Ariel Kaplan

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Ariel Kaplan
Born
Ariel Erin Kaplan

(1994-04-04) 4 April 1994 (age 30)
Occupation(s)Actress, singer, dancer
Years active1998–present
RelativesGemma-Ashley Kaplan (sister)
Dena Kaplan (sister)

Ariel Erin Kaplan (born 4 April 1994) is a South African-born Australian actress, singer and dancer. She is known for her roles as Lisa Atwood in the third season of children's series The Saddle Club and Imogen Willis in the Australian soap opera Neighbours.

Early life[edit]

Ariel Erin Kaplan was born in South Africa on 4 May 1994.[1][2][3] Kaplan comes from a Jewish family of performers; her father is a musician, her grandfather was an actor and her grandmother was a professional ballerina. Her two older sisters Gemma-Ashley Kaplan and Dena Kaplan are also actresses. Dena Kaplan is best known for her role as Abigail Armstrong on Dance Academy.[4][5] Aside from acting, Kaplan also had extensive training in dancing and singing.[6] She studied various dance styles such as jazz, contemporary, ballet and tap at the Jane Moore Academy of Ballet in Melbourne from 1998 until 2011.[7][8] Kaplan was home schooled through distance education.[5][9]

Career[edit]

As a child, Kaplan appeared in several Australian theatre productions, including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Sound of Music, Oedipus, Annie and Les Miserables.[7] In 2002 and 2003, she played the role of Florence in IMG's production of Oliver! in both Melbourne and Singapore.[6][7] Between 2003 and 2004, Kaplan had minor roles in sketch comedy shows Skithouse and The Hamish & Andy Show, and appeared in the short film The Mischief Maker.[6][7] In 2005 and 2006, she played the role of Young Nala in Disney Theatrical's production of The Lion King for both the Melbourne and Shanghai seasons.[6][7]

Kaplan's first major television role came in 2007, when she took over the role of Lisa Atwood for the third season of The Saddle Club.[10] The third season was filmed from November 2007 to May 2008, and premiered in March 2009.[11][12] Kaplan recorded several songs for the show's accompanying album Best Friends.[6][13] Between 2009 and 2012, she made guest appearances in television shows John Safran's Race Relations and Tangle, and appeared in the theatre production Grey Gardens as Jacqueline Bouvier.[6][7][14]

In February 2013, it was announced that Kaplan had joined the cast of the long-running soap opera Neighbours as Imogen Willis.[15] She won the role after a quick audition process, which included one audition and a screen test with cast members Harley Bonner, Rebekah Elmaloglou and Kip Gamblin.[4] Kaplan made her first appearance as Imogen on 20 May 2013.[16] Kaplan left her role as Imogen on 26 April 2016 to pursue other projects[17] Kaplan reprised the role of Imogen on 22 March 2019 for a guest stint [18] and later for the series reboot in 2023.

Filmography[edit]

Film and television
Year Title Role Notes
2003 Skithouse Barbie Cops girl
2003–2004 Skithouse Bit part
2004 The Hamish & Andy Show Extra
2004 The Mischief Maker Sottise Short film
2008-2009 The Saddle Club Elizabeth "Lisa" Atwood Season 3
2009 John Safran's Race Relations Lyla
2011 Shaolin Shengnan (English dub)[7] Film
2012 Tangle School Girl #1 Season 3, episode 2[14]
2012 Odin's Eye Xiaolong (English dub)[7] Film
2013–2016, 2019, 2023 Neighbours Imogen Willis Main cast

Awards and nominations[edit]

Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2015 TV Week and Soap Extra #OMGAwards Best Shock Kiss (Daniel and Imogen) Neighbours Nominated [19]
2015 TV Week and Soap Extra #OMGAwards Best BFFs (Imogen and Amber) Neighbours Nominated [19]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Ambassadors: The Kaplan Sisters". Biggestmorningtea.com.au. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  2. ^ "As I wake up on the morning of my 21st birthday, I cannot believe how lucky I am to live the life". Twitter. 4 May 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  3. ^ "The perfect end to a perfect birthday. I walked into my bedroom to find this set up by the constantly". Twitter. 4 May 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  4. ^ a b Wolfisz, Francine (2 January 2014). "Interview with new Neighbours star Ariel Kaplan". Jewish News. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Things you might not know about Ariel Kaplan and Jenna Rosenow". Tenplay.com.au. 23 May 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Ariel Kaplan: Biography". Catherine Poulton Management. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h "Ariel Kaplan CV" (PDF). Catherine Poulton Management. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  8. ^ "JMAB Rising Stars". Jane Moore Academy of Ballet. Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  9. ^ "The Saddle Club Interview". Girl.com.au. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  10. ^ "The Saddle Club". Australiantelevision.net. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  11. ^ "The Saddle Club: Series 3 Episode Guide". Australiantelevision.net. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  12. ^ Knox, David (25 November 2008). "Returning: The Saddle Club". TV Tonight. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  13. ^ "Saddle Club television stars produce album". Horse Talk. 23 May 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  14. ^ a b "Tangle: Series 3 Episode Guide". Australiantelevision.net. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  15. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (18 February 2013). "'Neighbours': Carla Bonner's son lands regular role". Digital Spy. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  16. ^ "Soap Diary". TV Week. No. 20. 18–24 May 2013. p. 54.
  17. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (26 April 2016). "Could Daniel and Imogen return to Neighbours? Producer Jason Herbison has the answer". Digital Spy. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  18. ^ "Who's in? Who's out? Who's staying?". Soap World. No. 319. April 2019. p. 37.
  19. ^ a b "#OMGAwards Who Will You Choose?". TV Week Soap Extra (19): 24–27. 3–16 September 2015.

External links[edit]