The actor, author and artist on babies, losing her brother, and her ‘sporty Von Trapp family’
Born in London in 1987, the second eldest of five siblings, Jessie Cave is an artist, author and actor. Her first major role was as Ron Weasley’s girlfriend, Lavender Brown, in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. She went on to appear in TV programmes including Black Mirror and Grandma’s House, before establishing herself as an illustrator and comedian, taking confessional shows such as I Loved Her and Sunrise to the stage. In 2021, she published her bestselling debut novel, Sunset, and is currently starring in sitcom Buffering on ITV2. She lives in London with her four children and partner, the comedian Alfie Brown.
I was four years old and painting in our house in west London in this photo. I can’t quite figure out what I’d drawn – it looks as if it’s the word “rent” bleeding out from another piece of paper. Which would be a strange thing for a small person to write, but also funny, because decades later, rent remains a huge bleed on my life.
