Ashleigh van der Hoven was born in Cape Town, South Africa. Having always been a performer, her love for acting became evident during her time spent at boarding school in Grahamstown, the Arts capital of South Africa. After High School, Ashleigh spent a year in Los Angeles, studying at the Stella Adler Acting Academy but returned to Cape Town to complete a degree in Finance & Economics at University of Cape Town, where acting took a side seat. Since then she has landed a few roles in International Feature films, as well as opting to learn and hone her craft through her full time studies at ACT Cape Town (graduating Dec 2016).