Jess McLeod (born 25 January 1997) is a Canadian actor and writer who played Janae Mathews on both series of Netflix teen television drama One of Us Is Lying and Bernie Simon in the 2023 Christmas slasher film It's a Wonderful Knife.

Early and personal life

McLeod is from Victoria, British Columbia. They attended Claremont Secondary School. At school they were a part of Claremont Musical Theatre and starred as Elle Woods in its production of the musical Legally Blonde. McLeod is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns. They are based in Vancouver.

Career

Mcleod started as a child actor, appearing in 2006 comedy Scary Movie 4 as a schoolgirl reading My Pet Duck to Leslie Nielsen as the American president. Their later acting credits include roles in Eve of Destruction, Shall We Play?, and the Van Helsing TV series. They had a role in Canadian comedy drama series You Me Her.

In 2019, McLeod was cast in Peacock teen television drama One of Us Is Lying. McLeod played Janae Mathews on both series of the show.

McLeod could be seen alongside Sandra Bullock and Viola Davis in the 2021 film The Unforgivable. They appeared as Bernie Simon in the 2023 film It's a Wonderful Knife. In November 2023, they won the ACTRA Award for best performance in a short film for their role in A Little Vacation, the script for which they also co-wrote.

Partial filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
2006Scary Movie 4Little girlAs Jessica McLeod
2009Mr. Troop MomPaulinaAs Jessica McLeod
2013Eve of DestructionRubyAs Jessica McLeod
2018-2019You Me HerSasha12 episodes
2019Van HelsingShelleyAs Jessica McLeod
2020Shall We Play?JessAs Jessica McLeod
2021–2022One of Us Is LyingJanae Matthews16 episodes
2021The UnforgivableHannah WhelanFilm
2023A Little VacationJessShort film. Also co-wrote. Won ACTRA Award
2023It's a Wonderful KnifeBernie SimonFilm
2025The IrrationalOlivia Ellison1 episode
NormalAlexFilm
AkashiShelbyFilm

External links