021).

Early life

Lynea was born in

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

to parents Lionel Edwards and Ginea "Adi" Wolf. Her father is a self-taught saxophonist and her mother is an actress and singer. Her credits include Tina as GG in the 2020 Hamburg production at Operettenhaus. In summer 1997, Lynea's mother was accepted into the Performing Arts programme at

Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated to MDX) is a public research university based in Hendon, northwest London, England. The university also has campuses in Dubai and Mauritius. The name of the university is ...

and the two moved to London, followed soon after by her stepfather. The three lived in North London where Lynea attended Trent C of E Primary School and began secondary school at Ashmole Academy before the family moved back to Bermuda for three years. After starting her Geography degree at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

, Lynea decided she wanted to be a performer and transferred to Arts Educational School (ArtsEd) in

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district in West London, split between the London Borough of Hounslow, London Boroughs of Hounslow and London Borough of Ealing, Ealing. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist Wi ...

, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Musical Theatre in 2013.

Career

Lynea's first performing experience was at the ENO as a part of the children's ensemble for ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...

''. Once the family moved back to London in 2006, Lynea went to LaSwap where she and some friends founded Britain's first Krump family, called Krumpire, which later developed into Wet Wipez. Soon after, she featured in Jessie J's debut music video " Do It Like A Dude". For the 2012 London Olympics, she was selected for Project 32, a project by

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...

putting skilled teenagers from London on billboards. Lynea's early stage work included roles in productions of '' The Bodyguard'', '' Bend It Like Beckham: The Musical'', the Olivier Award winning ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Life of Jesus in the New Testament, Gospels' accounts of Passion of Jesus, the Passion, the work interprets ...

'', and '' In the Heights'' as well as the role of Pilar in a 2016 production of '' Legally Blonde'' at The Curve in

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

. Lynea starred in the 2017 production of '' The Wild Party'' at The Other Palace. She then landed roles in ''Ode to Leeds'' at West Yorkshire Playhouse and ''Collective Rage: A Play in Five Betties''. She landed the starring role of Anna of Cleves in the original cast of '' Six'' at the Arts Theatre and recording on the 2018 SIX Studio album that has recently sold over 100,000 copies worldwide. Lynea made her television debut in 2018 with the main role of Miss Maddie Harper in series 7 and 8 of

CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

series '' 4 O'Clock Club''. She secured her first theatrical lead at The Old Vic in '' Sylvia''. Lynea has filmed a few short films including ''Love is a Hand Grenade'' which won 'Best LGBT' at the Bristol Independent Film Festival. ''Cost of Living'' was selected for the Raindance Film Festival 2021 and BFI Flare London Film Festival. Her most recent short film, ''Finding Dad'', made the official selection for the Berlin British Shorts Film Festival and Leeds Film Festival. On 23 March 2019, she began appearing as Archie Hudson in the BBC medical drama '' Casualty.'' In 2021, she joined the cast for series 24 of the long-running BBC crime drama '' Silent Witness'' as pathologist Simone Tyler. She also made a guest appearance as the inferni Natacha in the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series '' Shadow and Bone''. The following year, she had recurring roles as vampire Geraldine Newcopse in the third series of Sky's '' A Discovery of Witches'' and Sam in the horror comedy '' The Baby'', also on Sky.

Personal life

Lynea identifies as

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

, and appeared in an issue of the ''

Gay Times ''Gay Times'' (stylized in all caps), also known as ''GAY TIMES Magazine'' and as ''GT'', is a UK-based LGBTQ+ magazine established in 1984. Originally a magazine for gay and bisexual men, the company began including content for the LGBTQ+ comm ...

'' in 2019.

Filmography

Television and film

Music videos

Stage

References

External links

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Genesis Lynea
at Spotlight {{DEFAULTSORT:Lynea, Genesis 1989 births Living people Actresses from London Bermudian actresses Bermudian emigrants to the United Kingdom Bermudian LGBTQ people Black British actresses Black British LGBTQ people British LGBTQ singers English LGBTQ actors LGBTQ people from London Actors educated at the Arts Educational Schools Actors educated at the BRIT School Actors from the London Borough of Wandsworth British queer actresses British musical theatre actresses People from Wandsworth LGBTQ women singers