Katie Leung

Early life

Leung was born in Dundee to Peter Leung, a Hong-Kong-born businessman and restaurateur 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. Her father's occupation led to Leung growing up in several towns, including Ayr, Hamilton and Motherwell. She attended Hamilton College.

Career

2004–2011: Early roles and ''Harry Potter''

Leung's father saw an advertisement for a Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire casting call, and suggested she should try out. She queued for four hours 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 more than 3,000 other girls for the part. She has stated 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 recalled how 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." In an effort to heavily promote Goblet of Fire, Warner Bros. sent Leung to China in the film's second week of release, in an atypical move towards a market that was not used to frequent celebrity visits at the time.

Leung reprised her role in the subsequent films in the series, most notably Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, in which her character had the distinction of being Harry Potter's first romance. As a result, Leung and co-star 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 messages which were upsetting to her at the time. In March 2021 Leung opened up further about the racist harassment she 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 any interviewer asked.

Leung was named Scotland's most stylish female and the hottest Scotswoman in 2007 by Scotland on Sunday. 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 (愛回家) by Leo Ku. 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.

2012–2021

Following the end of Harry Potter, Leung was uncertain if she wanted to further pursue a 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 stage debut 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 in London.

In June 2012, it was confirmed that Leung would star in the Channel 4 four-part drama series Run as leading character Ying, an undocumented Chinese immigrant living in Brixton. 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. 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 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 in The Foreigner, playing Fan, Chan's character's daughter. This was followed by a supporting role as Lau Chen in the ITV drama Strangers, also known by the title White Dragon. Leung 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 series The Peripheral.

2022–present

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. In 2023, Leung starred in the first season of Paramount+'s series adaptation of Simon Beckett's novel The Chemistry of Death. In 2024, she appeared in the BBC One miniseries Nightsleeper. In 2026, Leung appeared in the fourth season of Bridgerton as Lady Araminta Gun, Countess of Penwood.{{cite web|url= https://www.hellomagazine.com/film/718564/harry-potter-star-katie-leung-joins-bridgerton-cast/?viewas=amp|website=Hello Magazine|accessdate=16 September 2024|title= Harry Potter star joins Bridgerton cast in major role as show begins filming season 4

Charity work

In 2007, Leung helped The Prince's Trust charity raise £100,000 by launching a children's art competition, donating one of her own paintings that was auctioned for £960. 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. In 2018, Leung ran a 10K run for My Body Back, a charity that supports victims of sexual violence.

Personal life

Leung speaks fluent Cantonese and basic Mandarin. She is a vegetarian.

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. Leung briefly studied painting at University of the Arts London before completing a photography degree at Edinburgh College of Art. Following this, she attended the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow, where she completed the BA in Acting course.

On 19 August 2018, Leung participated in the wedding of her Harry Potter castmate Afshan Azad. On 1 January 2023, for New Year's Day, Leung revealed on Instagram that her son had been born the previous Halloween. Her pregnancy was worked into the second series of Annika, which she filmed prior to giving birth.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Podcasts

