Profile
Ethnicity
Chinese
Location
Auckland, New Zealand
Height
163 cm
Age Range
24–31
Also Represented in
United States of America
Career Highlights
Jess is a New Zealand actress of Chinese descent, who trained at Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School. She starred in Netflix's 3 Body Problem; a dramatic series inspired by Liu's epic science fiction trilogy. Her recent credits include being supporting lead on Prime TV's Inked and sci-fi series Creamerie. Her short film credits include lead roles in Got Milk (which she also directed as part of Toi Whakaari’s Festival Work in Development), Red Envelopes and Baggage. Jess has appeared on stage as both an actor and a dancer, her theatre credits include lead roles in Romeo and Juliet (performed at Auckland’s Pop Up Globe), An Organ of Soft Tissue, and 48 Nights on Hope Street.
Feature Film.
| 2023 | Grafted | Angela (Lead) | Dir. Sasha Rainbow |
Short Film.
| 2018 | Baggage | Jasmine (Lead) | Toi Whakaari Festival of Work in Development Dir. Chantelle Watts |
| 2018 | Krystal | Lydia | Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School Dir. Briar Grace-Smith |
| 2018 | Red Envelopes | Xiaoling (Lead) | The Film School, Whitireia Dir. Vikram Singh |
| 2017 | Bar Tricks | Sarah (Lead) | The Film School, Toi Whakaari, Victoria University collab Dir. Jonathon King |
| 2017 | Got Milk | Henrietta (Lead) | Festival of Work in Development Toi Whakaari Dir. Jess Hong |
| 2017 | Lisa and the Moon | Chang'e | Victoria University of Wellington Dir. Elyse Phee |
| 2017 | Mise en Scene | Rosalyn | Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School Dir. Vaughan Slinn |
| 2015 | Organic Matter – Rialto 48 Hour Film Festival | Girlfriend | Embassy Theatre, Wellington Dir. Peri Chapelle |
Television.
| 2022 | 3 Body Problem | Netflix Dir. Derek Tsang | |
| 2020 | Creamerie | Wellness Worker (Recurring Guest) | Dir. Roseanne Liang |
| 2020 | Inked | Aifei (Supporting Lead) | Prime TV |
| 2020 | The Brokenwood Mysteries Season 7 | Maddy (Guest) | South Pacific Pictures Dir. Various |
Theatre.
| 2022 | The First Prime-Time Asian Sitcom | (Performer) | Silo Theatre Dir. Ahi Karunaharan |
| 2021 | Duffy in Bubble Trouble | Scruffy | Dir. Jeff Suzterman |
| 2020 | 48 Nights on Hope Street | Nathan/Narrator (Lead) | Dir. Jane Yonge |
| 2020 | Front Yard Festivals | Wahine (Lead) | Te Pou Theater Dir. Jarod Rawiri & Tainui Tukiwaho |
| 2019 | An Organ of Soft Tissue | Prefrontal Cortex (Lead) | Dir. Rachael Longshaw-Park |
| 2019 | Much Ado About Nothing | Hero/Ensemble | Pop Up Globe Dir. David Lawrence |
| 2019 | Romeo and Juliet | Juliet (Lead) | Pop Up Globe Dir. Dr Miles Gregory |
| 2018 | Grand Opening | Party Girl | The Civic Theatre, Auckland Dir. Jo Randerson, Nisha Madhan |
| 2018 | Rushes | Dancer | Circa Theatre, Wellington Dir. Malia Johnston |
| 2017 | Once On This Island | Ensemble | Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School Dir. Jon Hunter |
| 2015 | Frankenstein | Agatha | Centrepoint Theatre, Palmerston North Dir. Jeff Kingsford-Brown |
| 2015 | King Lear | Cordelia | Summer Shakespeare, Palmerston North Dir. Jaime Dorner |
| 2014 | As You Like It | Rosalind | Summer Shakespeare, Palmerston North Dir. Grant Mouldey |
| 2014 | Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog | Penny | Globe Theatre, Palmerston North Dir. Jess Hong |
| 2014 | Festival of New Arts: Hindsight | Dancer | Globe Theatre, Palmerston North |
| 2014 | Festival of New Arts: That Moment | Girlfriend | Globe Theatre, Palmerston North Dir. Peri Chappelle |
| 2013 | The Crucible | Abigail | – UCOL Diploma in Performing Arts Dir. Jaime Dorner |
| 2013 | The Tempest | Juno, Nymph | Summer Shakespeare, Palmerston North Dir. Vanessa Stacey |
Training.
| Fight for Camera - Beginner Stunt Workshop with Dayna Grant (NZSS) - NZ Stunt School - 2023 | |||
| Miranda Harcourt Screen workshop - 2020 | |||
| New Zealand Stage and Screen Combat School - 2019 | |||
| Audition Technique with Les Chantery - 2018 | |||
| Auditioning with Andrea Kelland - 2018 | |||
| Auditioning with Rachel Bullock and Liz Mullane (Rachel Bullock Casting) - 2018 | |||
| Auditioning with Stu Turner (Catch Casting) - 2018 | |||
| Auditioning, Self Tape Practice - Emma Draper, Vaughan Slinn - 2018 | |||
| Chekhov Technique with Elena Stejko - 2018 | |||
| Fast Turn Around TV with Kathy McRae - 2018 | |||
| Intro to Motion Capture with Carrie Theil - 2018 | |||
| One-on-one Screen Practice – Elena Stejko - 2018 | |||
| Voice Workshop with Bert van Dijk - 2018 | |||
| Auditioning for Screen – Cohen Hollaway - 2017 | |||
| Chekhov Technique – Elena Stejko - 2017 | |||
| Perdekamp Emotional Method – Stephan Perderkamp, Sarah Victoria, Rik Stowman, Kristina Heuer - 2017 | |||
| Physical Theatre – Malia Johnston - 2017 | |||
| Singing for Musical Theatre – Mark Dorrell - 2017 | |||
| Stage Combat – Alex Holloway - 2017 | |||
| Bouffon Workshop – Eric Davis/Red Bastard - 2016 | |||
| Intro to Screen – Brita McVeigh - 2016 | |||
| Intro to Screen – Miranda Harcourt - 2016 | |||
| Script to Screen: Writing and Pitching – Nikki Si’ulepa, Brita McVeigh, Robert Sarkies - 2016 | |||
| Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School, Bachelor of Performing Arts - 2015 | |||
| Diploma in Performing Arts – Graduated 2014 - 2014 | |||
| Performing Arts Diploma - 2013 |