Born in Sydney on 10 November 1987, Jessica Tovey joins Home and Away as Belle Taylor - the mystery girl who moves to Summer Bay with a big secret.

Jessica, 18 has recently graduated from Newtown High School for Performing Arts, where she appeared in a number of stage productions.

Jessica has also played leading roles at ATYP (Australian Theatre for Young People), in drama festivals and in the Global Shakespeare Festival. She received acclamation for her outstanding performance in Macbeth.

In 2005 Jess starred as ‘Nadine’ in the children’s program Wicked Science.

Landing the role of Belle has been a dream come true for Jessica. "Working on Home and Away has been fantastic. It’s something I have always wanted to do and I feel really very lucky to be here," she says.

"The cast and crew are so wonderful. Everyone has been so welcoming. I especially clicked with Sharni (Vinson) from day one. Ironically Belle hates Cassie (Sharni’s character) in the series."

Belle is cheeky and tough; she’s aware of her ability to gain what she wants in life through her feminine powers.

About her character Jessica says, "Belle is fantastic, she’s sassy and fun with quite a mouth on her!"

Belle, having recently discovered she was adopted and that her birth mother calls Summer Bay home, arms herself with her life in a back-pack and arrives in the Bay on a mission to find her mum. The identity of Belle’s mother will shock the people of Summer Bay when it’s finally revealed.

To relax, Jessica likes to spend her scarce free time going out for coffee with her friends and having lazy afternoons. Her favourite bands are Beautiful Girls, Powder Finger and Red Hot Chilli Peppers. She enjoys singing for fun but claims to be not all that good.

Actors who inspire Jessica are Geoffrey Rush and Meryl Streep and she lists her favourite films as Romeo and Juliet, Y tu mamá también and Donnie Darko.

Jessica’s dad is from New Zealand, a country she loves and has visited many times. She has travelled throughout Europe and can’t wait to go back there - and her dream is to one day live in Italy.

Jessica was born under the Zodiac sign of Scorpio, the Scorpion.