Jessie Mei Li

Jessie Mei Li, born on August 27, 1995, is an English actress. She gained recognition for her portrayal of Alina Starkov in the Netflix fantasy series Shadow and Bone (2021–). Li was born in Brighton, East Sussex to an English mother and a Chinese father. She grew up in Redhill, Surrey and has an older brother. After attending Reigate College from 2010 to 2012, Li started studying French and Spanish at the University of Sussex, but later dropped out. Prior to her acting career, Li worked as a teaching assistant for children with special needs at a secondary school. She joined the National Youth Theatre in 2015 and trained at Identity School of Acting from 2016 to 2017. Li made her professional stage debut in 2019 in All About Eve at Noël Coward Theatre.