Jessica De Gouw

Jessica De Gouw (born 15 February 1988) is an Australian actress whose career spans television, film, and theater. Raised in the eastern Perth suburb of Lesmurdie, she attended Lesmurdie Senior High School before earning a degree in performance studies from Curtin University in 2010. Shortly after graduation she relocated to Sydney, where she began accumulating guest‑starring credits on Australian series and appeared in a short film that showcased her early talent. Her breakout screen moment arrived in 2012 with a supporting role as Isabella, the maid to the titular characters in Kath & Kimderella, a satire that introduced her to a broader audience. Later that year she moved to Los Angeles, securing the recurring role of Helena Bertinelli / The Huntress on The CW’s action‑adventure series Arrow, a part that cemented her presence in the North American market.

In 2013 De Gouw was cast as Mina Murray in NBC’s gothic drama Dracula, acting opposite Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Oliver Jackson‑Cohen, though the series was cancelled after one season. She continued to diversify her portfolio with the lead role of Elizabeth Hawkes, a fictional abolitionist, in WGN’s critically acclaimed series Underground (2016). The following year she portrayed Ren Amari in the sci‑fi feature OtherLife, based on Kelley Eskridge’s novel Solitaire. Recent projects include the Australian television movie Riot (2018), the feature The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson (2021), and upcoming series such as Stan Australia’s Sunny Nights (2024) and Netflix’s The Survivors (2025). Off‑screen, De Gouw is openly queer, has spoken publicly about her relationships with Oliver Jackson‑Cohen and later with hairstylist Sophie Roberts, and remains an advocate for LGBTQ+ visibility in the entertainment industry.