Dena Kaplan | |
|---|---|
 Kaplan at the 2012 AACTA Awards | |
| Born | 20 January 1989 |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Spouse | Jared Daperis |
| Relatives | Gemma-Ashley Kaplan (sister) Ariel Kaplan (sister) |
| Website | denaamy.com |
Dena Amy Kaplan (born 20 January 1989) is a South African-born Australian actress, singer, dancer, and DJ. She is best known for her role as Abigail Armstrong in Dance Academy .
Kaplan was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. Her mother and grandmother were both ballet dancers. Kaplan's father was a musician and her grandfather was an actor. [1] Dena comes from a Jewish family. [2] She has an older sister Gemma-Ashley Kaplan and a younger sister Ariel Kaplan, who played Lisa Atwood #2 on The Saddle Club . Kaplan moved to Australia in 1996, at age seven. [3] After watching Gemma taking ballet lessons Dena followed in her footsteps.
Kaplan attended Mount Scopus Memorial College and had dance training at numerous schools, including Australian Ballet School, Jane Moore Academy of Ballet and City Dance Centre. She first appeared onstage alongside David Campbell in The Production Company's Carousel , playing Louise, a non-singing solo ballet part in the second act of the show. Her second major appearance was as a dancer/singer in Disney's musical production of The Lion King . [4] She moved to New York City to study at the Ailey School and Broadway Dance Center.
Her first television role was in 2005 on the Network Ten spy series Scooter: Secret Agent as one of the party girls. [5] In 2007, she appeared as Deborah Statesman in an episode of Australian police drama City Homicide . [6] In 2009, she played Keli in an episode of Flight Of The Conchords [7] and starred in the film In Her Skin alongside Rebecca Gibney. She was then cast in the series "Dance Academy" [8] and in the same year was cast as Stephanie Wolfe in City Homicide . In 2011, Kaplan starred as the love interest in Chris Sebastian's music video for "Flow". During 2013 she was cast in the role of Sarah Brennen in Camp. [9] A TV series that was set to star Gemma, Dena, and Ariel was workshopped. [10]
Dena Kaplan is an ambassador for Soi Dog Foundation [11] and together with her sisters, she is an ambassador for the Australian Cervical Cancer Foundation. [12]
Kaplan lives in Sydney, Australia. [13]
In December 2022, Kaplan announced her pregnancy via her Instagram page.
Dena Amy - Wait For You // 2016 Dena Amy ft. London Topaz - Your Eyes // 2017 Dena Amy ft. Kyle Waston - Diamonds Elle Skies' // 2017 Dena Amy - Jol // 2018
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Scooter: Secret Agent [5] | Party Girl | Episode: "Operation: Double Oh" |
| 2007 | City Homicide [6] | Deborah Statesman | Episode: "The Ripe Fruits in the Garden" |
| 2009 | In Her Skin | Pregnant Girl with Pram | |
| 2009 | Flight of the Conchords [7] | Keli | Episode: "Unnatural Love" |
| 2010 | City Homicide | Stephanie Wolfe | Episode: "Atonement" |
| 2010–13 | Dance Academy [8] | Abigail Armstrong | Main role |
| 2012 | Tricky Business | Minnesota Smith | Recurring role |
| 2012 | Mrs Biggs | Trish | Episode: "1.5" |
| 2013 | Camp [9] | Sarah Brennen | Main role |
| 2014 | The Doctor Blake Mysteries | Amelia Yorke | Episode: "Crossing the Line" |
| 2015 | Della Mortika | Beatrix Della Morte | Short film; in post-production |
| 2016 | Honey 3: Dare to Dance | Nadine | Direct to video |
| 2017 | Dance Academy: The Movie | Abigail Armstrong | Theatrical Film |
| 2021 | Long Story Short | Feature Film |
Haylie Katherine Duff is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Sandy Jameson in the television series 7th Heaven, Amy Sanders in Lizzie McGuire and Summer Wheatley in Napoleon Dynamite. An avid food blogger, Duff had her own cooking show, The Real Girl's Kitchen, in 2014. She is the older sister of Hilary Duff.
Emily Irene VanCamp is a Canadian actress. She first came to prominence for her work with producer Greg Berlanti, who cast her as a series regular on The WB drama Everwood (2002–2006) and the ABC drama Brothers & Sisters (2007–2010). VanCamp gained further recognition by portraying the lead role of Emily Thorne on the ABC series Revenge from 2011 to 2015. From 2018 to 2021, VanCamp starred on the Fox medical drama series The Resident. She also plays Sharon Carter / Agent 13 / Power Broker in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), appearing in the films Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) and Captain America: Civil War (2016), as well as the 2021 Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and What If...?
