Leah Jeffries

Jeffries was born in Detroit to Leah Jeffries and Floyd S Jeffries Jr. She has an older brother, Floyd Jeffries, who is also an actor and model. She attended school in the Novi Community School District. Prior to her acting debut, Jeffries worked as a model for children's products for Carol's Daughter. Jeffries' acting debut was at age 5 as Lola Lyon on Empire. On May 5, 2022, Jeffries was announced as Annabeth Chase in Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Immediately following the casting announcement, Jeffries received harassment online because she was African-American, while her character, Annabeth Chase, was portrayed as white in the book series the show was based on. On May 10, the books' author, Rick Riordan, posted a blog post in which he condemned the backlash against Jeffries and reaffirmed his support of her. Alexandra Daddario, the actress who played Annabeth in the two movie adaptations, also posted support for Jeffries online. Members of the fanbase who supported Jeffries' casting posted support online with the hashtag #LeahIsOurAnnabeth. In August 2022, the film Beast was released, in which Jeffries played Norah Samuels. Later that year, Something from Tiffany's, in which Jeffries played Daisy Greene, was released.