with John Mangos. It was while she was performing at a fundraiser for The McDonald College that de León was discovered by one of the directors for the Cameron MacIntosh company. She appeared in two musicals in Australia mounted by the Macintosh company, Miss Saigon and Rent. She stayed with the cast of Rent (where she was Christine Anu's understudy for the role of Mimi) and was dance captain for the musical, until being cast in Hi-5 in 1998. She featured with a puppet named "Jup-Jup", voiced originally by co-cast member Tim Harding. de León and Jup-Jup's segment of the show, Puzzles and Patterns, promoted and educated children on problem solving and mathematics. Departure from Hi-5 In July 2007, de León left Hi-5 permanently to focus on raising Mikayla. de León stated that she was still interested in working on television, but only if an opportunity existed in her then-home of Sydney so she could remain close to her family. de León was the first of all the original members to permanently leave Hi-5. Sun Park replaced de León in Hi-5. As of 2018 de León resides in Las Vegas. In November 2016, while in the process of selling some properties in Surfers Paradise, she stated that they would one day look to move back to the Gold Coast. References External links Hi-5 Official Website Hi-5 on NineMSN 1977 births 21st-century Australian singers 21st-century Australian women singers Australian actresses of Asian descent Australian children's musicians Australian expatriates in the United States Australian female dancers Australian people of Filipino descent Australian television actresses Australian television personalities Filipino emigrants to Australia Living people Musicians from Manila Actresses from Sydney Women television personalities Actresses from Manila Musicians from Sydney