Leila Birch
Encyclopedia
Leila Birch is an English
actress, known for portraying Teresa di Marco in EastEnders
.
. She is of British
, Italian
and Irish
descent. She trained at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts from 1987 to 1997, graduating with a Diploma in Performing Arts, and also studied Shakespeare at RADA
and Drama at Yale University
. She has one brother, who is four years her senior. Her great-aunt was one of the Gaiety Girls
.
Birch is currently based in the United States
.
soap opera
EastEnders
between 1998 and 2000. Her other television credits include One Night of Shakespeare, The Bill
, Thief Takers
and Renford Rejects
. She also appears in the pilot episode
of the forthcoming NBC Universal
series Day One
.
Birch's stage work includes plays at the award-winning Arcola Theatre
, outdoor Shakespeare festivals, national tours and pantomime
. In 2007 she acted with 'Shakespeare in the Valley', New Hampshire
's only professional outdoor repertory Shakespeare festival. She also appeared in the world premiere of Twelfth Night: The Musical in London.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
actress, known for portraying Teresa di Marco in EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
.
Background
Birch grew up in South East LondonSouth East (London sub region)
The South East is a sub-region of the London Plan corresponding to the London Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Lewisham and Southwark. The sub region was established in 2008. The south east has a population of 1,300,000 and is the location of 500,000 jobs...
. She is of British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
descent. She trained at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts from 1987 to 1997, graduating with a Diploma in Performing Arts, and also studied Shakespeare at RADA
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
and Drama at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. She has one brother, who is four years her senior. Her great-aunt was one of the Gaiety Girls
Gaiety Girls
Gaiety Girls were the chorus girls in Edwardian musical comedies, beginning in the 1890s at the Gaiety Theatre, London, in the shows produced by George Edwardes. The popularity of this genre of musical theatre depended, in part, on the beautiful dancing corps of "Gaiety Girls" appearing onstage in...
.
Birch is currently based in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Career
Birch played the role of Teresa di Marco in the BBC OneBBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
between 1998 and 2000. Her other television credits include One Night of Shakespeare, The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
, Thief Takers
Thief Takers
Thief Takers was a police drama series made by Central Independent Television for the ITV network. The show depicted the work of a team in the Metropolitan Police Service's Flying Squad...
and Renford Rejects
Renford Rejects
Renford Rejects was a teen sitcom produced and broadcast by Nickelodeon UK between 1998 and 2001. The show briefly aired in the United States on Nick GaS....
. She also appears in the pilot episode
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
of the forthcoming NBC Universal
NBC Universal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is a media and entertainment company engaged in the production and marketing of entertainment, news, and information products and services to a global customer base...
series Day One
Day One (TV series)
Day One is a planned NBC sci-fi television movie—originally a TV series pilot—about apartment residents that survive an unknown worldwide cataclysm, that destroys modern infrastructure. The movie/pilot was directed by Alex Graves, who previously directed the pilot episodes for the Fox TV series...
.
Birch's stage work includes plays at the award-winning Arcola Theatre
Arcola Theatre
Arcola Theatre is a studio theatre in Dalston, in the London Borough of Hackney. The theatre's ambition is to create and present high-quality theatre with a social and political relevance to its multicultural local community as well as a wider audience....
, outdoor Shakespeare festivals, national tours and pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
. In 2007 she acted with 'Shakespeare in the Valley', New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
's only professional outdoor repertory Shakespeare festival. She also appeared in the world premiere of Twelfth Night: The Musical in London.