Alice Evans

Evans was born in New Jersey, U.S., the daughter of a professor in applied mathematics and a teacher of English literature, and was raised in Bristol, England. She attended Henbury School, along with her two brothers. She graduated from University College London with a focus in French and Italian. After graduation, she enrolled at the Cours Florent in Paris. She gained work in French television, with her breakthrough role as French student Susan in the French sitcom, Elisa Top Model, which ran for 18 months. Next, she went to Italy to play "Nathalie", in the 1998 Italian miniseries Le ragazze di Piazza di Spagna. Her first English-speaking role was in the Highlander episode 'Patient Number 7'. After making her first film, Monsieur Naphtali (1999), director Claude Lelouch cast Evans as Macha in Une pour toutes (1999), alongside Samy Naceri and Anne Parillaud.

In 1999, Disney cast Evans alongside Glenn Close, Gérard Depardieu, and her later husband, Ioan Gruffudd, in 102 Dalmatians. Evans' mother died at age 59, the day before Evans's final screen test for the role, which introduced her to British viewers.

After appearing in Blackball, she moved to Los Angeles in 2003. She has since appeared in both in films and in television series, including The Mentalist, Brothers & Sisters, Lost, and Grimm. Evans also had a recurring turn as the villainous Esther on The Vampire Diaries and The Originals.