the best young actresses right now

1. Vanessa Marano

Vanessa Marano started acting in the theater when she was seven years old, performing in numerous plays at A.C.T. in Agoura Hills, California. She began her professional career with several national commercials.

Marano is most recognized for her roles as "April Nardini", the daughter of "Luke", in ...

2. China Anne McClain

Actress | Hubie Halloween

China Anne McClain comes from an artistic family. Her father, Michael McClain, is a music producer, vocalist, writer and sound engineer. His first production was on Beyonce's younger sister, Solange Knowles (Solo Star CD - track no.16 entitled Sky Away). China Anne's mother, Shontell, is also a ...

3. Victoria Justice

Actress | Victorious

Victoria Justice is an American actress and singer. She was born on February 19, 1993 in Hollywood, Florida, USA. She is the daughter of Serene Reed and Zack Justice. Her mother has Puerto Rican ancestry, while her father is of English, German, and Irish descent. She has a younger half-sister, ...

4. Naomi Scott

Actress | Aladdin

Naomi Scott is a multi-talented actor, singer, and songwriter. She stars as "Jasmine" in Disney's blockbuster live-action remake Aladdin (2019), alongside Mena Massoud and Will Smith, directed by Guy Ritchie. Disney released the film in May 2019, and it became one of the biggest films of the year.

...

5. Selena Gomez

Actress | Spring Breakers

Actress and singer Selena Gomez was born on July 22, 1992 in Grand Prairie, Texas. She is the daughter of Mandy Teefey and Ricardo Gomez. Her mother is of part Italian ancestry, and her father is of Mexican descent. She was named after Tejano singer Selena, who died in 1995.

Her first acting role ...

6. Katie Leclerc

Actress | Switched at Birth

Katie Leclerc's career began in 2005, when she made her first appearance on Veronica Mars (2004). This jump-started a series of minor roles and small appearances in movies and TV shows. She got her breakout role starring as a deaf teenager, Daphne Vasquez, who finds out she was taken home by the ...

7. Emily Browning

Actress | A Series of Unfortunate Events

Australian actress Emily Browning was born in 1988 in Melbourne, Australia, to Shelley and Andrew Browning. She has two younger brothers. Her start in acting came after a classmate's father, involved in the acting business, noticed her "acting all ditsy" in a school play. Emily found an agent and ...

8. Bridgit Mendler

Actress | Karigurashi no Arietti

Bridgit Claire Mendler was born in Washington DC, and lived there until she was eight years old. Her family moved to the west coast, just outside of San Francisco, California. This is when she first expressed an interest in acting and began booking local jobs. In 2004, she landed her first role in ...

9. Hayden Panettiere

Actress | Heroes

Hayden Lesley Panettiere was born on August 21, 1989 in Palisades, New York, to actress Lesley Vogel and fire department captain Skip Panettiere. Her younger brother was actor Jansen Panettiere (1994-2023). Her parents are both of half Italian descent, along with German and English. Her mother got ...

10. Emma Stone

Actress | La La Land

Emily Jean "Emma" Stone was born on November 6, 1988 in Scottsdale, Arizona to Krista Jean Stone (née Yeager), a homemaker & Jeffrey Charles "Jeff" Stone, a contracting company founder and CEO. She is of Swedish, German & British Isles descent. Stone began acting as a child as a member of the ...

11. Joey King

Actress | The Act

Joey King started acting professionally when she was four years old. A national spot for Life Cereal was Joey's first commercial. It has been said that Joey inherited the love of acting from her grandmother, who used to perform in live theater.

She has appeared in several television shows and movies...

12. Jamie Chung

Actress | Big Hero 6

Jamie Chung was born and raised in California, the daughter of Korean parents. She studied Economics at the University of California, Riverside. Chung's break came in 2004, when she was working in a sports bar. MTV held auditions for The Real World (1992) there, she tried out, and was successful, ...

13. Kaya Scodelario

Actress | Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

Kaya Rose Scodelario was born in Haywards Heath, Sussex, England, to Katia (Scodelario) and Roger Humphrey. Her father was English and her mother is Brazilian, of Italian and Portuguese descent. Her surname comes from her mother's Italian grandfather. Thanks to her mother, Kaya grew up fluent in ...

14. Blake Lively

Actress | Gossip Girl

Blake Ellender Lively was born Blake Ellender Brown on August 25, 1987 in Los Angeles, California to Elaine Lively & Ernie Lively. Her brother is actor Eric Lively, and her half-siblings are actors Lori Lively, Robyn Lively and Jason Lively. She followed her parents' and siblings' steps. Her first ...

15. Leighton Meester

Actress | The Roommate

Leighton Marissa Meester was born in Fort Worth, Texas, to Constance Lynn (Haas) and Douglas Jay Meester. Although born in Texas, Meester spent her early years in Marco Island, Florida with her grandparents. There, she became involved with the local playhouse and made her stage debut in a ...

