Diagnosed with scoliosis at 12, Mckenna Grace kept filming hits until surgery became unavoidable. Here’s how she came back stronger.
From Shirley Temple DVDs to Hollywood
Mckenna Grace Burge was born on June 25, 2006, in Grapevine, Texas. She is the only child of an orthopedic surgeon and a medical sales representative. At 4, she fell in love with acting after her great-grandmother gave her a set of Shirley Temple films. At 5, she booked her first commercial.
Early roles on Disney XD’s Crash & Bernstein and The Young and the Restless soon followed, and her family moved to Los Angeles. She never attended a regular school. She learned through homeschooling and on-set tutors instead.
Her breakthrough came in 2017’s Gifted, where she played a 7-year-old math prodigy opposite Chris Evans. To memorize the film’s equations, she turned them into songs. The role earned her a Critics’ Choice nomination for Best Young Performer.
A Diagnosis at 12
In 2018, at age 12, Grace was diagnosed with scoliosis. Her career kept climbing anyway. She played young Carol Danvers in Captain Marvel, which grossed more than $1.1 billion. She also played young Theo in The Haunting of Hill House and Judy Warren in Annabelle Comes Home.
In 2021, her role as troubled teen Esther Keyes in The Handmaid’s Tale earned a Primetime Emmy nomination. It made her the first child ever recognized for a guest acting Emmy.
While shooting Ghostbusters: Afterlife, she was meant to wear a corrective back brace for 22 hours a day. Her schedule allowed it only overnight. Eventually her curve passed 45 degrees, the point where surgery became necessary to keep it from affecting her lungs.
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The Surgery and the Song
In October 2022, at 16, Grace had spinal surgery. It reduced her curve from more than 45 degrees to just 6.
One month later, on November 18, 2022, she released “Self Dysmorphia,” a song inspired by her scoliosis struggles. She performed it on the Today show that December, hoping others facing the same fight would feel less alone. She has called songwriting her therapy.
An Unexpected No. 1
Her debut EP, Bittersweet 16, came out on March 3, 2023, followed by the folk EP Autumn Leaves that October. Yet her first-ever chart entry came from a place few would guess. In 2026, she was featured on heavy metal band Ice Nine Kills’ “Twisting the Knife” from the Scream 7 soundtrack. It hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Hard Rock Songs chart.
Now 20, she is set to play Maysilee Donner in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. Her story is a reminder that some of the hardest battles happen off camera, and the strength they demand can shape everything that comes after.
