Asha Banks

Banks was born in St Albans, Hertfordshire to parents Sophie and Duncan.^[2] She has an older brother. Banks attended the local Abbey Primary School^[3] and then Parmiter's School in Garston. She then attended Elstree Screen Arts for sixth form, studying Musical Theatre and Music Performance^[4] She took Saturday drama classes at Top Hat Stage School^[5] and participated in Michael Xavier's MX Masterclass on Sundays,^[6] of which she is now a patron.^[7]

Banks made her television debut in 2011 with minor roles in EastEnders and Call the Midwife, both on BBC One.^[8] Banks was seven or eight when she was cast as young Éponine in the long-running musical Les Misérables at the Queen's Theatre in 2012, marking Banks' West End debut.^[9][10] She appeared in the 2014 Almeida and Playhouse Theatre runs of the play 1984.

Banks went on the 2015 UK tour of Annie, playing the eldest orphan Duffy. She joined the West End production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane as Violet Beauregarde before its closure in 2017. She alternated the roles Pandora Braithwaite in the 2017 off-West End production of The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾ at the Menier Chocolate Factory^[11] and Lisa James in The Boy in the Dress at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon in 2019.^[12]

In 2021, Banks played Thea in the London revival of Spring Awakening at the Almeida Theatre. She was also the understudy for Amara Okereke's Wendla.^[13] Banks was cast in as Princess Pamina in the German musical film The Magic Flute, marking Banks' feature film debut.^[14] The film premiered at the 2022 Zurich Film Festival and had a wide release in 2023. Banks also returned to television in 2022 with a recurring role as Brooke in the BBC iPlayer teen drama Rebel Cheer Squad, a Get Even spinoff.

Banks has played the character Cara Ward in the BBC Three adaptation of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and starred opposite Matthew Broome in the Amazon Prime film My Fault: London, an English-language version of the Spanish film Culpa mía.^[15] She then released her debut EP Untie My Tongue and her second single "feel the rush" was featured in the credits of My Fault: London.