David Bridges
Key Highlights
- Career Start: Mckenna Grace began acting at just 7 years old and quickly gained recognition.
- Breakout Role: Her first lead role was in the film Gifted, where she received critical acclaim.
- Television Success: Mckenna has starred in popular TV shows, solidifying her status as a young Hollywood veteran.
- Personal Choice: She is a vegetarian, motivated by her compassion for animals.
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Mckenna Grace has become one of Hollywood’s most dynamic young stars, building an impressive résumé that spans film, television, and music. From standout performances in The Handmaid’s Tale, I, Tonya, and Young Sheldon to leading roles in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the 19-year-old actress continues to showcase her remarkable range.
Now, Mckenna is taking on two major projects that have fans talking—her emotional turn as Clara Grant in Colleen Hoover’s Regretting You adaptation, and her upcoming role as Maysilee Donner in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.
With her star continuing to rise, HollywoodLife has rounded up five things to know about Mckenna Grace, from her early breakout roles to what’s next in her already extraordinary career.
Mckenna Was a Child Actor
The young actress — at 7 years old — made her acting debut in 2013 when she starred in the television pilot Joe, Joe & Jane. She quickly went on to recur on the Disney XD series Crash & Bernstein. She played Faith Newman on The Young and the Restless from 2013 to 2015.
McKenna’s First Lead Role Was in ‘Gifted’
Mckenna was just 10 years old when she played Mary Adler, an intellectually gifted 7-year-old who gets caught in a custody battle between her uncle and grandmother, in the 2017 film Gifted. Chris Evans played Mckenna’s uncle in the film. Mckenna was nominated for the Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer. Her next major role is in Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
Mckenna Has appeared in Several Hit TV Shows
She’s just 17 years old, but Mckenna is already a Hollywood veteran. She played Penny Kirkman on Designated Survivor and Rose Harbenberger on Fuller House. She notably starred as young Theo on The Haunting of Hill House. Mckenna also played Paige in a series of episodes of Young Sheldon.
McKenna Played the Younger Versions of Famous Actresses
Mckenna played a young Tonya Harding in the 2017 film I, Tonya. Margot Robbie played the adult version. She also played a young Carol Danvers in the 2019 film Captain Marvel. Brie Larson played the adult version. On top of that, Mckenna appeared on The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina as a younger version of Kiernan Shipka’s Sabrina Spellman.
McKenna Is a Vegetarian
Mckenna explained why she’s a vegetarian in an interview with PETA in 2016. “I became a vegetarian because I felt really bad for the animals,” the young actress said. “[They] are very sweet, and I don’t think that they deserve to be tortured. If you have a dog at home or a cat, they’re your friends, they aren’t your food.”
Clara Hastings
