# Aubrey Peeples
**Aubrey Peeples** (full name Aubrey Shea Peeples, born 1993) is an American actor, musician, and filmmaker from Lake Mary, Florida, best known for playing Layla Grant on the ABC country-music drama *[Nashville](https://www.edgepedia.org/nashville-2012-tv-series)* and the title role in the 2015 film *Jem and the Holograms*.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/aubrey-peeples/) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2874427/) In recent years Peeples, who uses they/them pronouns and performs music under the name swampz, has worked as a jazz/electronic musician and as a writer-director of short films.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2874427/) • [3](https://aubreyshea.com/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1993, Lake Mary, Florida[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/aubrey-peeples/) |
| Breakout role | Layla Grant on ABC's *Nashville*, joining in season 2 (2013) and a series regular by season 4[4](https://nashvillelifestyles.com/people/nashville-moment/nashville-moment-aubrey-peeples/) |
| Film lead | Jerrica/Jem in *Jem and the Holograms* (2015), directed by Jon M. Chu[5](https://frontrowfeatures.com/features-category-of-interviews-and-spotlights/film-features/from-nashville-to-hollywood-aubrey-peeples-takes-iconic-role-13591.html) |
| Education | Accepted to Harvard; deferred enrollment after landing the *Nashville* role[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2874427/) |
| Opry debut | February 8, 2014, at the Grand Ole Opry[6](https://www.opry.com/artists/aubrey-peeples) |
| Filmmaking | *Decadeless* (2018), writing and directing debut, premiered at the Portland Oregon Women's Film Festival in 2019[3](https://aubreyshea.com/) |
| Music | Debut album *Happy Birthday*, released under the alter ego swampz[3](https://aubreyshea.com/) |
## Early life and training
Peeples grew up in Lake Mary, a suburb of [Orlando, Florida](https://www.edgepedia.org/orlando-florida), and began performing young: musical theater at about age five, classical vocal training from age ten, and professional theater work by age ten.[4](https://nashvillelifestyles.com/people/nashville-moment/nashville-moment-aubrey-peeples/) • [6](https://www.opry.com/artists/aubrey-peeples) In interviews Peeples has traced the start of the career to seeing a musical at age three or four and deciding to perform.[7](https://filmint.nu/escaping-type-an-interview-with-aubrey-peeples/)
The screen career began with *Ace Ventura: Pet Detective Jr.* (2009), followed by guest roles on dramas including *Grey's Anatomy*, *Burn Notice*, *Charlie's Angels*, *Necessary Roughness*, and *Drop Dead Diva*, and a part as Claudia in *Sharknado* (2013).[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/aubrey-peeples/) • [8](https://www.lisamaile.com/aubrey-peeples-on-abcs-nashville/) Peeples was accepted to Harvard but deferred enrollment after landing *Nashville*, and said in 2014 that returning to college remained a goal, with journalism or an English-department major in mind.[9](https://www.glamour.com/story/aubrey-peeples-spills-the-reve)
## Nashville
Peeples joined *Nashville* in its second season as Layla Grant, a singer who had become semi-famous as a teenager on a vocal competition show and who, over her arc on the series, struggles with depression, addiction, divorce, and estrangement from her family.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2874427/) The role was a breakout: Peeples was promoted to series regular for the show's fourth season, having joined as a recurring guest a year out of high school.[4](https://nashvillelifestyles.com/people/nashville-moment/nashville-moment-aubrey-peeples/)
Because the character was a singer, the part combined acting and performing. Peeples toured with the show and played the [Grand Ole Opry](https://www.edgepedia.org/grand-ole-opry) multiple times, performing blues and soul material; the Opry dates the debut to February 8, 2014.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2874427/) • [6](https://www.opry.com/artists/aubrey-peeples) A song recorded in character, "Gonna Get Even (Feat. Aubrey Peeples)," was released on iTunes during the second season.[8](https://www.lisamaile.com/aubrey-peeples-on-abcs-nashville/) In June 2016 it was reported that Peeples and fellow series regular [Will Chase](https://www.edgepedia.org/will-chase) would not return for the show's fifth season, which moved from ABC to CMT.[10](https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/nashville-stars-will-chase-aubrey-peeples-leaving-series-w211004/)
