Leah Sava Jeffries | |
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Born | Leah Sava Jeffries September 25, 2009 |
Education | Novi Community School District |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 2014–present |
Known for | Annabeth Chase in Percy Jackson and the Olympians |
Leah Sava Jeffries ( /sə.ˈveɪ/; born September 25, 2009) [1] [2] is an American child actress. [3] [4] Jeffries made her acting debut on the American musical drama, Empire (2015) and later her feature film debut in the action-thriller Beast (2022). In 2022, Jeffries was cast as Annabeth Chase in the television adaptation of Rick Riordan's fantasy novel series, Percy Jackson & the Olympians.
Jeffries was born in Detroit to Leah Jeffries and Floyd S Jeffries Jr. [5] [6] She has an older brother, Floyd Jeffries, who is also an actor and model. [6] She attended school in the Novi Community School District. [3]
Prior to her acting debut, Jeffries worked as a model for children's products for Carol's Daughter. [6] Jeffries' acting debut was at age 5 as Lola Lyon on Empire. [6] [7]
On May 5, 2022, Jeffries was announced as Annabeth Chase in Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Immediately following the casting announcement, Jeffries received harassment online because she was African-American, while her character, Annabeth Chase, was portrayed as white in the book series the show was based on. [4] [8] On May 10, the books' author, Rick Riordan, posted a blog post in which he condemned the backlash against Jeffries and reaffirmed his support of her. [4] [8] [9] Alexandra Daddario, the actress who played Annabeth in the two movie adaptations, also posted support for Jeffries online. [9] Members of the fanbase who supported Jeffries' casting posted support online with the hashtag #LeahIsOurAnnabeth. [10]
In August 2022, the film Beast was released, in which Jeffries played Norah Samuels. [7] Later that year, Something from Tiffany's, in which Jeffries played Daisy Greene, was released.
Year | Project | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | Faith Under Fire | Fiona | TV Movie | |
2019 | PawParazzi | Monique | ||
2022 | Beast | Norah Samuels | ||
2022 | Something from Tiffany's | Daisy Greene |
Year | Project | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2015–2016 | Empire | Lola Lyon | Recurring Role; 6 episodes | [6] |
2018–2019 | Rel | Brandi | 11 episodes | [7] |
2023–present | Percy Jackson and the Olympians | Annabeth Chase | Main Role | [11] |
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2024 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Youth (Series, Special, Television Movie or Limited-series) | Percy Jackson and the Olympians | Won | [12] |