Kathleen de Leon Jones
Encyclopedia
Kathleen de Leon Jones (born Kathleen de Leon on 1 September 1977 in Manila
, Philippines) is an Australian actress, dancer, and singer of Filipino
descent. She was an original cast member of the ARIA Award
winning Australian children's television program, Hi-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
where de Leon was nominated for an award with Hi-5, which they also won.
After being in a serious relationship for more than three years, Kathleen organised a '70s
themed party for Daniel's 30th birthday. However, it was Kathleen who got the biggest surprise when a teary-eyed Jones professed his love for de Leon and proposed in front of more than a hundred people – including his shocked parents – at the GPO Bar in Brisbane
.
On 9 October 2005, de Leon and Jones married at Avica Weddings and Resort on the Gold Coast
in Queensland. The big day turned out to be an Oriental
-meets-Bali
nese themed fairytale wedding filled with special touches. 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 also used his musical talents to pen a song called "Love Is Enough" for his bride.
On 25 February 2006, after returning home from her honeymoon, Kathleen confirmed that she was four months pregnant. The couple's first child, daughter Mikayla de Leon Jones, was born on 26 July 2006. On 30 October 2010, Kathleen gave birth to the couple's second child, Keira.
school in Sydney, Australia. She was awarded both the Roberta Armstrong and Kelloggs Scholarships to study at the school and she studied dance, drama, and voice
there for a number of years while playing the audition circuit in her spare time.
De Leon also trained with the Australian College of Entertainment in Castle Hill, New South Wales
. 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
.
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. De Leon appeared in two musicals in Australia mounted by the Macintosh company – Miss Saigon
and Rent
– and stayed with the cast of Rent (where she was an understudy
for the role of Mimi) until Hi-5 came along.
More information can be found in the Hi-5
article.
, Nathan Foley and Kellie Crawford.
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
, Philippines) is an Australian actress, dancer, and singer of Filipino
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
descent. She was an original cast member of the ARIA Award
ARIA Music Awards
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Australian Recording Industry Association...
winning Australian children's television program, Hi-5
Hi-5 (Australian Kids' Band)
Hi-5 is an Australian children's musical group formed in 1998 which is associated with the children's television series of the same name.-Origins of the group:...
.
Personal life
Born in Manila in 1977, Kathleen moved to Australia with her family in 1978. After migration to Australia, Kathleen's parents had another two girls, Jennifer and Melanie, making Kathleen the oldest of three siblings. The de Leon sisters spent most of their childhood in Sydney.On 30 April 2000, when de Leon was 22 years old, she met her future husband Daniel Jones
Daniel Jones (musician)
Daniel Jones is a musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his part in the hugely popular Australian pop duo Savage Garden, whose international hit singles included the songs "I Want You", "To the Moon and Back", "Truly Madly Deeply", "I Knew I Loved You", and "Crash and Burn"...
. At the time, Jones was a member of the Australian pop band Savage Garden
Savage Garden
Savage Garden were an Australian pop rock performance and songwriting duo. Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones formed the group in Brisbane, Queensland in 1994...
. The couple met at the 42nd Annual TV Week Logie Awards
Logie Awards of 2000
The 42nd Annual TV Week Logie Awards were presented on Sunday 30 April 2000 at Crown Casino in Melbourne and broadcast on the Nine Network. Andrew Denton from the ABC was the Master of Ceremonies...
where de Leon was nominated for an award with Hi-5, which they also won.
After being in a serious relationship for more than three years, Kathleen organised a '70s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
themed party for Daniel's 30th birthday. However, it was Kathleen who got the biggest surprise when a teary-eyed Jones professed his love for de Leon and proposed in front of more than a hundred people – including his shocked parents – at the GPO Bar in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
.
On 9 October 2005, de Leon and Jones married at Avica Weddings and Resort on the Gold Coast
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
in Queensland. The big day turned out to be an Oriental
The Orient
The Orient means "the East." It is a traditional designation for anything that belongs to the Eastern world or the Far East, in relation to Europe. In English it is a metonym that means various parts of Asia.- Derivation :...