## Jem and the Holograms
In 2015 Peeples played the title role in *Jem and the Holograms*, Universal's live-action update of the 1980s animated series about Jerrica Benton, a shy small-town singer whose talent is discovered online and who becomes the frontwoman of a band.[5](https://frontrowfeatures.com/features-category-of-interviews-and-spotlights/film-features/from-nashville-to-hollywood-aubrey-peeples-takes-iconic-role-13591.html) Director Jon M. Chu, whose earlier credits included the *Step Up* films and *G.I. Joe: Retaliation*, conducted what he described as an exhaustive search for the lead and said the project would have halted without the right actress; Peeples entered the audition process late and was cast after several rounds.[5](https://frontrowfeatures.com/features-category-of-interviews-and-spotlights/film-features/from-nashville-to-hollywood-aubrey-peeples-takes-iconic-role-13591.html)
Peeples, who had not known the original series before the project, watched it in full as research and described the film's message as self-empowerment and self-expression.[4](https://nashvillelifestyles.com/people/nashville-moment/nashville-moment-aubrey-peeples/) • [5](https://frontrowfeatures.com/features-category-of-interviews-and-spotlights/film-features/from-nashville-to-hollywood-aubrey-peeples-takes-iconic-role-13591.html) The role required singing pop music, a departure from the blues Peeples writes personally, and the cast learned the songs vocally and instrumentally on a short schedule; Peeples already played guitar.[5](https://frontrowfeatures.com/features-category-of-interviews-and-spotlights/film-features/from-nashville-to-hollywood-aubrey-peeples-takes-iconic-role-13591.html) The film received low aggregate scores on review aggregators, with a 22 percent critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.[11](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/aubrey_peeples)
## Film and later television work
Between and after the two headline projects, Peeples played Caitlin Maguire, the daughter of [Nicolas Cage](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicolas-cage)'s character, in the revenge thriller *[Rage](https://www.edgepedia.org/rage-2014-film)* (2014, released in some markets as *Tokarev*), appeared in *Heartthrob* (2017) and *Locating Silver Lake* (2017), and played Bridget Moretti in *Death of a Cheerleader* (2019).[7](https://filmint.nu/escaping-type-an-interview-with-aubrey-peeples/) • [1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/aubrey-peeples/) Peeples has described meeting Cage for the first time while playing a corpse on a morgue table in the film's opening scene.[12](https://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/a9220/aubrey-peeples-nashville-interview/)
More recently Peeples has starred as Margot Guillory in *Unconventional*, an LGBTQIA+ series created by Kit Williamson about queer siblings trying to start a family, streaming on Revry TV, Amazon, and Peacock.[3](https://aubreyshea.com/)
## Music and filmmaking
Peeples identifies as a queer actor and jazz/electronic musician and releases music under the alter ego swampz; the debut album *Happy Birthday* is available on major streaming platforms, with a second album in progress.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2874427/) • [3](https://aubreyshea.com/) As a filmmaker, Peeples wrote and directed the short *Decadeless* (2018), which premiered at the Portland Oregon Women's Film Festival for women, trans, and nonbinary creators in 2019, and has developed a second short, *Acceptance*, an intergenerational queer narrative set in Lake County, Florida.[3](https://aubreyshea.com/)
## References
1. [Aubrey Peeples – Actress, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/aubrey-peeples/)
2. [Aubrey Shea – IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2874427/)
3. [aubrey shea | swampz – official site](https://aubreyshea.com/)
4. [Nashville Moment: Aubrey Peeples, Nashville Lifestyles (October 14, 2015)](https://nashvillelifestyles.com/people/nashville-moment/nashville-moment-aubrey-peeples/)
5. [From 'Nashville' to Hollywood, Aubrey Peeples Takes Iconic Role, Front Row Features (October 21, 2015)](https://frontrowfeatures.com/features-category-of-interviews-and-spotlights/film-features/from-nashville-to-hollywood-aubrey-peeples-takes-iconic-role-13591.html)
6. [Aubrey Peeples – Opry](https://www.opry.com/artists/aubrey-peeples)
7. [Escaping Type: An Interview with Aubrey Peeples, Film International (July 2, 2014)](https://filmint.nu/escaping-type-an-interview-with-aubrey-peeples/)
8. [Maile School Acting Graduate Aubrey Peeples on ABC's Nashville](https://www.lisamaile.com/aubrey-peeples-on-abcs-nashville/)
9. [Aubrey Peeples Spills Details About Nashville's Season 3, Glamour (July 8, 2014)](https://www.glamour.com/story/aubrey-peeples-spills-the-reve)
10. ['Nashville' Series Regulars Will Chase and Aubrey Peeples Won't Return for Season 5 on CMT, Us Weekly (June 23, 2016)](https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/nashville-stars-will-chase-aubrey-peeples-leaving-series-w211004/)
11. [Aubrey Peeples Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/aubrey_peeples)
12. [Nashville's Aubrey Peeples Talks Co-Stars and Music Obsessions, Marie Claire](https://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/a9220/aubrey-peeples-nashville-interview/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames P to Ph*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license