Jessica Alice Cave Lloyd[1] (born 5 May 1987) is an English actress, comedian and cartoonist, known for her role as Lavender Brown in the Harry Potter film series and for her shows in London and at the Edinburgh Fringe. She has also published a book of cartoon doodles called Love Sick, some of the designs in which have appeared on greeting cards. A comedic play based on her life and relationships, Sunrise, was first performed in 2019. Cave's first novel, Sunset, was published in 2021.
Jessie Cave | |
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Born | Jessica Alice Cave Lloyd (1987-05-05) 5 May 1987 (age 35) London, England |
Alma mater | Kingston University |
Occupation |
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Years active | 2007–present |
Partner | Alfie Brown (2014–present) |
Children | 4 |
Relatives | Bebe Cave (sister) |
Cave was born on 5 May 1987 in London,[2] the second eldest of five siblings. Her father works as a general practitioner.[3] Her mother Deborah[4][5] is the daughter of former Chief Secretary to Hong Kong, Tasmanian-born Sir Charles Philip Haddon-Cave.[6] Her youngest sister Bebe Cave is also an actress.
She attended Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith for Sixth Form. A former county-level swimmer and ex-national tennis player, she studied illustration and animation at Kingston University, dropping out aged 19.[7][8][9] Her tennis career was cut short by injury when she was 15.[10] In August 2018 (in her show Sunrise), she revealed that she had been raped by her tennis coach at the age of 14.[11] She had originally intended to study stage management at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, and worked in London as a stagehand, before deciding to pursue acting.[12][13]
Cave made her acting debut in the drama Summerhill, shown on CBBC in early 2008.
She won the role of Lavender Brown in the film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince through an open casting call held on 1 July 2007. Cave, who came from an agency, beat over 7,000 girls who turned up for the audition.[14] She also performed the voice of Lavender in the video-game adaptations of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.
In June 2009, she made her West End début, playing "Thomasina" in a revival of Tom Stoppard's Arcadia at the Duke of York's Theatre.[15] That December, Cave had a minor role in the 2009 film Inkheart as a water nymph.[16]
She appeared in the play Breed at Theatre503, playing the role of Liv, from 21 September to 16 October 2010.[17] She won the Off West-End stage award for People's Choice for Female Performance.[18]
On 4 February 2011, she appeared as a one-off character Hermione in the CBBC children's drama Sadie J.[19]
Cave runs the website Pindippy, and its associated YouTube channel of the same name, which feature short videos written by and starring Cave herself, with occasional appearances from some of her other Harry Potter co-stars, including her close friend, Evanna Lynch.[20]
During 2012, she played the title character in a 2012 production of J. M. Barrie's Mary Rose at the DogOrange Theatre, in London,[21] Zazzy in the final episode of season 2 of Grandma's House, aired on 24 May 2012, and the role of Elder Biddy in the 2012 film adaptation of Great Expectations, based on the novel by Charles Dickens, and directed by Mike Newell. During the filming of Great Expectations, Cave worked alongside her younger sister Bebe (who played the younger Biddy), and was also reunited with her Harry Potter co-stars Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, and Ralph Fiennes. By June 2012, Cave had amassed over 30,000 followers on her Twitter account.[20]
That August, she made her debut at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with her show, Bookworm, which is described as "a charming hour of character comedy and loving literary silliness inspired by the obsessive Potter fans" Cave encountered while starring in the Harry Potter films. In the show, Cave stars as the bossy leader of a book club named Bookworms United, whose sidekick is played by her younger sister, Bebe. Cave's character expresses her enthusiasm for topics ranging from Babar to Andre Agassi's autobiography through a combination of homemade props and shadow puppetry, which conceal the character's neurosis, and contrast with a subplot about an ex-boyfriend.[10][22] Her 2018 Edinburgh Fringe show Sunrise was an "emotionally intelligent [and] honest" performance (including a Harry Potter fan convention-as-sex-party sketch).[23]
During 2013, Cave played a minor role as a waitress named Angela in a medieval restaurant in the second series of BBC Three's Pramface, aired on 8 January 2013. She appeared as Theodora Snitch, a character in YouTube's one-off revival of the TV series Knightmare; Denise in episode 2 of Coming Up Series 8; as Alicia Ferguson in the CBBC series Wizards vs Aliens, in the two-part episode "The Thirteenth Floor"; as Anne-Marie Bonner in series 2 of The Job Lot, and as Annie Maddocks in the E4 drama Glue in 2014.