16. Michelle Trachtenberg

Actress | Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Trachtenberg grew up in Brooklyn and started her acting career young; she began appearing in commercials at the age of 3.

She continued to act and dance through her school years, making regular television appearances from the age of 10. She landed a recurring role in the kids' TV show The Adventures...

17. Deborah Ann Woll

Actress | True Blood

Deborah was born in 1985, in Brooklyn, New York, from Irish and German heritage. She took acting, piano and dance classes. She went to high school at Packer Collegiate Institute and graduated from the BFA program at the USC School of Theatre at the University of Southern California.

Deborah started ...

18. Dakota Fanning

Actress | War of the Worlds

Hannah Dakota Fanning was born on the 23rd of February 1994, in Conyers, Georgia, USA, to Heather Joy (Arrington) and Steven Fanning. Her mother played professional tennis, and her father, now an electronics salesman, played minor league baseball. She is of German, Irish, English, French, and ...

19. Elle Fanning

Actress | Super 8

Mary Elle Fanning was born on the 9th of April 1998 in Conyers, Georgia, USA, to Heather Joy (Arrington) and Steven J. Fanning. Her mother played professional tennis, and her father, now an electronics salesman, played minor league baseball. She is of German, Irish, English, French, and Channel ...

20. Molly C. Quinn

Actress | Castle

This year, award winning actress Molly C. Quinn can be seen starring in the indie horror/drama feature Agnes (2021), slated to debut in movie theaters nationwide and streaming on demand, December 10, 2021. Agnes (2021) emerged as a festival darling over the last few months, premiering at the 2021 ...

21. Anna Kendrick

Actress | Up in the Air

Anna Kendrick was born in Portland, Maine, to Janice (Cooke), an accountant, and William Kendrick, a teacher. She has an older brother, Michael Cooke Kendrick, who has also acted. She is of English, Irish, and Scottish descent.

For her role as "Dinah" in "High Society" on Broadway, Anna Kendrick was...

22. Abigail Breslin

Actress | Little Miss Sunshine

Academy Award-nominated actress Abigail Breslin is one of the most sought-after actors of her generation. Her unique and charismatic talents have contributed to her versatile roles in both comedy and drama.

Recently, Breslin headlined the first season of the horror-comedy series, Scream Queens (2015)...

23. Kay Panabaker

Actress | Fame

Stephanie Kay Panabaker is an American actress, who was born on May 2, 1990 in Orange Grove, Texas, USA. She is the daughter of Donna (née Mayock) and Harold Panabaker. She has an older sister, Danielle Panabaker, who is also an actress. She started acting at various community theaters in Chicago, ...

24. Danielle Panabaker

Actress | The Flash

Danielle Nicole Panabaker was born in Augusta, Georgia. Her younger sister, actress Kay Panabaker, starred in the TV series Summerland (2004)(WB, 2004-05). Panabaker started acting at a summer camp before joining community theater productions when she was 10 years old. Panabaker moved to Naperville...

25. Kat Graham

Actress | How It Ends

Kat Graham is an actress, singer, dancer and producer. Working across a variety of genres in film, television and music, she is one of most accomplished and versatile young talents working today.

Graham was recently seen in the 70s period crime thriller "The Poison Rose" opposite Morgan Freeman and ...

26. Nina Dobrev

Actress | The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Nina Dobrev is a Bulgarian-born Canadian actress. Her best-known television roles are Mia Jones in Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001) and Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce on The Vampire Diaries (2009). Her film work includes The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012), Let's Be Cops (2014), The ...

27. Emma Watson

Actress | The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson was born in Paris, France, to British parents, Jacqueline Luesby and Chris Watson, both lawyers. She moved to Oxfordshire when she was five, where she attended the Dragon School. From the age of six, Emma knew that she wanted to be an actress and, for a number of years,...

28. Georgie Henley

Actress | The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Georgina Helen Henley was born July 9, 1995 in Ilkley, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, the youngest of three daughters of Mike and Helen Henley. When she was young, she joined a local drama group called "Upstagers". It was there that she started her acting career, participating in stage ...

29. Demi Lovato

Soundtrack | Camp Rock

Demi Lovato is a GRAMMY-nominated and award-winning musician, actor, advocate and New York Times best-selling author. She was first known for her onscreen talents, and soon after became a musical phenomenon for her remarkable vocal ability. With an audience of over 266 million on social media, Demi...

30. Bella Thorne

Actress | The Duff

Actress and singer Annabella Avery "Bella" Thorne, known for Shake It Up (2010), The DUFF (2015), Blended (2014), and Midnight Sun (2018), was born in Pembroke Pines, Florida, to Tamara (Beckett) and Delancey Reinaldo "Rey" Thorne. She has three siblings, Remy Thorne, Dani Thorne and Kaili Thorne, ...

