Jemima West

Jemima West (born 11 August 1987) is an Anglo-French actress. She is bilingual, growing up most of her life in Paris, France. She is best known for her role as Isabelle Lightwood in the The Mortal Instruments series City of Bones. She also appeared in the second season of The Borgias as Vittoria. Early life West was born to English parents. Her father is an accountant and her mother is a business interpreter. When she was five years old, her parents relocated to Paris, France. She attended the Sorbonne and graduated in History of Art while taking acting classes in the evening. She can speak both French and English. Although she has described herself as completely English and has said that she has an easier time working in her mother tongue, she has stated Paris is her home. Career West made her acting debut at the age of 12 and she starred in the 1999 film Joan Of Arc, directed by Luc Besson. She later on starred in the short film I'm an Actrice directed by Maiwenn, and also starred in the third season of the Canadian television series, 15 Love. West later went on to star in the French television shows Ben & Thomas, Trouble Paradis and R.I.S. Police Scientifique, Josephine Ange Gardien which was followed by her second film role in King Guillaume, co-starring alongside Florence Foresti. In 2009, West starred in Paradis Criminel, a two-part thiller mini-series entitled Who Killed Little Red Riding Hood as Louisa. The mini-series was written and directed by Serge Meynard and went on to win 'Best mini-series' at the 2009 La Rochelle TV Film Festival, and garnered 3 million viewers on France 2 on August 22, 2012. The mini-series thus ranks as 8th best-rated fiction of the year on the channel. In 2010, West scored a role in the French mini-series Maison Close, in which she presently stars in as Rose, a young country girl forced to work for her freedom in a brothel. She stars alongside Anne Charrier and Valérie Karsenti. West played Isabelle Lightwood in The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, a film adaptation of the first book in the New York Times bestselling series The Mortal Instruments, written by Cassandra Clare. West co-starred alongside Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, and Robert Sheehan. The film was released on August 21.