From Heartstopper to The Summer I Turned Pretty: Meet the east London actress who’s fast becoming one of TV’s biggest stars

In an east London studio, a stone’s throw from her family home in Walthamstow, Corinna Brown slowly drops into the splits. ‘I will show off if you ask me!’ she says, laughing.

For the past three hours, the 27-year-old British actress, who shot to fame in Netflix’s hit LGBTQ+ coming-of-age drama Heartstopper in 2022, has been performing all kinds of athletic feats, while modelling Longchamp for the camera. ‘People say, “What do you bring to the table?”’ she jokes, nimbly balancing a handbag on her back. ‘I am the table!’

Brown is known to millions of fans as sweet, supportive teen Tara Jones in the Emmy-winning series, adapted from Alice Oseman’s graphic novels about two grammar schoolboys, rugby star Nick Nelson (Kit Connor) and gentle geek Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) who fall for each other. The first season, which also stars Olivia Colman, reached the Netflix top ten in 54 countries and made stars of the young cast, including Brown, who has since appeared in Prime Video’s mega-hit The Summer I Turned Pretty and was recently named on the Forbes 30 Under 30 class of 2026.

After three seasons, the story is coming to a close with farewell film Heartstopper Forever, which lands on the streamer this Friday. The final instalment sees Nick and Charlie, and their group of friends, face major turning points in their relationships.

‘Tara is my favourite character I’ve ever played,’ says Brown. ‘She’s a loud, proud lesbian; a black girl who comes to school with her hair out. I never used to go to school with my hair out. Playing Tara, I was able to do things I was shy about growing up.’

She may be 5ft tall but Brown makes a big impression. Warm and expressive, when we meet again in a central London café, she bounds in wearing the regulation Gen Z uniform of baggy jeans, Nikes and a Zara bomber jacket. She believes her exuberance is down to ADHD (although this is undiagnosed). ‘I think it’s my superpower; I can do anything. I’ve got the energy for it!’

Brown, who has Jamaican-Grenadian heritage, was raised in a large, loving family in east London. ‘The coolest side of London – and I’ll fight anyone who says otherwise!’ she says with a cackle. Growing up, Caribbean culture was ‘very present’ in the family’s love of food, music and carnival. ‘I call myself a sunshine baby because I was born here, but in another life I know that climate is where I’m meant to be from.’

Her mother Jackie worked at the Ministry of Defence and later as a personal trainer, while also raising Brown’s two brothers and fraternal twin sister Tia, who suffered global brain damage at birth and is severely disabled. Doctors believed she wouldn’t live past the age of two, ‘but she’s 27 and we’re both still here,’ says Brown.

Growing up, the family used Haven House Children’s Hospice, a charity that supports disabled children and their siblings. ‘I’ve always felt like the main character in my story but it’s all about Tia in the household,’ says Brown. Although Tia doesn’t talk or walk, Brown can read her sister’s facial expressions. ‘If she likes you, she’ll be smiling, eyes open. If you’re getting on her nerves, it will be dirty looks, eyes closed, head turning!’

Her mum, now a full-time carer for Tia, is a huge inspiration. ‘She always went to work as well as caring for my sister, I think to show us that, despite limitations, you can still do something for yourself.’ Her father is ‘not really in the picture,’ which is a choice. ‘My mum’s a queen, and she does everything that we need. Jackie’s the best!’

When she was three, Brown’s mother enrolled her to do ballet at The Carol Straker Dance Foundation in a bid to cure her clumsiness and stop her from walking on tiptoes. ‘Fell in love with it, joke’s on her! She had to take me everywhere.’

Later Brown went to classes at the Anna Fiorentini Performing Arts School and the Hackney Empire, where she met three-time Olivier award winner Sharon D Clarke, who showed her what was possible. ‘I was doing plays with her as a child, then I’d go home and she’s on CBeebies. She was a massive inspiration.’

Still, it wasn’t all fun and games.

‘My mum’s a very Caribbean woman; she’s like, “You’re gonna get the qualifications, I want to see the certificate”, so I literally did all the tests.’ At home, Brown was hands-on with chores. ‘We’re a scrubs-in family; Tia had lots of needs, so sometimes my mum didn’t have time to wash my shirts, so it’s like, “We’ll do that.” Life’s about supporting people and making things easier, because it’s hard enough as it is.’

She had dreams of attending The Brit School. ‘That wasn’t gonna fly with my mum,’ she laughs. ‘She was like, “No, I want you to have proper qualifications.”’ After studying for her A levels, she secured a place at the prestigious East 15 Acting School to study drama and stage combat. She graduated in the middle of lockdown and immediately got her breakthrough role in Heartstopper.

The show has been ‘life-changing’ for Brown, who now has more than a million social-media followers and is currently shooting a top-secret project in North Carolina – rumoured to be the sequel to The Summer I Turned Pretty. And, having played Tara, she is ‘more Corinna than I’ve ever been’, identifying as part of the LGBTQ+ community. ‘I don’t put a label on it,’ she says with a smile, ‘but yes, I am very [much] a part of it.’

Recently, Brown returned to the family home in Walthamstow to save money and figure out her next steps. ‘In my head, I was like, “Oh my god, that’s going to be a step back,” but it’s not. I’m actually more free.’ She also gets to capitalise on her mum’s cooking. ‘Best chef I know!’

Still, she’s worried by how expensive everything is getting in her gentrified area. ‘House prices are ridiculous, they’re trying to ship us out. We’ve got cute cafés, so it’s nice that it’s bringing us up, but I’d also really appreciate it if I could find a cheap house, because I want to stay near my mum.’ One day she’d like to own a property – but mainly for her family to use. ‘I plan to be seeing the world,’ she says. ‘I don’t want to just stay in London – I’m too young for that!’

Heartstopper Forever is on Netflix from Friday