| Leah Sava Jeffries | |
| Birth Name: | Leah Sava Jeffries |
| Birth Date: | 25 September 2009 |
| Birth Place: | Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Occupation: | Actress & Model |
| Years Active: | 2014–present |
Leah Sava Jeffries (; born September 25, 2009)[1] [2] is an American actress.[3] [4] Jeffries made her acting debut on the American musical drama, Empire (2015) and later her feature film debut in the action-thriller Beast (2022). In 2022, Jeffries was cast as Annabeth Chase in the television adaptation of Rick Riordan's fantasy novel series, Percy Jackson & the Olympians.
Jeffries was born in Detroit to Leah Jeffries and Floyd S Jeffries Jr.[5] [6] She has an older brother, Floyd Jeffries, who is also an actor and model. She attended school in the Novi Community School District.
Prior to her acting debut, Jeffries worked as a model for children's products for Carol's Daughter. Jeffries' acting debut was at age 5 as Lola Lyon on Empire.[7]
On May 5, 2022, Jeffries was announced as Annabeth Chase in Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Immediately following the casting announcement, Jeffries received harassment online because she was African-American, while her character, Annabeth Chase, was portrayed as white in the book series the show was based on.[8] On May 10, the books' author, Rick Riordan, posted a blog post in which he condemned the backlash against Jeffries and reaffirmed his support of her.[9] Alexandra Daddario, the actress who played Annabeth in the two movie adaptations, also posted support for Jeffries online. Members of the fanbase who supported Jeffries' casting posted support online with the hashtag #LeahIsOurAnnabeth.[10]
In August 2022, the film Beast was released, in which Jeffries played Norah Samuels. Later that year, Something from Tiffany's, in which Jeffries played Daisy Greene, was released.[11]
| Year | Project | Role | Notes | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Faith Under Fire | Fiona | TV Movie | ||
| 2019 | PawParazzi | Monique | |||
| 2022 | Beast | Norah Samuels | |||
| 2022 | Something from Tiffany's | Daisy Greene |
| Year | Project | Role | Notes | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–2016 | Empire | Lola Lyon | Recurring role; 6 episodes | ||
| 2018–2019 | Rel | Brandi | 11 episodes | ||
| 2023–present | Percy Jackson and the Olympians | Annabeth Chase | Main Role | [12] |
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Youth (Series, Special, Television Movie or Limited-series) | Percy Jackson and the Olympians | [13] | |
| Séries em Cena Awards | Best Actress in an International Series | [14] | |||
| BET Awards | BET YoungStars Award | [15] |