At 12, her father hugged her and felt something was wrong with her spine. For the next four years, she kept it mostly to herself. She wore a back brace, worked adult hours, and earned an Emmy nomination at 15.
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June 25, 2006. Mckenna Grace is born in Grapevine, Texas. She is an only child. Her father is an orthopedic surgeon. Her mother works in medical sales.
At 4, her great grandmother gives her a set of Shirley Temple movies. She watches them and decides she wants to act.
It happens fast. By 2012, she has a recurring role on a Disney XD sitcom. From 2013 to 2015, she plays Faith Newman on The Young and the Restless.
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2017 is her breakout year. In Gifted, she stars opposite Chris Evans as Mary, a 7-year-old math genius. The role earns her a Critics’ Choice nomination.
That same year, she plays young Tonya Harding, ages 8 to 12, in I, Tonya. She has to learn to ice skate and later calls it her most challenging role.
The roles keep coming. Young Theo in The Haunting of Hill House. Young Carol Danvers in Captain Marvel, a movie that earns over $1.1 billion. In 2018 and 2019, The Hollywood Reporter names her one of the top 30 stars under 18.
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But behind the scenes, something is wrong.
When she is 12, her father gives her a hug and notices her back does not feel right. The diagnosis is scoliosis, a sideways curve of the spine.
Here’s what makes it harder. She decides to keep it mostly to herself.
She wears a big back brace, even on a Ghostbusters set. For red carpets, her dresses are altered so one side hangs longer than the other, hiding the curve. She works long six-day weeks.
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2020. The pandemic shuts down sets. Stuck in her bedroom with COVID, she starts writing songs seriously. That year, she signs with a record label.
November 2021. Ghostbusters: Afterlife hits theaters with her as the lead, Phoebe Spengler. It earns over $200 million worldwide. Her debut single, Haunted House, is on the soundtrack.
Months earlier, in July 2021, came another milestone. At 15, she earned her first Emmy nomination for playing Esther Keyes in The Handmaid’s Tale.
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Over time, the pain gets worse.
October 2022. At 16, she has spinal surgery. Afterward, her spine has a curve of just 6 degrees.
Then she does something brave. She tells the world. She speaks openly about scoliosis and even writes a song about how it made her feel.
March 3, 2023. She releases her debut EP, Bittersweet 16. A second EP, Autumn Leaves, follows that October.
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In 2024, she returns as Phoebe in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire and makes her Lollapalooza debut as a singer.
Here is the part most people miss. Some of her best-known work, from an Emmy-nominated role to the lead in a Hollywood franchise, came while she was quietly hiding pain.
You never really know what someone is carrying. Sometimes the strongest people are the ones who smile through it.
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