Katie Leung Biography

Katie Leung was first chosen to play Cho Chang, Harry Potter‘s love interest, in the 2005 film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Katie Leung was born in Scotland to Chinese parents who had immigrated from Hong Kong, and was attending the upscale private school Hamilton College when she won the part in an open casting call. (Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling reportedly insisted that a complete unknown be cast as Cho Chang.) The casting generated intense interest among Harry Potter fans, since Cho Chang gives the boy wizard (played by Daniel Radcliffe) his first kiss in the book Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Leung and Radcliffe did indeed smooch onscreen in the 2007 film Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Leung also appeared in the sequels Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010), and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011).

In the years since, Leung has remained a working actor, often playing supporting roles in films like T2 Trainspotting (2017, with Ewan McGregor) and Locked Down (2021, with Chiwetel Ejiofor) and on TV miniseries including Strangers (2018) and The Nest (2020).