Who Is Katie Leung? The Bridgerton Actress Everyone Has Definitely Seen Before

Trace her path from reluctant young star to confident leading actor — and at the end, you'll find a curated gallery of images capturing her transformation through the years.

Katie Leung may have only just entered the world of "Bridgerton," but this is far from her first turn in the limelight. In season 4 of Netflix's hit drama, she takes on the role of Lady Araminta — the icy stepmother in a "Cinderella"-inspired storyline.

Joining "Bridgerton," Leung admitted, "I feel really blessed, genuinely." The scale of the production felt familiar, she added, and at this point in her life, she isn't easily fazed.

Her calm demeanour was partly due to experience — and partly due to the fact that she "hadn't watched the show before [she] got the part." Leung, now 38, confessed that she only started watching "Bridgerton" after being cast.

In fact, during one of her early costume fittings, she unknowingly had a run-in with a future co-star, Golda Rosheuvel. Leung remembered seeing Rosheuvel getting a wig fitted and casually chatting with her, having no clue she was speaking to Queen Charlotte herself.

It was only later, while watching season 1, that the realisation hit — "Oh my [expletive], she's the queen!" Fortunately, not knowing who Rosheuvel was helped calm her nerves — something she now looks back on as a funny and fortuitous moment.

That warm welcome set the tone. "Everybody was so welcoming just from the get-go," she recalled. "It just felt super seamless."

As the latest antagonist in the glittering high society series, Leung is making waves, yet she's no stranger to major franchises. Her first-ever acting credit was as Cho Chang in the "Harry Potter" films and the actor has worked consistently since leaving the wizarding world behind.

Born in Dundee and raised in various Scottish towns due to her father's wholesale business, Leung never set out to become an actor. In fact, she hadn't even performed in school plays — apart from a minor part in "Bugsy Malone" as a dancer.

Her acting career began entirely by chance. When her father saw an open casting call for "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," he suggested she audition.

Leung agreed, not because she expected to land the role, but because she wanted to bring her divorced parents together in the same room for the first time in years.

Subsequently, at just 16, the actor travelled to London for the audition. Thousands were queued outside, and with the franchise already a global phenomenon, she assumed she didn't stand a chance.

To her surprise, she was cast as Harry Potter's love interest in what would become five of the most-watched films of all time. However, with fame came scrutiny.

Leung's rise coincided with the boom of online fandom and the early days of social media — a toxic combination for any young star. "I don't think I did [cope]," she later admitted, reflecting on the sudden spotlight.

As a teenager already battling insecurity, she found the fame overwhelming. "At the time, I was having a lot of fun. [...] I'm still trying to figure it out, really, how it affected me," the actor shared.

Though the young cast were generally well looked after, conversations around mental health in the industry were not what they are today. Curious and impressionable, Leung would search online to see what people were saying.

What she found was abuse — often racist and deeply personal. But, rather than confront it, she internalised it. "It probably made me less outgoing," she said, noting how self-conscious she became about how she spoke and how she behaved.

The sense that her success had come through luck — and not merit — lingered. "It happened by pure chance," she shared, downplaying her own talent. For years afterwards, she tried to prove she deserved her place in the industry.

Following the end of "Harry Potter," Leung briefly stepped away from acting, unsure how to top such a huge role. She felt lost, weighed down by the pressure of audience expectations. "I was really hard on myself," she admitted.

Eventually, the actor enrolled in a photography degree, but before graduating, she landed a role in a play — and the moment she stepped on stage, she knew acting was where she belonged.

Leung later trained formally at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, though she remained hyper-aware of her past. "Oh my God, yes, absolutely," she revealed of whether she felt the weight of being "the actor from 'Harry Potter.'"

She avoided mentioning it, even during course introductions, worried her classmates might assume it was the only reason she got in. "I was trying to constantly prove I was more than just the actor from 'Harry Potter,'" she admitted — although she remains proud of the films and what they represent.

Over the years, Leung continued to build a varied résumé. One of her most notable roles came in the BBC series "Annika," where she played a detective in Glasgow's Marine Homicide Unit.

It marked the first time, she said, that she was cast in a role where her ethnicity was not central to the character. While she welcomed the opportunity to play more emotionally connected, relationship-driven roles — such as Lady Araminta in "Bridgerton" — she noted that progress had been slow.

Too often, Leung observed, roles for East Asian actors were marginal or disconnected from the main cast. "It is all about relationships," she said, stressing the need for better representation in storytelling.

In that regard, "Bridgerton" stood out. The show's inclusive, colour-conscious casting has been widely praised — though, as Leung pointed out, it hasn't been without its critics. Still, she believes its success speaks for itself.

"The reason it's successful is because the writing is great, the directing is great, the acting, the relationships between the characters," the actor revealed.

The diversity in front of and behind the camera made her feel safe — and free — to explore the role creatively. "You can see it and feel it," she said, smiling.

Now, Leung is heading back to Scotland for her next project — one she couldn't reveal much about, except that it offers her creative freedom and the chance to play. It's clear she's finally arrived at a place of confidence and self-assurance. "I know who I am. I know what I can do," she declared.

Though some "Bridgerton" fans are only just discovering her, Leung has been on screen — and navigating fame — for nearly two decades.

Her turn as Lady Araminta may be her first foray into Regency high society, but for those who remember her as Cho Chang, she's always had that star quality — she just had to grow into it.

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