Cave published a book of cartoons called Lovesick on 2 July 2015 through Ebury Publishing. These cartoons have also been made into a greeting card range published by Cardmix.[24][25]
She later created a fashion range of colourful boho-chic harem-style pants, called "Cave Pants". She appeared in Richard Osman's House of Games in November 2021. She also does regular comedy shows at venues in Soho, London.
Cave is in a relationship with comedian Alfie Brown, son of composer Steve Brown and impressionist Jan Ravens. They have four children: a son born in October 2014, a daughter born in July 2016, a second son born in October 2020,[26][27] and a third son born in March 2022.[28]
The couple's relationship inspired Cave's 2015 Edinburgh Festival Fringe comedy hit I Loved Her[29] and her 2018 sell-out show Sunrise, in which she explores their break-up and co-parenting.[30] Sunrise received widespread praise and rave reviews, and has since been published as a playtext by Nick Hern Books. Cave has a tattoo of the logo used both on the cover and as part of the backdrop for the stage version. In 2018, the former couple took part in Comedy Central's Roast Battle.[31]
Cave has continued to produce her signature cartoon drawings which use observational comedy and vulnerability. She and her sister, actor Bebe Cave, began a podcast in 2020, We Can't Talk About That Right Now – a name inspired by their journey into the world of grief after losing their brother Benjamin Cave in 2019.[7]
In January 2021, Cave's third child and second son was treated in hospital after testing positive for COVID-19.[32][33] In February 2022, Cave tested positive for COVID-19 while pregnant with her fourth child. In March, she was admitted to hospital[34] where she later gave birth to her fourth child.
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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2007 | Cranford | Villager | Episode: "April 1843"; uncredited |
2008 | Summerhill | Stella | Telivision film |
2011 | Sadie J | Hermione | Episode: "Slumberlicious" |
2012 | Grandma's House | Zazzy | Episode: "The Day Simon and his Family Opened the Door to Acceptance" |
2013 | Pramface | Angela | Episode: "The Edge of Hell" |
Dani's Castle | Lady Steffie | Episode: "The Lying Game" | |
Coming Up | Denise | Episode: "Burger Van Champion" | |
BBC Comedy Feeds | Various | Episode: "The Cariad Show" | |
Wizards vs Aliens | Alicia Ferguson | 2 episodes: "The Thirteenth Floor, Part One & Part Two" | |
Medics | Millie | Television film | |
2014 | Cardinal Burns | Various | 1 episode (season 2) |
The Job Lot | Anne-Marie Bonner | Episode: "MP" | |
Glue Online | Annie Maddocks | Episode: "Glue: One Day Before" | |
Glue | Main role | ||
Give Out Girls | George | Episode: "The Truth" | |
2015 | High & Dry Blap | Susan | TV short film |
2015–2018 | Trollied | Heather | Main role (seasons 5–7) |
2016 | Call the Midwife | Connie Manley | 1 episode (season 5) |
2017 | Loaded | Rachel Cooper | Episode: "The Red List" |
Porridge | Karen | Episode: "The Listener" | |
The Rebel | Steph | Episode: "Death" | |
Black Mirror | Edna | Episode: "Hang the DJ" | |
2018 | Father Brown | Pandora Pott | Episode: "The Kembleford Dragon" |
2020 | Industry | Bobby | Episode: "Quiet and Nice" |
2021 | Richard Osman's House of Games | Herself | 5 episodes |
The Stand Up Sketch Show | 1 episode (season 3) | ||
Buffering | Rosie | Main role | |
2022 | The Baby | Amy | Episode: "The Bulldozer" |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2009 | Inkheart | Water Nymph | Uncredited role |
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | Lavender Brown | ||
2010 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 | ||
2011 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 | ||
2012 | Great Expectations | Biddy | |
2013 | Knightmare | Theodora Snitch | Short film |
2014 | Pride | Zoe | |
2015 | Tale of Tales | Fenizia | |
Anna, Island | Lou | Short film | |
2016 | The Baby Shower | Leela | |
2017 | Modern Life Is Rubbish | Kerry | |
2018 | Benjamin | Martha |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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2009 | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | Lavender Brown (voice) | |
2011 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 |
General | |
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National libraries |