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Actor

1988-02-19 · Derby, Derbyshire, England, UK · Female

2 series in the catalog

Lisa Hayley Ambalavanar is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Alia Hanif in the BBC soap opera Doctors (2018–2019) and Mia in the iPlayer and Netflix series The A List (2018–2021).

Early life

Ambalavanar was born in Derby. She is of English and Sri Lankan heritage. She trained for one year at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) on the Performing Arts Diploma (Dance) course.

Career

Ambalavanar made her professional debut in an episode of the BBC Two series Home Time in 2009, appearing as a shop assistant. She then made appearances in projects including short film Coffee (2011) and films The Stuff of Legend (2015) and Like Living (2016). Ambalavanar has also starred in various stage productions, including Painkillers (2014) and Singin' in the Rain (2016). For her performance in Singin' in the Rain, Philip Lowe of East Midlands Theatre wrote that she "lights up the stage with her attractive personality, her comic timing and some beautifully sung numbers".

In 2018, she was cast in the BBC daytime soap opera Doctors. She made her debut appearance as Alia Hanif on 7 February 2018; Alia was played by Mandy Thandi prior to Ambalavanar taking over the role. Later that year, she began appearing in the iPlayer and Netflix series The A List in the main role of Mia. In 2019, she made an appearance in a production of A View from the Bridge, in which she was described as "forthright, headstrong and full of energy" by Julie Bayley of Derbyshire Live. Later that year, she portrayed the role of Fairy Wiseheart in a production of Sleeping Beauty.

Starting in 2022, she appears as Jinx in season 4 of Titans on HBO Max. In 2023, she starred as Emily Young in the 2023 horror comedy film Slotherhouse.