-meets-Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
nese themed fairytale wedding filled with special touches. De Leon's wedding dress was designed by Bora of Bora Couture while one of de Leon's friends designed a pearl
Pearl
A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other...
set for the back of the gown and diamond pieces for the front. Jones also used his musical talents to pen a song called "Love Is Enough" for his bride.
On 25 February 2006, after returning home from her honeymoon, Kathleen confirmed that she was four months pregnant. The couple's first child, daughter Mikayla de Leon Jones, was born on 26 July 2006. On 30 October 2010, Kathleen gave birth to the couple's second child, Keira.
Professional career
Kathleen 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 artsPerforming arts
The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
school in Sydney, Australia. She was awarded both the Roberta Armstrong and Kelloggs Scholarships to study at the school and she studied dance, drama, and voice
Vocal music
Vocal music is a genre of music performed by one or more singers, with or without instrumental accompaniment, in which singing provides the main focus of the piece. Music which employs singing but does not feature it prominently is generally considered instrumental music Vocal music is a genre of...
there for a number of years while playing the audition circuit in her spare time.
De Leon also trained with the Australian College of Entertainment in Castle Hill, New South Wales
Castle Hill, New South Wales
Castle Hill is a suburb in the north-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Castle Hill is located 31 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the Hills District of the Greater Western Sydney region...
. She also competed in the Australian television talent show New Faces
New Faces (Australian)
New Faces was an Australian talent show that preceded the British show of the same name, produced at GTV-9 Melbourne. The program began in 1963 under the name Kevin Dennis Auditions, sponsored by Kevin Dennis Motors, running on Saturday mornings...
– where she came third in the grand final – and appeared on various Australian television shows, including Heartbreak High
Heartbreak High
Heartbreak High is an Australian television series that ran for seven years from 1994 to 1999. The series dealt with the students of Hartley High, a tough high school in a multi-racial area of Sydney, and proved to be a more gritty and fast-paced show than many of its contemporaries...
, Ridgey Didge
Ridgey Didge
Ridgey Didge was a popular Network Ten magazine television programme for children in Australia.The title comes from the Australian slang, ridgey didge, which means honest, true or the real thing.- Format :...
, Swap Shop, and the At Home Show with John Mangos
John Mangos
John is an Australian news presenter.He is also a host on talk back radio station 2UE and a regular on Sunrise on the Seven Network. He has also made cameo appearances on the Australian comedy programs Pizza and Swift and Shift Couriers....
.
It was while she was performing at a fundraiser
Fundraiser
A fundraiser is an event or campaign whose primary purpose is to raise money for a cause. See also: fundraising. A fundraiser can also be an individual or company whose primary job is to raise money for a specific charity or non-profit organization...
for The McDonald College that de Leon was discovered by one of the directors for the Cameron Macintosh company. De Leon appeared in two musicals in Australia mounted by the Macintosh company – Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr.. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover...
and Rent
Rent (musical)
Rent is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème...
– and stayed with the cast of Rent (where she was an understudy
Understudy
In theater, an understudy is a performer who learns the lines and blocking/choreography of a regular actor or actress in a play. Should the regular actor or actress be unable to appear on stage because of illness or emergencies, the understudy takes over the part...
for the role of Mimi) until Hi-5 came along.
More information can be found in the Hi-5
Hi-5 (Australian Kids' Band)
Hi-5 is an Australian children's musical group formed in 1998 which is associated with the children's television series of the same name.-Origins of the group:...
article.
Departure from Hi-5
In July 2007, it was announced that de Leon was leaving Hi-5 permanently to focus on raising her child. She also announced that she would still be interested in working on television if an opportunity existed in Sydney so she could remain close to her family. Kathleen is the first of all the original members to permanently leave Hi-5, the others being Tim Harding, Charli DelaneyCharli Delaney
Sharlene Marie Zeta Robinson, known professionally as Charli Robinson and previously as Charli Delaney is an Australian singer, actress, radio presenter and children's performer....
, Nathan Foley and Kellie Crawford.