Leanne Rowe is an English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 actress and singer, known for portraying Nancy in Oliver Twist

Oliver Twist (2005 film)

Oliver Twist is a 2005 British drama film directed by Roman Polanski. The screenplay by Ronald Harwood is based on the 1838 novel of the same title by Charles Dickens....

, May Moss in Lilies

Lilies (BBC TV series)

Lilies is a British period-drama television series, written by Heidi Thomas, which ran for one eight-episode series in early 2007 on BBC One. The show's tagline was "Liverpool, 1920...

and Baby in Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story on Stage.

Background

Rowe is from Brentwood, Essex

Brentwood, Essex

Brentwood is a town and the principal settlement of the Borough of Brentwood, in the county of Essex in the east of England. It is located in the London commuter belt, 20 miles east north-east of Charing Cross in London, and near the M25 motorway....

. She has two older sisters and a brother.

Rowe left school at the age of sixteen to train as a dance

Dance

Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....

r, attending Laine Theatre Arts

Laine Theatre Arts

Laine Theatre Arts is an independent performing arts college, based in the town of Epsom in Surrey, England. The college was founded in 1974, and developed from an earlier school, the Frecker-Laine School of Dancing...

. She graduated at the age of nineteen with honours in musical theatre

Musical theatre

Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...

. Rowe also studied Drama, and after graduating, chose to pursue a career in acting instead of dance.

Career

Rowe made her film and professional debut at the age of twelve, playing Helen Burns in Franco Zeffirelli

Franco Zeffirelli

Franco Zeffirelli KBE is an Italian director and producer of films and television. He is also a director and designer of operas and a former senator for the Italian center-right Forza Italia party....

's Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre (1996 film)

Jane Eyre is a 1996 film adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's 1847 novel of the same name. This Hollywood version, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, is similar to the original novel, although it compresses and eliminates most of the plot in the last quarter of the book to make it fit into a 2-hour...

. In 2005 she was chosen by Roman Polanski

Roman Polanski

Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...

 to play Nancy in his adaptation of Oliver Twist

Oliver Twist (2005 film)

Oliver Twist is a 2005 British drama film directed by Roman Polanski. The screenplay by Ronald Harwood is based on the 1838 novel of the same title by Charles Dickens....

. Her television credits include Boudica

Boudica (film)

Boudica is a British film released in 2003. Starring Alex Kingston, Steven Waddington and Emily Blunt, the film is a biopic of the queen of the Iceni tribe, Boudica.- Production :...

, The Famous Five and Where the Heart Is

Where the Heart Is (1997 TV series)

Where the Heart Is is a British television drama series set in the fictional town Skelthwaite.First shown in 1997, it was created by Ashley Pharoah and Vicky Featherstone...

. She also played the lead role of May Moss in the Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

-set BBC One

BBC One

BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...

 drama

Drama

Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...

 Lilies

Lilies (BBC TV series)

Lilies is a British period-drama television series, written by Heidi Thomas, which ran for one eight-episode series in early 2007 on BBC One. The show's tagline was "Liverpool, 1920...

.

Rowe's radio drama

Radio drama

Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story...

 work includes Avoid London, Loving, Forget Me Not, One Chord Wonders, Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter.Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander...

's The Witches and To Sir with Love.

Rowe made her West End

West End theatre

West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...

 debut in Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story on Stage, playing the lead role of Frances 'Baby' Houseman. In 2009 she appeared in the revival of Victoria Wood

Victoria Wood

Victoria Wood CBE is a British comedienne, actress, singer-songwriter, screenwriter and director. Wood has written and starred in sketches, plays, films and sitcoms, and her live stand-up comedy act is interspersed with her own compositions, which she accompanies on piano...

's Talent

Talent (1978 play)

Talent is a play written by Victoria Wood, first performed in 1978. It centres around two friends, one of whom is about to enter a talent contest in a run down nightclub. Commissioned for the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, it received much acclaim and transferred to a London run in 1979. That same...

at the Menier Chocolate Factory

Menier Chocolate Factory

The Menier Chocolate Factory is an award-winning 180 seat fringe studio theatre, restaurant and gallery. It is located in a former 1870s Menier Chocolate Company factory in Southwark Street, a major street in the London Borough of Southwark, central south London, England. The theatre stages plays...

, playing Julie.

Television

Year	Show	Role	Notes
1996	The Famous Five	Harriet - Five on Finniston Farm (1996)	TV series
2003	Boudica Boudica (film) Boudica is a British film released in 2003. Starring Alex Kingston, Steven Waddington and Emily Blunt, the film is a biopic of the queen of the Iceni tribe, Boudica.- Production :...	Siora	Television film Television movie A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
2004	Where the Heart Is Where the Heart Is (1997 TV series) Where the Heart Is is a British television drama series set in the fictional town Skelthwaite.First shown in 1997, it was created by Ashley Pharoah and Vicky Featherstone...	Waitress - Stormy Weather (2004)	TV series
2007	Lilies Lilies (BBC TV series) Lilies is a British period-drama television series, written by Heidi Thomas, which ran for one eight-episode series in early 2007 on BBC One. The show's tagline was "Liverpool, 1920...	May Moss	TV series

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1996	Jane Eyre Jane Eyre (1996 film) Jane Eyre is a 1996 film adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's 1847 novel of the same name. This Hollywood version, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, is similar to the original novel, although it compresses and eliminates most of the plot in the last quarter of the book to make it fit into a 2-hour...	Helen Burns	Feature film Feature film In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
2005	Oliver Twist Oliver Twist (2005 film) Oliver Twist is a 2005 British drama film directed by Roman Polanski. The screenplay by Ronald Harwood is based on the 1838 novel of the same title by Charles Dickens....	Nancy	Feature film Feature film In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...

Theatre

Year	Production	Venue	Role	Notes
2008	Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story on Stage	Aldwych Theatre Aldwych Theatre The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Aldwych in the City of Westminster. The theatre was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200.-Origins:...	Frances 'Baby' Houseman	Musical Musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
2009	Talent Talent (1978 play) Talent is a play written by Victoria Wood, first performed in 1978. It centres around two friends, one of whom is about to enter a talent contest in a run down nightclub. Commissioned for the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, it received much acclaim and transferred to a London run in 1979. That same...	Menier Chocolate Factory Menier Chocolate Factory The Menier Chocolate Factory is an award-winning 180 seat fringe studio theatre, restaurant and gallery. It is located in a former 1870s Menier Chocolate Company factory in Southwark Street, a major street in the London Borough of Southwark, central south London, England. The theatre stages plays...	Julie	Musical Musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...  / Play Play (theatre) A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
2011	lovesong Lovesong "Lovesong" is a song originally recorded by the English alternative rock band The Cure, released as the third single from their eighth studio album Disintegration in 1989...	warwick arts centre Warwick Arts Centre Warwick Arts Centre is a multi-venue arts complex at the University of Warwick in Coventry, England. It attracts around 300,000 visitors a year to over 3,000 individual events embracing contemporary and classical music, drama, dance, comedy, films and visual art.Warwick Arts Centre comprises six...	margeret	frantic assembly

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