Jessica Matten

Matten was born in Edmonton, Alberta. She has British-Chinese ancestry through her father, as well as Red River Métis an activist, performer and former model. Matten is a descendant of Cuthbert Grant, the first rebel Métis leader who was known for the Battle of Seven Oaks in Canada. From the age of six, she assisted with her mother's First Nations modelling agency, Mystique Models, around Canada. Matten graduated from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Science degree in human ecology with a minor in marketing. She studied acting at Shoreline Studios Vancouver Acting School and modelling at Central Saint Martins and London College of Fashion. ==Career==

Matten continued to work as a model as an adult. Some of her work was on fashion runways, She worked "a little stint at Elle magazine Beginning in 2022, Matten has co-starred in the TV crime drama series Dark Winds as Bernadette Manuelito, the only female sergeant on a Navajo reservation police department. She starred in the film Rez Ball (2024), about a Native American high school basketball team from Chuska Valley, New Mexico, that is competing for the state championship title but lose their star player. Matten voices Katara in the upcoming Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender movie set to come out on the 9th of October 2026, and posted an Instagram story of the recording studio. Although Mae Whitman voiced Katara in the original Avatar: The Last Airbender, she announced that despite having been honoured to play her, she's excited to see this new iteration. According to the casting director for the new Avatar movie, Jenny Jue, the decision to recast the principal characters of the show was due to an increased emphasis on matching voice actor's ethnic and racial backgrounds to that of the character that they are portraying, that arose in the industry after the conclusion of the original series. Matten is also the president of 7 Forward Entertainment, an Indigenous-owned production company based on the West Coast of Canada. ==Other activities==

Matten has worked for over 25 years in suicide prevention and addiction counseling for Native communities, particularly for youth. Partnered with Old Sun Community College, it also offers training for stunt combat. ==Personal life==

Matten resides in her hometown, Edmonton. She runs an indigenous wellness and fitness company with her family called Lemon Cree. She also runs a campaign called #N8Vgirls to help spread awareness about the murder and missing indigenous women in Canada. ==Partial filmography==