Jessica Tovey

Jessica Tovey (born 10 November 1987) is an Australian actress. Tovey graduated from the Newtown High School of the Performing Arts and has made appearances for various drama companies. She is best known for her role of Belle Taylor on the long-running Australian soap opera Home and Away. Tovey joined the show in 2006 and was nominated for two Logie Awards during her time there. In 2009, she announced she had quit Home and Away and her character was killed off. Tovey became the face of American shoe company, Skechers. She appeared in Underbelly: The Golden Mile in 2010 and Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo in 2011. Tovey had a recurring role in the Wolf Creek TV Series in 2016, followed by a lead role in the 2019 miniseries Bad Mothers.

Early life Tovey was born in Sydney on 10 November 1987. Her mother is author Libby Gleeson and her father is Euan Tovey, a New Zealand research scientist. She has two older sisters, Amelia and Josephine. Tovey began acting when she was around six years old, appearing in various plays. For her portrayal of the character, Tovey was nominated for Most Popular New Female Talent and Most Popular Actress at the 2007 and 2010 Logie Awards respectively. In April 2009, Tovey announced that she had quit Home and Away and her character was killed off.

In 2008, American shoe company, Skechers announced that Tovey would be their new celebrity face. Tovey became the first non-American to feature in the brand's ad campaigns. In August, she joined the cast of Panic at Rock Island, a Nine Network telemovie drama. Tovey also made a guest appearance on police drama Cops L.A.C.. She appeared in the 2011 ABC television miniseries Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo as Leslie Carpenter. Tovey was cast as Dani Varvaris in the romantic-comedy drama Wonderland.

On stage, Tovey appeared in the world premiere of Lachlan Philpott's play Truck Stop for Sydney's Q Theatre Company in 2012. Further stage credits include Lola in a stage adaptation by Tom Holloway of Double Indemnity for the Melbourne Theatre Company in 2016, a touring production of Constellations by Nick Payne for the Queensland Theatre Company in 2017, and Portia in Bell Shakespeare's touring production of The Merchant of Venice the same year.

From 2016, Tovey appeared in the Stan series Wolf Creek She starred in the Nine Network miniseries Bad Mothers in 2019, alongside Jessica Marais, Mandy McElhinney, and Shalom Brune-Franklin. In 2024, Tovey appeared in the Jennifer Van Gessel's horror film Water Horse.

Personal life Tovey has been in a relationship with actor Damien Strouthos since 2017. She gave birth to their first child, a daughter, in September 2021.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Type 2007 Smile for Me Simone Short film 2010 Wanderlust Eva Short film 2010 Professor Kellog and the Colombian Bookshop Crack Adventure Katy Short film 2011 Reception Evelyn Short film 2012 Census Milly Short film 2013 Adoration Mary 2013 Tracks Jenny 2014 Lemon Tree Passage Maya 2019 Beast No More Mary Jane 2024 Water Horse Detective Suzanne Lee

Television Year Title Role Type 2005 Wicked Science Nadine Sterling Episodes: "Ghost Girl", "Ring of Confidence" 2006–2009 Home and Away Belle Taylor Series regular 2009 Rescue: Special Ops Caitlin Kelly Episode: "Eco-warriors" 2010 Wicked Love: The Maria Korp Story Laura Korp TV movie 2010 Underbelly: The Golden Mile Wendy Jones Recurring 2010 Cops L.A.C. Tash Episode: "Blood Types" 2011 Panic at Rock Island Nina Quinn TV movie 2011 Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo Leslie Carpenter Episodes: "Part One", "Part Two" 2012 Dance Academy Jess Recurring 2013 Mr & Mrs Murder Claire Rickard-Smith Episode: "A Flare for Murder" 2013–2015 Wonderland Dani Varvaris Main cast 2014–2015 Movie Juice Presenter 2016 Wolf Creek Kirsty Hill Recurring 2018 True Story with Hamish and Andy Lisa Episode: "Lisa" 2019 Bad Mothers Danielle Miniseries