Mckenna Grace Bio
Mckenna Grace (born June 25, 2006) is an American actress and singer who began her career as a child performer in Texas before relocating with her family to Los Angeles. She is widely recognized for her ability to portray younger versions of iconic characters and for her leading performances in both film and television, ranging from family adventures to psychological horror. Over the course of her career, she has built a reputation as one of the most prolific and versatile young actors of her generation.
Grace first gained widespread attention with the drama film Gifted (2017) and has since expanded her range through projects such as I, Tonya (2017), Captain Marvel (2019), and Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021). In addition to acting, she launched a music career, signing with Photo Finish Records in 2020 and releasing original material that blends pop rock and folk influences.
Early Life and Background
Mckenna Grace was born on June 25, 2006, in Grapevine, Texas. She is the only child of Ross Burge, an orthopedic surgeon, and Crystal Grace, a medical sales representative. As a young child, she lived in the Dallas–Fort Worth area, where she trained in cheerleading, gymnastics, tap, and ballet. During this time, she also participated in beauty pageants and was crowned “Tiny Miss Texas.”
Grace first expressed interest in acting at the age of four, after receiving a collection of DVD films starring Shirley Temple from her great-grandmother. Encouraged by her acting teacher, who was the sister of actress Morgan Fairchild, she signed with an agent and landed her first commercial at the age of five. After booking early roles in projects such as Crash & Bernstein and Goodbye World, her family moved to Los Angeles, where her father had a medical residency in Ventura.
Throughout her upbringing, Grace was homeschooled and had on-set tutors rather than attending a traditional school. In 2017, she stated that she was attending a creative writing workshop with other homeschooled students once a week, and in 2021, she took a college course on media aesthetics that required her to analyze The Handmaid’s Tale without referencing her own role in the series.
Path to Acting
Grace made her professional acting debut in 2012, recurring as Jasmine Bernstein in the Disney XD sitcom Crash & Bernstein. She reprised the role through 2014 and made a guest appearance on the Fox sitcom The Goodwin Games during this period. In 2013, she made her film debut in the comedy-drama Goodbye World and also began a recurring role as Faith Newman on the long-running soap opera The Young and the Restless, which she played until 2015.
She continued to accumulate small but noticeable credits, including a turn as young Caroline Forbes in The Vampire Diaries in 2015 and appearances in three films released in 2016: Mr. Church, The Angry Birds Movie, and Independence Day: Resurgence. These early roles allowed her to develop on-set experience and prepare for larger opportunities in feature films.
In 2015, Grace was cast in the drama film Gifted (2017), portraying Mary Adler, an intellectually gifted seven-year-old. The role became her breakthrough, earning her a nomination for the Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer. Critics praised her chemistry with co-star Chris Evans, and the performance established her as a serious young talent in Hollywood.
Mckenna Grace Career
Early Career (2012–2017)
Grace’s earliest work consisted largely of television guest spots and small film roles that introduced her to professional sets. Her recurring role on Crash & Bernstein and her appearances on The Young and the Restless helped her gain experience in both comedy and serialized drama. During this period, she also learned the craft of ice skating to portray the young version of Tonya Harding in the critically acclaimed biopic I, Tonya (2017), a role that required her to perform difficult physical routines and use a body double for advanced jumps and spins.
Her early achievements include her Critics’ Choice Movie Award nomination for Gifted, which remains one of the defining projects of her early career. She also began to attract attention for her versatility, transitioning between television, indie film, and major studio productions with relative ease.
Breakthrough (2017–2020)
The 2017 drama Gifted marked Grace’s first major breakthrough, showcasing her ability to anchor a feature film alongside an established star. She followed this with a series of high-profile projects, including the horror remake The Bad Seed (2018), in which she portrayed the chilling child villain Emma Grossman, and a role as young Theo Crain in the Netflix horror series The Haunting of Hill House (2018). Her performance in The Haunting of Hill House drew widespread praise, and she became a recurring presence on the CBS sitcom Young Sheldon as Paige Swanson.
In 2019, Grace starred in three notable films: the comedy-drama Troop Zero, the superhero blockbuster Captain Marvel, in which she played the 13-year-old version of the title character, and the supernatural horror Annabelle Comes Home, part of The Conjuring Universe. Captain Marvel grossed over $1.1 billion worldwide, ranking among the highest-grossing films of all time, while Annabelle Comes Home earned more than $231 million. She also voiced young Daphne Blake in the animated film Scoob! (2020).
Notable Works and Milestones
Among Grace’s signature works are her portrayals of Phoebe Spengler in the Ghostbusters films, young Tonya Harding in I, Tonya, and the young version of Carol Danvers in Captain Marvel. Her performance in Gifted remains one of her most celebrated dramatic turns, while The Bad Seed established her as a compelling presence in the horror genre. She made history as the first child recognized for a guest acting Emmy nomination for her role as Esther Keyes in The Handmaid’s Tale.
Mckenna Grace Award Nominations
Throughout her career, Mckenna Grace has earned multiple award nominations across film and television. She was nominated for the Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer for her role in Gifted (2017). For her portrayal of Esther Keyes in The Handmaid’s Tale (2021–2022), she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, becoming the first child recognized in a guest acting category at the Emmys. She was also nominated for the Critics’ Choice Super Award for Best Actress in a Science Fiction/Fantasy Movie for Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021).
Mckenna Grace Awards Won
Verified information about specific award wins for Mckenna Grace is not available in the source material provided. As a result, this section does not list any specific awards.
Mckenna Grace Family
Mckenna Grace is the daughter of Ross Burge, an orthopedic surgeon, and Crystal Grace, a medical sales representative. She is their only child. Her mother has described their home life as “extremely normal,” and Grace has emphasized the importance of family in helping her stay grounded amid her acting career. Her family relocated from Texas to Los Angeles to support her budding career in the entertainment industry.
Personal Life
Grace has stated that she prefers to keep her personal life private so that she can maintain a sense of normalcy and enjoy her teenage years. She was homeschooled throughout her education and has spoken about the challenges of growing up in the public eye, including dealing with inappropriate remarks directed at her as a young performer in the film industry.
She was diagnosed with scoliosis at age 12 and, in October 2022, underwent spinal surgery that reduced her spinal curvature to six degrees. As of February 2026, Grace is in a relationship with actor Mason Thames, her co-star from Regretting You, and the couple attended the 98th Academy Awards together. She is also known to be an animal lover and spends time with her dog when separating herself from her acting roles.