Eline Powell
Eline Powell (born Eline Pauwels, 12 April 1990) is a Belgian actress best known for playing the title role on the American TV series "Siren". Early years and education. Powell is the daughter of Belgian pharmacologist Rudi Pauwels and clinical researcher Carine Claeys, who in 1994 were two of the co-founders of the biotech company Tibotec. She was born in Leuven and lived in Mechelen until she was fourteen years old. After a short stay in Switzerland, she moved to England, but she has Belgian citizenship and considers Belgium her home. She attended the Royal Academy of  Dramatic Arts, graduating in 2011 with a BA degree in acting. Career. Powell started her career in a short student film "For Elsie", where she played the role of Mila, a mobster's daughter who wants to learn the piano in one day. Her performance earned awards from the Beijing Student Film Festival and the Student Academy Awards, USA; and the film's director, David Winstone, received the Foreign Film Gold Medal at the 39th Annual Student Academy Awards in 2012. In 2012, she had a small role (Angelique) in Dustin Hoffman's directorial debut "Quartet." In 2014, Powell played  the title role in the Italian drama film "Anita B." directed by Roberto Faenza, for which the 2014 Capri, Hollywood International Film Festival named her that year's Breakout Actress. In 2016, she appeared in two episodes of "Game of Thrones" as Bianca, a young actress plotting to murder her rival. She had small roles in "Novitiate" and "", both released in 2017. In August 2016, Powell was cast to star in the Freeform series" Siren "playing Ryn, a feral mermaid who comes to a small coastal village in search of her sister. To prepare for the role, Powell studied legends  of mermaids and sea creatures. To develop ideas for the mermaid's body language, she worked from videos of marine and other predators. For the mermaid's newly learned speech, Powell was inspired by the accent of Icelandic singer Björk. She also worked with a free diver to learn monofin techniques for underwater swimming and fast turns. Reviews of "Siren" were generally positive about Powell's performance, with "IndieWire" saying, "Powell’s ability to embody a being who is mainly a physical presence, yet fill it with wonder, fear, and menace without uttering a word, is magnetic." "The Tampa Bay  Times" praised her performance as one of "Siren's biggest strengths" (the other was its Pacific Northwest setting.) "TV Guide", on the other hand, reviewing the pilot, complained that Powell "looks weird...performs the act of staring weird, as though she's trying with all her might to pop her eyeballs out of her head through sheer will." "Siren", which was the top new cable drama during spring 2018, was renewed in October for a second season, premiering on January 24, 2019. Personal life. In December 2018, Powell announced her engagement to British director and animator Lee Lennox. She announced  her pregnancy on Instagram April 2021. She later gave birth to a girl in July 2021.