Aubrey Peeples

Biography

Aubrey Shea Peeples (born November 27, 1993) is an American actor and singer. They are best known for portraying Layla Grant in the ABC drama series Nashville. They also led Carrie Brownstein's pilot Search & Destroy for Hulu based on her band Sleater-Kinney. Peeples played the lead role in the musical film Jem and the Holograms (2015). Their directorial and screenwriting debut, Decadeless, premiered at the Portland Oregon Women's Film Festival in 2019.

Early life

Aubrey Shea Peeples was born and raised in Lake Mary, Florida, by parents Wendy and Ashley, and has a younger sister named Ally. Growing up, Peeples performed with the Orlando Repertory Theatre (now Orlando Family Stage) for ten years. They graduated from Lake Mary Preparatory School, where they were valedictorian of the class of 2012. Peeples was accepted to Harvard University but deferred entry twice, the second time to accept their role on Nashville.

Career

Peeples has guest-starred in Drop Dead Diva, Burn Notice, Austin & Ally, Grey's Anatomy and had a recurring role on Necessary Roughness. They also appeared in the made-for-television movies Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective, The Good Mother and Sharknado.
They were cast in a major recurring role, playing Layla Grant, a runner-up in a reality singing competition and rising country star, in the second season of the ABC drama series Nashville. They were later promoted to regular status for Nashville's fourth season. However, Peeples did not return for the show's fifth season when Nashville moved to CMT.
In 2014, Peeples was cast as Jerrica "Jem" Benton, in the romantic musical fantasy comedy-drama film Jem and the Holograms, based on the 1980s television show of the same name. The same year Peeples co-starred in the crime thriller Rage opposite Nicolas Cage. In September 2014, Peeples was named one of the best actors under the age of twenty by Indiewire.

Personal life

In 2019, Peeples opened up about having bipolar disorder in an interview with NKD Magazine. In November 2021, they came out as queer and non-binary. Peeples uses they/them pronouns.