Jessica Alexander

Jessica Alexander (born 19 June 1999) is an English actress. She began her career in short films and garnered recognition for her role in the BBC iPlayer series Get Even, and made her feature film debut in Glasshouse and A Banquet (both 2021). She gained further prominence in the Disney live-action film The Little Mermaid (2023) as Vanessa. Her films since include Primate (2025). On television, she more recently starred in the Globoplay series Fallen (2024) and the Sky Atlantic series Amadeus (2025).

Early life Alexander was born on 19 June 1999 in Westminster, central London and grew up in Richmond, South West London. Alexander attended Putney High School.

Career Alexander began auditioning for films at 14 years old. In 2016, she appeared in another short film, titled Truck. where she was a model in product and clothing advertisements. She drew parallels between the character and herself at age 16, in that they were both incredibly determined despite not fully understanding themselves yet.

In 2021, Alexander starred as Bee in the South African dystopian thriller Glasshouse, directed by Kelsey Egan, whom Alexander had met through a previous project. Egan initially wanted a South African actress to play the role but found none who suited the character. In October 2020, she sent the script to Alexander, who enjoyed it and auditioned a few months later. The film was generally well received, with particular praise for its cast. Alexander's second release of the year, the British horror film A Banquet, received more lukewarm reviews from critics. Alexander's performance was lauded, however; The Times Kevin Maher dubbed her a "rising star", while The New York Times Lena Wilson favourably commented that her performance was "wrenching". In July 2022, she appeared in the Kate Cox–directed thriller film Into the Deep. Screen Rant writer Rachel Labonte opined that despite the acting being "hindered by their characters being under-written... Alexander does the best job at considering what was left unsaid about Lexie".

Alexander portrayed Vanessa, the human alter-ego of Ursula, played by Melissa McCarthy, in the musical fantasy film The Little Mermaid (2023), a live-action adaptation of Disney's 1989 animated film. Of her casting, director Rob Marshall stated it was a conscious decision to cast a relatively unknown actress as Vanessa since McCarthy was already portraying Ursula. He also said: "She's just a beautiful, beautiful actress, and she went there. It's sort of rare for someone that beautiful and charismatic to be able to then turn into the sea witch literally in front of you and just lose it. It was exciting to see that change." Alexander enjoyed playing the role, commenting that she "love being demonic, and just going crazy on screen, so this was a perfect opportunity for that". Jordan Iacobucci of Comic Book Resources wrote that "Alexander's Vanessa is callous and conniving ... [she] takes the opportunity to go all-out, unleashing her villainous side in her final scene". Her performance was also praised by fans and went viral on the video-sharing app TikTok. The show follows Luce (Alexander), a young woman who is sent to a cult-like rehabilitation centre for a crime she has no memory of committing. She also appeared as Katerina in Amadeus, a drama miniseries revolving around the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. and Amy Nicholson from Los Angeles Times found her "magnetic" and "a screen presence with that extra twinkle". In February 2026, she appears in FX's "The Beauty" as the character Jordan, opposite Evan Peters.

Personal life Alexander is openly bisexual.

Public image Alexander is an advocate for the LGBTQ community and has been referred to as a gay icon.

Filmography Film + Year Title Role Notes 2013 Necktie Girl with Hanky Short film 2021 Glasshouse Bee Direct-to-video film A Banquet Betsey TBA The Return of Stanley Atwell Post-production

Television Year Title Role Notes 2018–2020 Penny on M.A.R.S. Lucy Carpenter Main role (series 1–2); 25 episodes 2020 Get Even Olivia Hayes Main role; 10 episodes 2024 Fallen Lucinda "Luce" Price Main role; 8 episodes 2026 The Beauty Jordan Bennett Recurring role

Music videos + Year Title Role Artist Notes 2024 "Too Much" Girlfriend Girl in Red