Gabriella Lester
Gabriella Jaime Lester is a South African-born Canadian magician, escapologist, television producer, and motorsports rider known for her daring escapes.
Early life and career
Lester was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. In 2007, her family immigrated to Vancouver, British Columbia. At the age of ten, she met Canadian magician Shawn Farquhar who inspired her to pursue magic, and later became her mentor.She did her first ever Vegas performance at the Hard Rock Hotel in Vegas at fourteen. Later that year, she became one the youngest in history to perform Harry Houdini’s infamous upside-down straitjacket escape. Later in life, she performed a version of it on American magician’s Penn and Teller on their hit show Fool Us. She is now an associate producer on the show. She was also seen on Michelle Khare’s series Challenge Accepted while training her to perform Houdini’s infamous Water Torture Cell.
She was a member of the Junior Society at the Academy of Magical Arts, which mentors young magicians between the ages of 13 and 20. She was also named Canadian Rising Star in 2024.
Since 2025, Lester participated in the live show of the "Now You See Me"-movies, along with other magicians all over the world.