Music video appearances

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. (28 October 2014). "Katie Leung: Breakthrough Brit in 2014". [[BAFTA]].
2. Swarbrick, Susan. (12 February 2016). "Katie Leung on life after Harry Potter and battling racist stereotypes". The Herald (Glasgow).
3. (15 February 2016). "Harry Potter actress Katie Leung: I regularly experience racism". The Telegraph.
4. LAU KIT WAI. ''Katie casts a spell.'' South China Morning Post. YOUNGPOST; Pg. 1. 11 December 2005.
5. Dougan, Andy. (4 November 2005). "'Motherwell girl Katie steals Harry Potter 's heart; MOVIE SPECIAL Katie Leung on her dream role . . . and the big secret she had to keep for two months.". Evening Times (Glasgow). NEWS.
6. Synnot, Siobhan. (21 June 2007). "KISS ME KATIE". Daily Record.
7. "Katie Leung 5/2007 Interview BBC.com". BBC.
8. (14 November 2005). "Exclusive: My Broad Accent Scot Me A Job As Harry Girl". The Daily Record.
9. (26 June 2007). "What Katie did next". The Scotsman.
10. Herald Scotland. "Lights, camera ... magic". Herald and Times Group.
11. (2008). "Business". Houghton Mifflin.
12. (16 November 2005). "KATIE: I CRIED FOR HARRY'S ILL FANS". Daily Record.
13. United Press International. (11 April 2005). "Racists slam 'Harry Potter' actress". UPI.
14. Moreau, Jordan. (11 March 2021). "'Harry Potter' Actor Katie Leung Says She Was Told to Deny Receiving Racist Attacks From Fans".
15. Watson, Jeremy. (18 November 2007). "Harry Potter actress flies from Hogwarts to top of eligibles list". The Scotsman.
16. [link](https://www.hpfl.net/forum/thread/9026 ). [[Sina.com]]. (31 July 2007)
17. Hendry, Steve. (2 December 2007). "What Katie Leung Did Again". [[Sunday Mail (Scotland).
18. (6 December 2011). "LEUNG NEARLY QUIT ACTING AFTER POTTER". The Express.
19. (7 December 2011). "Harry Potter actress Katie Leung lands debut stage role". BBC News.
20. Adler, Amy. (8 February 2012). "Katie Leung Goes Wild". TheaterMania.com, Inc..
21. Chen, Wei-Huan. "'Wild Swans' tries to fit China on stage". Dedham Transcript.
22. "Wild Swans".
23. "Channel 4 Run Cast Announcement".
24. (2014). "The World of Extreme Happiness: A Story of China's Urban Migrants". The Culture Trip – China.
25. Tatlow, Didi Kirsten (30 November 2014). [https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/01/arts/television/katie-leung-stars-in-one-child-by-guy-hibbert.html?_r=0 "Opaque Justice in China: Katie Leung Stars in 'One Child' by Guy Hibbert"]. ''[[The New York Times]]''.
26. Gee, Catherine (17 February 2016). [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2016/02/17/one-child-episode-one-review-fragile-china-exposed-in-this-gripp/ "Gripping drama One Child exposes how fragile China is – review"]. ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]''.
27. (2016). "Tamsin Greig stars in The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures". London Theatre 1.
28. Hale, Mike (6 February 2019). [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/06/arts/television/review-white-dragon-amazon.html?r=0 "Review: Hong Kong Tourist-Noir in Amazon's 'White Dragon'"]. ''[[The New York Times]]''.
29. (16 March 2021). "In Pictures: New series of popular drama, Annika, filming in Glasgow". The Scotsman.
30. (21 September 2021). "'Arcane': Hailee Steinfeld, Ella Purnell & Kevin Alejandro Among Voice Cast For Netflix 'League Of Legends' Animated Series".
31. Petski, Denise. (2 June 2021). "'The Peripheral': Louis Herthum, Chris Coy, Melinda Page Hamilton Among 5 Cast In Jonathan Nolan & Lisa Joy's Amazon Series". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
32. Lee, Helena. (24 January 2022). "Gemma Chan, Naomi Shimada, Katie Leung and more tell personal stories in new book ''East Side Voices''".
33. Whiteside, Shirley. (24 January 2022). "''East Side Voices: Essays Celebrating East & Southeast Asian Identity in Britain'' edited by Helena Lee – Book Review". Herald Scotland.
34. Goldbart, Max. (20 June 2022). "Paramount+ Unveils Seven-Strong International Slate Including French Fantasy Horror, 'CIRCEO' Massacre Doc & Germany's 'The Sheikh'". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
35. "Alexandra Roach and Joe Cole board BBC drama Nightsleeper".
36. Moreau, Jordan. (Sep 16, 2024). "'Bridgerton' Season 4 Begins Production and Adds 3 Cast Members".
37. Goldbart, Max. (September 16, 2024). "'Bridgerton' Rolls Cameras On Season 4; Adds 3 To Cast & Promotes 2".
38. "Bridgerton Season 4: Fall for the First Photos of Luke Thompson and Yerin Ha".
39. Edinburgh Evening News. (4 December 2007). "Potter star Katie helps raise £100,000". The Scotsman.
40. "i:click". Sightsavers International.
41. Carswell, Andy. (3 December 2009). "Amersham teen's photo to appear alongside work of Harry Potter actress". Bucks Free Press & Times Group.
42. "Katie & Fi for MBBP".
43. Shore, Robert. (11 April 2012). "Katie Leung: I almost quit acting after Harry Potter". Metro.
44. (27 January 2013). "Katie Leung talks Harry Potter, costars, new miniseries "Run" broadcast this March". SnitchSeeker.com.
45. [https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/scotland-now/harry-potter-star-loves-coming-14371810 "Harry Potter star on why she loves coming home to Scotland for Greggs' vegan sausage roll"], ''Daily Record'', 17 April 2019.
46. Cheesman, Chris. (26 November 2009). "HARRY POTTER STAR REVEALS PHOTOGRAPHY 'PASSION'". Amateur Photographer.
47. Jury, Louise. (20 April 2012). "Harry Potter star Katie Leung makes stage debut... before a spell at drama school". London Evening Standard.
48. Merrett, Robyn. "'Harry Potter' Stars Reunite for Hogwarts' 'Very Own Royal Wedding'". People.
49. "Katie Leung on Instagram: "Halloween baby Wolf wishes you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR!"".
50. (9 August 2023). "Annika's Katie Leung on how real-life pregnancy was written into season 2". RadioTimes.com.
51. "Dark Side of AI Romance Explored in Wondery’s New Podcast Series ‘Flesh and Code’ (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
52. (11 January 2006). "Katie Leung Nominated for Asian Excellence Award". [[The Leaky Cauldron (website).
53. (9 January 2006). "Katie Leung Suggested for Young Scot Award". SnitchSeeker.com.
54. "Awards ceremony celebrates Glasgow's style". Glasgow City Marketing Bureau.
55. (22 May 2007). "Katie Leung in Cosmo Girl magazine". SnitchSeeker.com.
56. "2008 MTV Movie Awards Nominees: Best Kiss". MTV Networks.
57. [http://www.bafta.org/initiatives/supporting-talent/breakthrough-brits/bafta-breakthrough-brits-2014#Leung] Katie Leung, BAFTA Breakthrough Brits 2014 {{webarchive. link. (1 November 2014)