Jessica De Gouw
Born
Jessica Elise De Gouw

(1988-02-15) 15 February 1988 (age 35)[a]
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Other namesJess De Gouw
Alma materCurtin University
OccupationActress
Years active2006–present

Jessica Elise De Gouw (born 15 February 1988) is an Australian actress. She is known for her role as Helena Bertinelli/The Huntress in the television series Arrow, as Mina Murray in the NBC TV series Dracula, and as Elizabeth Hawkes in the WGN series Underground.

Early life

De Gouw grew up in Lesmurdie, an eastern suburb of Perth, Western Australia, where she attended Lesmurdie Senior High School.[1] She appeared in an episode of The Sleepover Club, as well as a short film. In 2010, she graduated from Curtin University with a degree in performance studies. She also appeared in another short film the same year.[2]

Career

After graduation, De Gouw moved to Sydney for her acting career. While there, she appeared in a number of TV series, mainly in guest starring roles.

In 2012, she debuted in the film Kath & Kimderella as Isabella, Kath and Kim's maid. She moved to Los Angeles later that year and landed the recurring role of Helena Bertinelli/The Huntress in the action-adventure series, Arrow.

In 2013, De Gouw was cast in the NBC series Dracula as Mina Murray alongside Jonathan Rhys Meyers[2] and Oliver Jackson-Cohen. The series was cancelled after the first season.

In 2016, De Gouw was cast as fictional abolitionist Elizabeth Hawkes in the WGN series, Underground. She played the lead role Ren Amari in the 2017 feature film OtherLife based on the novel Solitaire by Kelley Eskridge.[3]

De Gouw appeared in the 2018 Australian television movie Riot, about the 78ers, the Australian LGBTQ rights movement who fought for decriminalisation, recognition and equality.[4]

She played the role of Sergeant Klintoff's wife, Louisa, in Leah Purcell's debut feature film, The Drover's Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson (2021).

Personal life

De Gouw was in a relationship for several years with her Dracula costar, Oliver Jackson-Cohen.[5]

In a June 2022 interview, she described herself as queer and said that she was in a relationship with a woman.[6] De Gouw and her girlfriend, hairstylist Sophie Roberts, spoke about the pair's relationship for the February edition of Vogue in 2023.[7]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2009 Bedtime Stories Mother Short
2010 The Ballad of Nick Chopper Iva Short
2011 Works Well with Others Andrea Short
2012 Kath & Kimderella Isabella
The Dinner Meeting Natalie Short
The Mystery of a Hansom Cab Madge TV film
By Shank's Pony Short
2013 These Final Hours Zoe
2014 Cut Snake Paula
2015 The Rezort Melanie Gibbs
2017 OtherLife Ren Amari
2018 Riot Robyn Plaister TV film
2020 Gretel & Hansel Witch
2021 The Walk Hero Short
The Drover's Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson Louisa Klintoff
2023 The Portable Door Rosie Tanner
TBA The Union Filming

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2006 The Sleepover Club Amanda Hart Episode: "Fallen Star"
2011 Underbelly Constable Edie McElroy 3 episodes
Crownies Melody Kingston 1 episode
2012 Tricky Business Yvette Bell Episode: "Opportunity Knocks"
2012–2014 Arrow Helena Bertinelli 4 episodes
2013–2014 Dracula Mina Murray Series regular
2015 Deadline Gallipoli Vera Grant Mini-series
2016–2017 Underground Elizabeth Hawkes Series regular
The Last Tycoon Minna Davis 2 episodes
2017 Sparebnb Emma Episode: "Steve and Emma"
2019 The Hunting Eliza Mini-series
The Crown Lucy Lindsay-Hogg Episode: "Cri de Coeur"
Vienna Blood Amelia Lydgate 3 episodes
2020–present The Secrets She Keeps Meghan Shaughnessy Series regular
Operation Buffalo Eva Lloyd-George Series regular
2020–2021 Pennyworth Melanie Troy 5 episodes
2021 The Moth Effect Sephen Episode: "Celestial Graveyard"
2023 The Couple Next Door Becka Lead role

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result
2019 Equity Ensemble Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Mini-series or Telemovie (with Damon Herriman, Kate Box, Xavier Samuel & Josh Quong Tart) Riot Won

Notes

  1. ^ De Gouw's birthday is 15 February.[8] She was 23 years old on 14 January 2012.[1] Her full birth date, 15 February 1988, is calculated from these two facts.

References

  1. ^ a b "De Gouw set to wow in US". Yahoo! New Zealand News. 14 January 2012. Archived from the original on 5 September 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  2. ^ a b Symonds, Kristy (20 October 2012). "Perth actor Jessica De Gouw aiming at sci-fi glory". Perth Now. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  3. ^ "OtherLife world premiere". Kelley Eskridge. 19 May 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  4. ^ "Inside Alycia Debnam-Carey's Beauty Routine - Grazia". Grazia USA. 6 July 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Who Is Oliver Jackson-Cohen's Girlfriend? What You Need To Know About Partner Jessica De Gouw". Capital FM. 8 October 2020. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  6. ^ Dow, Steve (3 July 2022). "'Twitter is the worst!': Actor Jessica de Gouw on being in the public eye". The Age. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  7. ^ Xidias, Angelica (9 February 2023). "Sophie Roberts and Jessica De Gouw pen their love story". Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  8. ^ De Gouw, Jessica [@jessdegouw] (16 February 2015). "Thank you for all the wonderful birthday wishes!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 31 October 2018 – via Twitter.

External links

Authority control databases
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