Hannah Telle

Hannah Rebecca Telle^[2] was born on September 18, 1987,^[3] to Don and Kim Telle. She grew up in Shelby, North Carolina, and has a younger brother.^[4] She took an interest in acting at the age of six and joined community theatre.^[4][5][6] She did her early schooling from North Carolina School of the Arts and started attending the University of Southern California in 2006 for acting and filmmaking but dropped out in 2009.^[7][1][8] She is bipolar and has struggled with depression and anxiety throughout her life.^[1][4][5]

Telle submitted roles on actorsaccess.com and secured parts in indie films. She had a minor role in an episode of iCarly (2012) as a harp player.^[9][10] She starred in the film Two Pints Lighter (2013) as Lucy; Asbury Park Press described her performance as "charming".^[11] She was cast in Square Enix's Murdered: Soul Suspect (2014) as Rose Campbell / Iris Campbell for motion capture.^[12]

In July 2014, Telle was asked to audition for the video game Life Is Strange (2015) based on her role in Murdered; she was cast as Max Caulfield at the Blindlight studio.^[13][14] She also voiced other characters including Courtney Wagner.^[15] Edge's Jen Simpkins described her casting as "inspired".^[16] Telle was surprised by the game's success and its community,^[17] and expressed interest in reprising the role,^[18] including in Life is Strange: Before the Storm despite the ongoing voice actor strike.^[19] She reprised the role in 2018 in the downloadable content bonus episode "Farewell".^[20]

Telle released her debut alternative album Hollow Glow in 2016.^[21][22] In 2018, she starred as Max in the horror film Flesh & Blood ^[23] and as Kate in I'd Kill for You.^[24] She released the albums Walking Away from the Dream in 2019 and Waking Up to Tomorrow in 2023.^[5] She reprised her role as Max Caulfield in Life Is Strange: Double Exposure (2024),^[25][26] which she considered the "highlight of [her] acting career".^[27] Her performance was praised,^{[28][29][30][31]} and she was nominated for Best Performance at the Game Awards 2024^[32] and the 14th New York Game Awards.^[33]

Telle lives in Los Angeles.^[4] She returned to the University of Southern California and graduated with a bachelor's degree in neuroscience in 2022.^[8] She is a vegetarian and has four cats.^[34]