Kathleen de Leon Jones | |
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Born | Kathleen de Leon 1 September 1977 Manila, Philippines |
Nationality |
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Occupations |
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Years active | 1997–2009 |
Spouse | |
Children | 2 |
Musical career | |
Origin | Sydney, Australia |
Genres | |
Instrument | Vocals |
Labels | Sony BMG |
Formerly of | Hi-5 |
Kathleen de Leon Jones (born Kathleen de Leon, 1 September 1977) is a Filipino-born Australian actress, dancer, and singer. She was an original cast member of the ARIA Award winning Australian children's musical group Hi-5 from 1998 to 2006 and left Hi-5 after nine years with the group.
De Leon was born in Manila on 1 September 1977 and moved to Australia in 1978 with her parents. She is the oldest of three daughters; her two younger sisters Jennifer and Melanie [1] [2] [3] [4] were born in Australia. The family spent most of de Leon's childhood in Sydney. [5]
On 30 April 2000, when de Leon was 22 years old, she met her future husband Daniel Jones. At the time, Jones was a member of the Australian pop band Savage Garden. The couple met at the 42nd Annual TV Week Logie Awards.
In 2003, after over three years of dating, Jones proposed to de Leon during his 30th birthday party at the GPO Bar in Brisbane. Over one hundred attendees—including Jones' parents—were "shocked" by the surprise proposal. [6]
On 9 October 2005, de Leon and Jones married at Avica Weddings and Resort on the Gold Coast in Queensland. de Leon's wedding dress was designed by Bora of Bora Couture while one of de Leon's friends designed a pearl set for the back of the gown and diamond pieces for the front. Jones wrote a song titled "Love Is Enough" for his bride. [7]
On 25 February 2006, de Leon confirmed that she was four months pregnant. [8] The couple's oldest daughter, Mikayla, was born on 26 July 2006. [9] On 30 October 2010, de Leon gave birth to the couple's youngest daughter, Keira.
De Leon started singing and dancing at an early age. She taught herself to play the guitar, prompting her parents to enroll her in The McDonald College, an exclusive performing arts school in Sydney, Australia. She was awarded both the Roberta Armstrong and Kelloggs Scholarships to study at the school, where she studied dance, drama, and voice for a number of years while making professional auditions in her spare time. [5]
De Leon also trained with the Australian College of Entertainment in Castle Hill, New South Wales. [10] She also competed in the Australian television talent show New Faces —where she came third in the grand final—and appeared on various Australian television shows, including Heartbreak High , Ridgey Didge , Swap Shop , and the At Home Show with John Mangos. [11]
It was while she was performing at a fundraiser for The McDonald College that de Leon was discovered by one of the directors for the Cameron MacIntosh company. She appeared in two musicals in Australia mounted by the Macintosh company, Miss Saigon and Rent . She stayed with the cast of Rent (where she was Christine Anu's understudy for the role of Mimi) [12] and was dance captain for the musical, until being cast in Hi-5 in 1998. [5] She featured with a puppet named "Jup-Jup", voiced originally by co-cast member Tim Harding. de Leon and Jup-Jup's segment of the show, Puzzles and Patterns, promoted and educated children on problem-solving and mathematics.
In July 2007, de Leon left Hi-5 permanently to focus on raising Mikayla. de Leon stated that she was still interested in working on television, but only if an opportunity existed in her then-home of Sydney so she could remain close to her family. de Leon was the first of all the original members to permanently leave Hi-5 . [13] Sun Park replaced de Leon in Hi-5.
As of 2015, de Leon, Jones and their daughters were residing in Las Vegas. In November 2016, while in the process of selling some properties in Surfers Paradise, she stated that they would one day look to move back to the Gold Coast. [14] They returned home to live on the Gold Coast in 2023. [15]
Muriel's Wedding is a 1994 Australian comedy-drama film written and directed by P. J. Hogan. The film, which stars Toni Collette, Rachel Griffiths, Jeanie Drynan, Sophie Lee, and Bill Hunter, focuses on the socially awkward Muriel whose ambition is to have a glamorous wedding and improve her personal life by moving from her dead-end hometown, the fictional Porpoise Spit, to Sydney.
Hi-5 were an Australian children's musical group formed in 1998 in association with the children's television series of the same name. Helena Harris and Posie Graeme-Evans created the television series for the Nine Network, which premiered in 1999. The group were made up of five performers who entertained and educated preschool children through music, movement and play. Kellie Crawford, Kathleen de Leon Jones, Nathan Foley, Tim Harding and Charli Robinson were the founding members. By the end of 2008, all of the original line-up had left, and the group's membership changed several more times after that. They collectively starred in several television series, released albums, and performed on worldwide tours. The television series features puppet characters Chatterbox and Jup Jup, who were included in the group's live stage shows.
Daniel Jones is a British-born Australian musician, songwriter, record producer and real estate agent. He was a member of the Australian pop duo Savage Garden, whose international hit singles included "I Want You", "To the Moon and Back", "Truly Madly Deeply", "I Knew I Loved You", and "Crash and Burn".
Kellie Lynn Crawford, née Hoggart, is an Australian singer, actress and children's performer. Crawford was an original member of the Australian children's musical group Hi-5 from 1998 to 2008 and was also a member of pop group Teen Queens. She left Hi-5 in December 2008 after ten years with the group.
Timothy John Harding is an Australian musician, singer, guitarist, entertainer and former member of the Australian children's musical group Hi-5 between 1998 and 2007 and left Hi-5 after nine years with the group due to suffering major injuries following a motorcycle accident.
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Sun Park is a Korean Australian singer, actress, entertainer and former member of the children's entertainment group Hi-5 as well as the television series of the same name from 2006 to 2008.
The McDonald College is an independent co-educational specialist primary and secondary day and boarding school with speciality in the creative and performing arts, in North Strathfield, an inner western suburb of Sydney, Australia.
Hi-5 is an American children's television series produced by Kids Like Us for Discovery Kids. It also aired on TLC, on the Ready Set Learn! programming blocks of both networks. It is based on the original Australian series of the same name, created by Helena Harris and Posie Graeme-Evans, and was filmed and produced in Australia. The program is known for its educational content and pop music appeal, with the cast of the show known collectively as Hi-5. The series premiered on February 24, 2003, and was nominated for three Emmy Awards.
Hi-5 is an Australian children's television series, originally produced by Kids Like Us and later Southern Star for the Nine Network, created by Helena Harris and Posie Graeme-Evans. The program is known for its educational content, and for the cast of the program, who became a recognised musical group for children outside of the series, known collectively as Hi-5. It has generated discussion about what is considered appropriate television for children. The series premiered on 12 April 1999 on the Nine Network.
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The first series of the 2017 Hi-5 revival aired between 15 May 2017 and 16 June 2017 on 9Go! in Australia. The series was produced independently with Julie Greene as executive producer.
The tenth series of the children's television series Hi-5 aired between 7 July 2008 and 5 September 2008 on the Nine Network in Australia. The series was produced by Kids Like Us for Nine with Helena Harris as executive producer.
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