Jessica Marais

Australian actress Jessica Marais was born on January 28, 1985 in Johannesburg, South Africa. She lived in Canada and New Zealand with her family until they settled in Perth, Australia when she was nine years old. She was educated at John XXIII College before transferring to St Hilda's Anglican School for Girls. In 2007, she graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art. There, she appeared in productions of "Hamlet" and "Sweet Charity."

Marais started out with a role in the film "Two Fists, One Heart" in 2009. She then followed it up with roles in shows like "Legend of the Seeker" and "Packed to the Rafters." For her role there as Rachel, she won the Logie for "Most Popular New Female Talent." She was also given a Graham Kennedy Award. Later on, she continued her acting career with a role in the short film "Fish Lips" and in the movie "Needle." In 2011, she was cast as Lily in the Starz period-drama, "Magic City," starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Olga Kurylenko.

After re-locating back to Australia, Marais portrayed Australian transgendered entertainer and activist, Carlotta, in an biographic telefilm for ABCTV Australia. Its worldwide premiere was on June 19, 2014. Most recently, Marais has appeared in a documentary, "That Sugar Film," that aims to reveal how perceived ‘healthy’ foods are in fact laden with hidden sugars like low fat yoghurt, muesli bars, juices and cereals.