Lisa Irene Chappell is a New Zealand actress and musician. She is known for her roles as Chelsea Redfern in Gloss (1987–1990), and as Claire McLeod in McLeod's Daughters (2001–2003), a performance which earned her two Logie Awards, for Most Popular New Female Talent and Most Popular Actress.
Amanda Schull is an American actress and former professional ballet dancer. She is known for her lead role in the 2000 film Center Stage, and for her recurring roles on the American television series One Tree Hill and Pretty Little Liars. She starred as Dr. Cassandra Railly in the Syfy television series 12 Monkeys, and played a recurring role on the USA Network television series Suits before being promoted to series regular for the show's eighth and ninth seasons.
Simone Jade Mackinnon is an Australian actress. She is best known for role as Allie Reese on Baywatch (1999–2000) and Stevie Hall on McLeod's Daughters (2003–2009).
Ariel is a fictional character in Walt Disney Pictures' animated film The Little Mermaid (1989). Ariel is voiced by Jodi Benson in all official animated appearances. Ariel is the youngest daughter of King Triton and Queen Athena of an underwater kingdom of merfolk called Atlantica. She is often rebellious, and in the first film, she longs to be a part of the human world. She marries Prince Eric, whom she rescued from a shipwreck, and together they have a daughter, Melody. She is the fourth Disney Princess and also the first Disney Princess to be developed during the Disney Renaissance.
Nadine Lynette Garner is an Australian actor who started her career as a teen performer.
Katrina Conder is an Australian television presenter. She was a host Channel Nine's late night game show Quizmania. She made her Quizmania debut on 6 January 2007. Katrina has also appeared on 3 episodes of Blue Heelers as a nurse. Katrina starred in a lead role in the 2005/06 9minds production of Black Rock
Dajana Cahill is an Australian former actress, whose roles include the children's television series Mortified. Cahill has also appeared in a guest role on Australian soap Neighbours as Miranda Kelly, her first acting appearance in nine years.
Dance Academy is an Australian teen drama television series produced by Werner Film Productions in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and ZDF. Series one premiered on 31 May 2010, and series two began airing on 12 March 2012. Series three premiered on ABC3 on 8 July 2013 in Australia.
Alicia Banit is an Australian actress and dancer best known for her role as Kat in the ABC television series Dance Academy. She also appeared in various Australian television series, being part of the main cast in We Were Tomorrow and having a recurring role in Playing for Keeps.
Shake It Up is an American sitcom that originally aired on Disney Channel from November 7, 2010, to November 10, 2013. Created by Chris Thompson and starring Bella Thorne and Zendaya, the show follows the adventures of CeCe Jones and Rocky Blue (Zendaya) as they star as background dancers on a local show, Shake It Up Chicago. It also chronicles their misadventures on and off-set and their troubles and rising social status at school. Davis Cleveland, Roshon Fegan, Adam Irigoyen, Kenton Duty, and Caroline Sunshine play other main characters in the series. The show's original concept was for Disney to create a female buddy comedy with a dance aspect.
Emma Dumont, is an American actress, model, and dancer. She is known for her roles as Melanie Segal in the ABC Family series Bunheads, Emma Karn in the NBC series Aquarius, Lorna Dane/Polaris in the FOX series The Gifted, and Jackie Oppenheimer in the Christopher Nolan biographical thriller Oppenheimer (2023).
Kelli Berglund is an American actress. She is known for portraying Bree Davenport in the Disney XD series Lab Rats/Lab Rats: Elite Force and also guest starred in its spinoff Mighty Med. In 2014, she starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie How to Build a Better Boy, where she portrays Mae Hartley. Berglund starred as Carly Carson in the 2019 Starz television drama series Now Apocalypse. She has also played the lead in two sports-themed films set in Australia, 2016's Raising the Bar and 2018's Going for Gold. She stars as Crystal in the 2021 Starz drama television series Heels.
Kalani Brooke Hilliker is an American dancer and actress. She rose to fame in 2013 as a contestant on the Lifetime reality series Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition and subsequently appeared on Dance Moms, becoming a regular cast member from 2014 to 2017.
Ariel Erin Kaplan 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.
Isabel Durant, sometimes credited as Issi Durant, is an Australian actress and dancer. She is known for her roles as Grace Whitney in Dance Academy (2012–2013), Ondina the mermaid in Mako: Island of Secrets (2015–2016) and Claire Brady in Days of Our Lives (2020–2021).
Jordan Clark is a Canadian actress and dancer. She won the fourth season of the dance competition series So You Think You Can Dance Canada. She played Giselle on the Family Channel teen drama series The Next Step.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
