Veerle Casteleyn

Veerle Casteleyn is a Belgian musical theatre/television actress and ballerina. She portrayed Jemima in the 1998 Cats film.

Cats Credits
Antwerp - 05/1996 - 09/1996 - Sillabub ("Sylvani")

Cats: The Movie - 08/1997 - 09/1997 - Jemima

London - 10/1997 - 04/1998 - Swing (cover Electra, Etcetera, Jemima, Victoria, Rumpleteazer)

London - 04/1998 - 23/10/1999 - Jemima

Dutch Tour - 10/2006 - Swing (cover Electra, Sillabub, Victoria)

Dutch Tour - 06/2007 - Sillabub ("Sylvani")

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 professionally trained ballerina, having studied at the De Koninklijke Balletschool van Antwerpen in Belgium. In addition to Jemima/Sylvani, she has also covered the roles of Victoria, Rumpleteazer, Electra, and Etcetera as a swing in various productions of Cats from 1997 - 2007. At the time of the video's release, she was portraying Jemima on West End.

She has performed various other musical theater roles, such as Liesl in The Sound of Music and Louise in Carousel. Veerle also made made onscreen appearances in Belgian courtroom dramas Flikken and De Wet Volgens Milo. She now teaches dance at the Diluna Dansstudio and choreographed their production of Cats in 2013.

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

Biography (1999)
Training : Municipal Institute for Ballet, Antwerp, Belgium.

Theatre : Orphan in Annie (Royal Youth Theatre), Liesl in The Sound of Music (Royal Ballet of Flanders), Jemima in Cats (Antwerp), Revival of The Sound of Music, Several roles as swing in Cats (New London)

Other : Jemima in Cats, The Video.

Performance Credits
Theatre: Television:
 * Annie (Belgium)
 * The Sound of Music The Sound of Music (Liesl, Belgium)
 * Cats (Sillabub/Sylvani, Swing, Multiple Productions/Tours)
 * The Sound of Music (Revival)
 * Carousel (Louise, UK National Tour)
 * A Little Night Music (Fredrika, European Tour)
 * Romeo en Julia: van Haat tot Liefde (Julia, Belgium)
 * 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/Charlotte, Belgium)
 * Musical Droomvlucht (Ensemble, Belgium)
 * Fkken (Elke De Brock) [Season 5, Episode 6: Sporen]
 * De Wet Volgens Milo (Sonja, Main)

Trivia

 * Her name, Veerle, is pronounced Veer-la and means "feather" in Flemish.
 * Veerle is the only cast member from the 1998 Film who is pictured on the VHS/DVD cover. She was in costume as Jemima, and the rest of the pictured actors were from the 1998 West End cast, which Veerle was a part of too.
 * Some fans believe, having listened to her real voice, that Veerle wasn't dubbed for her spoken lines in "The 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 in the show.