English actress Jessie Mei Li who proclaims her queer, turned professional in the 2010s and earned acclaim through stage production of All About Eve (2019). The emerging talent from Brighton, East Sussex landed as main cast Alina Starkov in the fantasy TV series Shadow and Bone (2021), which lured her massive media attention.
The gender non-conforming TV figure prefers the use of ‘she/they’ pronouns. Yet to score many acting credits & tenures, the actress exhibits proficiency on the stage as well as on TV screens- a possible depiction of a flourishing future.
Family Background- Is She Chinese? How Old Is Jessie Mei Li?
Born on August 27, 1995, in Brighton, East Sussex, England, Jessica Mei Li is one of 2 children to an English mother who worked as a nurse and a father of Chinese origin & Hong Kong-raised. Her father’s name is Art Li. She grew up in Redhill, Surrey, with her brother Tom Li, a doctor in the National Health Service in England.
An English by nationality, Jessie hails from a mixed ethnic background & often in interviews, recalls the mocking she faced growing in a ‘white area of South England.’
As of May 2021, Li is 25 years old and has a height of 5 feet 3 inches (160 cm).
Trained At Acting Academy And Career Before Acting
An attendant of Reigate College from 2010 to 2012, Jessie Mei Li enrolled at the University of Sussex to study French and Spanish but dropped out. Then, she worked as a special-education teaching assistant for 2 years.
After that, in 2015, the English actress joined National Youth Theatre to train acting. Even more, she took a one-year course (2016-17) at the Identity School of Acting.
On-Screen Debut and Breakthrough- What Role She Played In ‘Shadow and Bone’?
In 2018, Li made her acting debut through the short film Together, They Smoke. Even more, the same year, she worked in the music video of A Thousand Ringing Bells by Uri Sade.
In February 2019, Jessie Mei Li debuted on stage through Ivo Van Hove-directed production of All About Eve at Noel Coward Theatre. There, she portrayed Claudia Casswell alongside co-stars Gillian Anderson and Lily James. Moreover, the English actress saw minor roles in Locked Up Abroad (2019, TV series documentary) and Travelooper (2019, short-film).
Her career breakthrough came after the portrayal of Alina Starkov in the fantasy web series Shadow and Bone in 2021. The series stars Archie Renaux, Freddy Carter, Amita Suman, Kit Young, and Ben Barnes. It premiered on Netflix on April 23, 2021; Season 1 consists of 8 episodes.
The series is based on the novel by Leigh Bardugo; the first book of Grisha trilogy Shadow and Bone.
As per IMDB, she would play Lara in Edgar Wright’s film Last Night in Soho (2021) co-starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Matt Smith, Thomasin McKenzie, among others. Its release date is October 22, 2021, in the United States.
Her upcoming short film Pork Scratchings, where she appears as Ericka is currently under pre-production.
Net Worth Of Jessie Mei Li In 2021
With only about 3 years in the industry, the English actress already earned hype with her promising acting. Not to mention her works in All About Eve (stage production) and TV series Shadow and Bone crowned her fame. Online sources estimated that Jessie Mei Li has a net worth of $150,000 as of 2021.
The struggling actors are off the beaten track in terms of payroll compared to A-listers, but everyone knows hard-works pays off eventually. Reportedly, the average actor salary in the UK is £27,350 per year.
Personal Life Of Jessie Mei Li
The Last Night in Soho actress is openly queer and is proud to accept both pronouns ‘she/they’ stating herself “pretty flexible.” Moreover, she often shares her struggle with mental disturbance due to mocking as a child, for being Asian. Li has openly spoken about the lack of positive Asian representation onscreen and the rise in anti-Asian hate due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
About her relationship, Jessie, until now, has remained low-key. Throughout these years, she never opened up about her boyfriend/girlfriend or has any dating story disclosed. An avid Instagram user (@jessie_mei_li), Li has more than 305K followers, nevertheless, she keeps her love life pretty under wraps.
She is multi-lingual and can speak English, Cantonese, French, Mandarin, and Spanish. Outside of acting, the vegan personality is skilled at Taekwondo and Wing Chun.
Diagnosed With ADHD
As reported, Jessie Mei Li is diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). As a result, she had had problems sitting still during the filming of Shadow and Bone. So, the makeup and hair team gave her puzzles to work on during styling.
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