Lena Kaur

Lena Kaur (born 28 November 1986) is a London-based British actress, perhaps best known for her role as Leila Roy in Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks.

Career

Lena Kaur grew up in Almondbury in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire and is of Asian descent. She attended Almondbury High School and then New College which helped her achieve her dream of being an actress. She studied acting at Rose Bruford College, Sidcup, Kent, graduating in 2007.

Later that year she was part of the original cast of BBC Three comedy sketch show Scallywagga, in which she played multiple characters. After successfully being cast as Leila Roy, she joined the cast of Hollyoaks in summer 2008. In August 2008, Lena Kaur praised Hollyoaks producer Bryan Kirkwood for not stereotyping Asians on the programme. Speaking to Take 5 magazine, she stated, "The storylines for me and Stephen (Ravi) aren't being dictated by the colour of our skin. We're both British Asians in real life as well as in the show. We are both totally westernised. We've been brought up in Britain, so the storylines will reflect people like Stephen and me." Kaur announced her decision to leave to pursue new challenges in late 2009, and made her last appearance as Leila in January 2010.