Broke out in prestige TV, proved she could carry a $220 million rom-com, and became one of the few young actors people talk about beyond any single role.
At a glance
- Known for
- Euphoria · The White Lotus · Anyone But You · Immaculate
- Before fame
- Convinced her family to move from Spokane to LA at 12 so she could act, started with background roles
- Off-screen
- Restores classic cars in her garage, including a 1969 Ford Bronco she rebuilt herself
Timeline
Guest spot grinder who rode Euphoria to a $400M theatrical run.
Box office proof
Anyone But You opened at No. 4 with $6M domestic and somehow grew into the first R-rated rom-com to clear $200M worldwide since 2016. She earned $2M for that one. The Housemaid followed at nearly $400M globally, and her rate jumped to $7.5M plus an executive producing fee. The mid-budget theatrical market everyone declared dead turned out to be alive so long as she was in it. Lionsgate greenlit a sequel before The Housemaid's run ended, which isn't studio confidence so much as arithmetic.
The HBO years
Playing Cassie Howard on Euphoria while simultaneously playing Olivia Mossbacher on The White Lotus put her in a position most actors work a full career to reach: two Emmy nominations in the same year for two different shows, for two genuinely different kinds of performances. She was sitting in her car between fittings for Madame Web when she got the news. Euphoria became the second most-watched HBO series ever. She launched Fifty-Fifty Films in 2020 because she understood what those numbers meant and how long networks stay interested in young women.
The auditions nobody wanted her for
The casting director for Euphoria told her not to bother. She self-taped a scene with her mother and got the offer anyway. That same stretch she was filming Sharp Objects on weekends and Everything Sucks! on weekdays, flying between Portland and Atlanta. A recurring role in The Handmaid's Tale Season 2 was also on the books. The industry was starting to notice someone who'd been grinding auditions for a decade without a credit that stuck.
Ten years of guest spots
Three episodes on 90210, a walk-on in Grey's Anatomy, forgettable slots in Criminal Minds and Pretty Little Liars. The family had relocated to Los Angeles from Spokane when she was 13, initially sharing one room, her dad and brother on a couch. Her father was out of work by the time she turned 16, the family filed for bankruptcy, and her parents divorced in 2016. Meanwhile she was training MMA and entering grappling competitions against men in higher weight classes. The auditions were real; the results weren't there yet.
The PowerPoint pitch
At 12, she put together a five-year business plan with target auditions, agent recruitment steps, and projected bookings to convince her parents to move the family from the Idaho panhandle to Los Angeles.
Rise to Fame
She was filming Everything Sucks! on weekdays and Sharp Objects on weekends in 2017, and nobody knew her name. Before that, years of forgettable guest spots on Criminal Minds, Grey's Anatomy, 90210. Euphoria cast her as Cassie Howard in 2019, and she played the role like a character actor in a pin-up's body: full-throttle hysteria while the rest of the cast stayed cool and detached. The memes made her famous. Two Emmy nominations in 2022, for both Euphoria and The White Lotus, were the industry admitting the internet got there first.
In the Spotlight
Anyone But You made $220 million on a $25 million budget, the first R-rated rom-com to clear $200 million worldwide since 2016. She didn't coast on it. The Housemaid cleared $385 million, Lionsgate greenlit a sequel before the run ended, and her paycheck jumped from $2 million to $7.5 million between the two films. She's carrying the mid-budget theatrical market the rest of Hollywood keeps declaring dead. The internet splits between treating her like a throwback movie star and dismissing her as algorithmic timing, but the returns don't leave room for the second theory.
Side Notes
She restored a 1969 Ford Bronco herself (swapped the transmission, replaced both axles, rebuilt the brakes). Most actors collect cars. She takes them apart. She started MMA at 14, entered a grappling competition at 18 against men a weight class above her, and placed first. Her acting contracts ban her from sparring now, which says more about her risk tolerance than her skill level. At 12, she pitched her parents a five-year business plan to let her pursue acting. Her father lost his job in the recession, so this wasn't some stage mom fantasy. She runs her own production company because she's aware that Hollywood's interest in young women comes with a short expiration date.