Ashley Leggat, a twice Gemini nominated actress, was born into a large family in Hamilton, Ontario. She joined her parents, Roy (a car dealer) and Patty (a former Secondary School teacher) and four older brothers -Rob, Brett, and twins Todd and Bram.
Ashley’s four brothers, all very athletic, played hockey in the winters and baseball in the summers, meaning she basically grew up in arenas and baseball parks.
Ashley never actually walked -she danced, so when she was two and a half she started Baby Ballet -and she fell in love. This was the beginning of Ashley’s passion for dance. Until she graduated from high school, Ashley danced competitively in the top divisions in tap, jazz, ballet, pointe, acrobatics, lyrical, musical theatre and hip hop. She was crowned the top soloist awards at all of the major dance competitions including, International Dance Challenge, Showstoppers, 5-6-7-8 Showtime, Flash Dance, and Dance, Dance, Dance to name a few.
Ashley excelled in all aspects of her dance career, but another passion had already taken her heart. When Ashley was just eight she heard about a summer school acting program at Theatre Aquarius in Hamilton and insisted that she had to attend. Theatre became Ashley’s second passion and without hesitation, she auditioned and won the coveted role in her first professional theatrical role of Marta in “The Sound of Music”.
Over the next four years, she managed to combine her school work, 30 hours a week of dancing, and continued her acting career by starring in the following plays: “Jekyll and Hyde”, “Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang”, “The Wizard of Oz”, “Anne of Green Gables”, “Cinderella”, and “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe”.
When she was age 13, she won the role of Clara in “The Nutcracker”. That same year, the young theatre veteran began to work in television and movies, and quickly discovered this was her third passion. Her first TV role was to star in “Real Kids, Real Adventures”. She shone on set and there was no looking back.
By the time she was just age 18, she had recurring roles on: “I was a Sixth Grade Alien”, “Ace Lightning”, and guest starred in “The Zack Files”, and “In A Heartbeat” (Shawn Ashmore).
She appeared in Disney’s “Cadet Kelly” (Hilary Duff), “What Girls Learn”, (Elizabeth Perkins), ABC’s MOW “The Music Man” (Matthew Broderick), and “A Very Married Christmas” (Joe Mategna). Next, she hit the big screen with a lead role in “Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen” (Lindsay Lohan and Megan Fox).
On her 18th birthday she decided she would put her acting career on hold to attend University in pursuit of a teaching degree, but fate had other plans for her. One week after classes began, she got an offer she couldn’t refuse. Ashley had won the sought after lead role of Casey in “Life With Derek” and she made the decision to put school on hold. The next four years were an exciting adventure, collaborating with Shaftesbury Productions on this incredibly successful show. “Life with Derek” was ultimately sold to Disney and shown in over 100 countries around the world, breaking records on many networks.
The success of this show led to a movie called “Vacation with Derek”which opened to the highest ratings ever recorded by Family Channel and earned her second Gemini nomination for Best Actress. During breaks from shooting “Life with Derek”,
Ashley was a recurring character on “Darcy’s Wild Life” (Sara Paxton), a regular on the new genre TV series “11 Cameras”, and guest starred on “The Latest Buzz”, “Aaron Stone”, and “Unnatural History”. In 2008, a rare opportunity came to this rising star’s lap.
She was asked to play Baby in “Dirty Dancing” at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto. Although she hadn’t been on stage in nearly ten years, she returned with a vengeance and won critical acclaim for her dead on portrayal of Baby.
Following a year back in the spotlight of the theatre, she returned to the small screen guest-starring in the popular TV show “Murdoch Mysteries”. Ashley had a lead role in MTV’s “Made, The Movie”, the feature film “My Dog’s Christmas Miracle” (Cynthia Gibb) and “The Perfect Roommate”.
She most recently guest starred on one of her favorite prime time shows “Criminal Minds”. She then went on to join the popular Hallmark movie series “The Good Witch’s Charm” and the upcoming “The Good Witch’s Destiny”. Next up, Ashley is very excited for the premiere “The Perfect Boss” which airs on May 24th on Lifetime.
In her personal life, Ashley is heavily involved with children’s hospitals, spending her spare time fundraising for McMaster Sick Kids Hospital, Toronto Sick Kids and Manitoba Hospital for Children.
She is also a huge advocate for anti-bullying, and has toured across Canada to help the cause. She most enjoys spending time with her family and close friends, and her “fur-baby” Teacup Yorkie, Rambo -who has also had cameos in many of her TV shows and movies.
As for her love life, Ashley married her long time boyfriend Jeremy Williams in August 2011. Jeremy is a successful hockey player, formerly with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings organization, and New York Rangers organization. Most recently he played in Austria and Germany, and this year he will play in Sweden, where Ashley will join him in her off time. They have a daughter together, Olivia Patricia Anne Williams (b. February 17, 2017).
