Veerle Casteleyn

Veerle Casteleyn is a musical theater/television actress and ballerina. She is best known for portraying Jemima in the 1998 flim version of CATS.

Cats History
Antwerp - 05/1996 - Sylvani

Cats: The Movie - 09/1997 - Jemima

London - 10/1997 - Swing

London - 06/1998 - unknown

London - 09/1998 - Jemima

London - 07/1999 - Jemima

Dutch Tour - 10/2006 - Swing

Career
"We did CATS in Antwerp last year, and we wanted a little young thing, with a wide open face and we didn't think of her 'till the last minute, then thought 'Ah! We'll try to get Veerle, and she was free, so it was neck and neck."

- Gillian Lynne on Veerle's casting in the film. Veerle is a professionaly trained ballerina, having studied at the De Koninklijke Balletschool van Antwerpen in Belgium. In addition to Jemima, she has also played the roles of Victoria, Rumpleteazer, Electra, in CATS. At the time of the video's release, she was portraying Jemima at West End.

She was conisdered for the film by the production team after seeing her work on the show in Antwerp, also citing her 'wide-open face' and small physique.

Veerle speaks and has performed in several languages, including Flemish, English, Dutch, and French.

Credits
Television:
 * Annie (Belgium)
 * The Sound of Music( Liesl,Belgium)
 * CATS (Jemima/Sylvani, Electra, Victoria, Rumpelteazer, Swings, Multiple Productions/Tours)
 * The Sound of Music (Revival)
 * Carousel (Louise,UK National Tour)
 * A Little Night Music ( Fredrika, European Tour)
 * Roméo et Juliette: de la Haine à l’Amour (Renamed: Romeo en Julia: van Haat tot Liefde, Julia)
 * Fiddler on the Roof (Chava,Belgium)
 * Alleen op de Wereld (Adult Remi,European Tour)
 * Dracula (Ensemble,Belgium)
 * Mamma Mia! (Ensemble,Belgium)
 * Les Miserables 2008-2009 (Ensemble,Netherlands Tour)
 * Oliver  (ensemble/UnerstudyCharlotte) (Belgium)
 * Musical Droomvlucht(Ensemble)
 * Fikken (Elke De Brock) [Season 5, Episode 6: Sporen]
 * De Wet Volgens Milo (Sonja, Main)

Trivia

 * She has been included in more than one production of CATS, playing roles in West End, Antwerp, and Netherlands.
 * She is the only video cast member on the video cover who is photographed as Jellicles. Veerle was in costume as Jemima. The rests were from her West End cast, which she was a part of too.
 * Her name, Veerle, is pronounced Veer-la and means 'feather' in Flemish.
 * Some fans believe, once listening to her singing, that Veerle's voice wasn't dubbed for her duet in "Jellicle Ball', since the voices sound very much alike.
 * Despite her voice being dubbed for certain parts of the film, she became a favorite among fans, appearing in multiple commercial posters and ads for the DVD release. This increased her character's popularity and meaning on the show.