31. Zendaya

Actress | Spider-Man: Homecoming

Zendaya (which means "to give thanks" in the language of Shona) is an American actress and singer born in Oakland, California. She began her career appearing as a child model working for Macy's, Mervyns and Old Navy. She was a backup dancer before gaining prominence for her role as Rocky Blue on ...

32. Amanda Seyfried

Actress | Les Misérables

Amanda Seyfried was born and raised in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to Ann (Sander), an occupational therapist, and Jack Seyfried, a pharmacist. She is of German, and some English and Scottish, ancestry. She began modeling when she was eleven, and acted in high school productions as well as taking ...

33. Dianna Agron

Actress | The Family

Dianna Elise Agron was born in Savannah, Georgia to Mary and Ronald Agron and grew up in a middle-class family in Savannah before moving to Texas and, later, San Francisco, California, because her father was a general manager for Hyatt. Dianna and her brother Jason were raised Jewish and she ...

34. Lucy Hale

Actress | Truth or Dare

Lucy Hale has captured the attention of millions through her dynamic on-screen performances in some of the most buzzed about projects in film and television. Hale recently starred as the lead, DC Lake Edmunds, in the new series, Ragdoll, which is streaming on AMC and Alibi. Last year, she finished ...

35. Ashley Benson

Actress | Spring Breakers

Ashley Victoria Benson was born on December 18, 1989 in Anaheim Hills, California, to Shannon (Harte) and Jeff Benson. She has Irish, English, and German ancestry. She has been dancing competitively since she was 2 with hip hop, jazz, ballet, tap and lyrical. She has been singing since she was ...

36. Troian Bellisario

Actress | Pretty Little Liars

Troian Bellisario, daughter of producers Donald P. Bellisario and Deborah Pratt, made her film debut at the age of 3 in Last Rites (1988). She made several TV and movie appearances in her teens (most of the TV appearances were in shows produced by her father) before attending the University of ...

37. Shay Mitchell

Actress | The Possession of Hannah Grace

Shay Mitchell (born Shannon Ashley Mitchell; April 10, 1987) is a Canadian actress, model, entrepreneur and author. She rose to prominence starring as Emily Fields in the Freeform series Pretty Little Liars (2010) (2010-2017).

She was born in Mississauga, Ontario, the daughter of Precious Garcia and...

38. Sasha Pieterse

Actress | Pretty Little Liars

Sasha Pieterse was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. She immigrated over to the United States with her professional dancer parents in 2000. She started acting at the age of four in modeling and commercials and moved to theatrical work starring as "Buffy" in her first TV show, Family Affair (2002)...

39. Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Actress | 10 Cloverfield Lane

Mary Elizabeth Winstead is an actress known for her versatile work in a variety of film and television projects. Possibly most known for her role as Ramona Flowers in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), she has also starred in critically acclaimed independent films such as Smashed (2012), for which...

40. AnnaSophia Robb

Actress | Bridge to Terabithia

Actress AnnaSophia Robb most recently starred in two of Hulu's most critically acclaimed limited series. In 2019, she co-starred opposite Patricia Arquette in THE ACT. This spring, she portrayed the flashback version of Reese Witherspoon's "Elena Richardson" character in LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE, ...

41. Elliot Page

Actor | Juno

Elliot Page was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia to Martha Philpotts, a teacher, and Dennis Page, a graphic designer. Page wanted to start acting at an early age and attended the Neptune Theater School. They began their career at the age of 10 on the award-winning television series Pit Pony (1999), for...

42. Aly Michalka

Actress | Easy A

Aly Michalka was born in Torrance, California, to Carrie (Begley), a musician, and Mark Michalka, who owns a contracting company. She has German, as well as English, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh, ancestry. Aly began acting at the age of five in stage productions by churches her family attended ...

43. Britt Robertson

Actress | Tomorrowland

Brittany Leanna Robertson was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Beverly (Hayes) and Ryan Robertson, a restaurateur. She was raised in South Carolina, the oldest of seven children. Her mother's worries about the public school system led to Robertson being home-schooled. She began acting at the ...

44. Shailene Woodley

Actress | Divergent

Actress and activist Shailene Woodley was born in Simi Valley, California, to Lori (Victor), a middle school counselor, and Lonnie Woodley, a school principal. She has one brother, Tanner. She was educated at Simi Valley High School in California. When Woodley was four years old she began ...

45. Karen Gillan

Actress | Selfie

Karen Sheila Gillan was born and raised in Inverness, Scotland, as the only child of Marie Paterson and husband John Gillan, who is a singer and recording artist. She developed a love for acting very early on, attending several youth theatre groups and taking part in a wide range of productions at ...

46. Alexandra Chando

Actress | The Lying Game

Alexandra Chando was born on July 28, 1986 in Pennsylvania, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for The Lying Game (2011), Dead People (2015) and As the World Turns (1956).

47. Maggie Q