Veerle Casteleyn

Veerle Casteleyn is a musical theater/television actress and ballerina. She portrayed Jemima in the video of CATS.

Cats History
Cats: the Movie - 09/1997 - Jemima

London - 10/1997 - Swing

London - 09/1998 - Jemima

London - 07/1999 - Jemima

Career
Veerle is a professional ballerina. She trained at the De Koninklijke Balletschool van Antwerpen in Belgium. She has played the roles of Victoria, Rumpleteazer, Electra, and swings for CATS.

She was in the West End cast of CATS as the above roles, including Jemima, when the video was released.

She was cast as Jemima for the video by the production team seeing her work on the show in Antwerp, playing the role. Veerle was tapped for her wide-open face and small physique.

About Cats: "We did CATS in Antwerp last year, and we wanted a little young thing, with a wide open face and we didn't think oh 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 Lyne on Veerle's casting. Veerle Casteleyn 07.gif|"Many viewers get enthralled by her sweet face and large, expressive eyes during her solo parts. Maybe it helps that she is, indeed, a lovely girl with an unusual charm even sans makeup. However, any other lovely girl would have been hard-pressed to pull it off the way she did in the film. Veerle obviously knew how to work it and project what needed to be projected. Besides, she was not all face, too. She was the shortest but wasn't short in talent at all. She proved to be one of the giants, holding her own against or alongside other great talents like John Partridge (as Rum Tum Tugger) and Phyllida Crowley-Smith (as Victoria).

The actress 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.
 * Some fans speculate she is taking a short hiatus, as she did after Romeo en Julia: van Haat tot Liefde. Some fans think it is to improve her dance skills and voice. There are accounts that she is dancing in local ballets and productions from others. Her fans do hope that she returns soon.