Who is Leah Lewis? 5 facts about the Matlock star after David Del Rio controversy

Leah Lewis has recently been in the spotlight after the reported exit of her Matlock co-star, David Del Rio. According to People Magazine, Rio was fired from the CBS legal drama on October 2 after being accused of s*xually assaulting Leah in September. The incident was reported the same day, leading to his removal from the Paramount lot.

Despite the controversy, Leah Lewis continues to shine as a rising star in Hollywood. Here are five things to know about her:

1. She was adopted
As stated on her IMDb page, Leah was adopted from a Chinese orphanage when she was just 8 months old. She was raised in Windermere, Florida, by her parents, Frederick and Lorraine Lewis. Her younger sister was also adopted from the same orphanage later.

2. She auditioned for “The Voice”
At age 15, Leah auditioned for season 4 of The Voice in 2013, performing Carrie Underwood’s “Blown Away.” Although she didn’t make it into the show, she is a trained singer and has been writing her own songs since she was 15.

3. Her mother encouraged her love for acting
In an interview with Orange Observer, Leah shared that her mother enrolled her in local theatre during her early school years.
“My mom enrolled me in local theater, where I did stuff like ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and ‘Annie.’ That was where I kind of started to cultivate a bigger love for performing and for singing, as well as acting,” she said.

4. She started her career with commercials
Leah began her career at the age of 7 after her parents met a talent manager through a family friend. She soon appeared in commercials, including one for The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man ride.
“We kind of just went from there; it was a total shot in the dark. Even though it was something that was my passion, I never when I was a kid actually thought that it would come to fruition,” she said.

5. She shares her fitness journey
Leah is very open about her fitness routine and often posts about it with her 300,000+ Instagram followers.
“You train your body, but then it trains you to go out and do much more than that. It’s all connected,” she wrote in a recent post, explaining how fitness influences her mindset and motivation.

After her Matlock co-star’s exit, Leah shared a heartfelt message on Instagram, saying that she and her mother are “moving forward in love and strength” and that she’s “in good hands.”
She added:
“Thank you to everybody for any kind of support and care. Truly, we’re moving forward in strength. Key word, strength. Please, let that be the takeaway.”