Cailee Spaeny ( ; born July 24, 1998) is an American actress. Her first major roles were in the science fiction film ''

Pacific Rim Uprising ''Pacific Rim Uprising'' is a 2018 American science fiction monster film directed by Steven S. DeKnight and written by DeKnight, Emily Carmichael, Kira Snyder and T. S. Nowlin. It is the second installment in the ''Pacific Rim'' franchise ...

'' and the neo-noir film ''

Bad Times at the El Royale ''Bad Times at the El Royale'' is a 2018 American neo-noir Hyperlink cinema, hyperlink thriller film written, directed, and produced by Drew Goddard. Starring Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo, Dakota Johnson, Jon Hamm, Cailee Spaeny, Lewis Pullman, a ...

'' (both 2018). Her television roles include appearances in the miniseries ''

Devs DEVS, abbreviating Discrete Event System Specification, is a modular and hierarchical formalism for modeling and analyzing general systems that can be discrete event systems which might be described by state transition tables, and continuous stat ...

'' (2020) and ''

Mare of Easttown ''Mare of Easttown'' is an American crime drama television miniseries created and written by Brad Ingelsby for HBO. Directed by Craig Zobel, the series premiered on April 18, 2021, and concluded on May 30, 2021, consisting of seven episodes. It ...

'' (2021). In 2023, she received critical acclaim for her portrayal of

Priscilla Presley Priscilla Ann Presley (née Wagner, formerly Beaulieu; born May 24, 1945) is an American businesswoman and actress. She is the ex-wife of American singer Elvis Presley, as well as the cofounder and former chairperson of Elvis Presley Enterpris ...

in the biographical film '' ''Priscilla'''', for which she received the

Volpi Cup for Best Actress The Volpi Cup for Best Actress is an award presented by the Venice Film Festival. It is given by the festival jury in honor of an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance from the films in the competition slate. It is named in honor o ...

and a nomination for a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

. Further recognition came in 2024 for starring in the dystopian drama film ''

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

'' and the horror film '' Alien: Romulus''.

Early life

Spaeny was born July 24, 1998, in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

, and raised in Springfield, Missouri with her eight siblings. Growing up, she spent a large amount of time in the Springfield Little Theatre group, with which she participated in many plays. She also took acting, voice, and dance classes six days a week at the Springfield Little Theatre group. In the 2014–2015 season, she landed the lead role of

Dorothy Dorothy may refer to: *Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name. Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Dorothy'' (TV series), 1979 American TV series * Dorothy Mills, a 2008 French movie, sometimes titled simply ''Dorot ...

in a stage production of ''

The Wizard of Oz ''The Wizard of Oz'' is a 1939 American Musical film, musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Based on the 1900 novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum, it was primarily directed by Victor Fleming, who left pro ...

''.

Career

In 2018, Spaeny played several major film roles, starring in Steven S. DeKnight's science fiction monster adventure ''

'', alongside

John Boyega John Adedayo Bamidele Adegboyega (born 17 March 1992), known professionally as John Boyega, is a British actor and producer. He first gained recognition in Britain for his role as a teenage gang leader in the comedy horror film ''Attack the B ...

and

Scott Eastwood Scott Eastwood (born Scott Clinton Reeves; March 21, 1986) is an American actor and producer. The son of actor and filmmaker Clint Eastwood, he has starred in several of his father's films, including '' Flags of Our Fathers'' (2006), '' Gran Tori ...

;

Drew Goddard Andrew Brion Hogan Goddard (born February 26, 1975) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer most closely associated with the horror genre. He began his career writing episodes for the television shows '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', ...

's thriller ''

''; and the biographical dramas ''

On the Basis of Sex ''On the Basis of Sex'' is a 2018 American biographical legal drama film based on the life and early cases of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was the second woman to serve as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Directed by Mimi Led ...

'' and ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

''. She next appeared in the main cast of the FX miniseries ''

'' and starred in the film '' The Craft: Legacy'', both in 2020. In 2021, she appeared in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

limited series ''

'', a murder mystery, starring

Kate Winslet Kate Elizabeth Winslet (; born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. Primarily known for her roles as headstrong and complicated women in independent films, particularly period dramas, she has received numerous accolades, including an Ac ...

. She then portrayed

Anna Roosevelt Halsted Anna Eleanor Roosevelt Halsted (May 3, 1906 – December 1, 1975) was an American writer who worked as a newspaper editor and in public relations. Halsted also wrote two children's books published in the 1930s. She was the eldest child and only d ...

in the series '' The First Lady'' (2022). In 2023, Spaeny starred as

Sofia Coppola Sofia Carmina Coppola ( , ; born May 14, 1971) is an American filmmaker and former actress. She has List of awards and nominations received by Sofia Coppola, won an Academy Awards, Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, a Golden Lion, and a Can ...

's biographical drama film ''

Priscilla Priscilla is an English female given name adopted from Latin '' Prisca'', derived from ''priscus''. There is a theory that this biblical character was the author of the Letter to the Hebrews. The name first appears in the New Testament either ...

'' alongside Jacob Elordi as

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

. Reviewing the film for ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'',

Owen Gleiberman Owen Gleiberman (born February 24, 1959) is an American film critic who has been chief film critic for '' Variety'' magazine since May 2016, a title he shares with . Previously, Gleiberman wrote for ''Entertainment Weekly'' from 1990 until 2014. ...

opined, "Spaeny makes Priscilla a figure of strength, but the force of her performance is how she enacts Priscilla's slow-motion melancholy". Her performance earned her the

at the 80th Venice International Film Festival. In 2024, Spaeny starred in the war drama ''

'' as Jessie, a young

war photographer War photography involves photographing armed conflict and its effects on people and places. Photographers who participate in this genre may find themselves placed in harm's way, and are sometimes killed trying to get their pictures out of the war ...

, and in the science fiction horror film '' Alien: Romulus'' as Rain Carradine, a space colonist. Reviewing the latter film, Jordan Hoffman of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' deemed Spaeny "the finest weapon in the arsenal... differentiating herself quite a bit from the doe-eyed characters she played in ''Civil War'' and ''Priscilla''." Spaeny will next star in the mystery film '' Wake Up Dead Man'', the third installment of the ''Knives Out'' series, set for a

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

release in 2025. In 2024, she joined the cast for the second season of

's anthology series ''

Beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...

'', alongside

Oscar Isaac Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada (born March 9, 1979) is an American actor. Recognized for his versatility, he has been credited with breaking stereotypes about Hispanic and Latino Americans, Latino characters in Cinema of the United States, H ...

Carey Mulligan Carey Hannah Mulligan (born 28 May 1985) is a British actress. She has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and a Tony Award. She w ...

, and Charles Melton.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Music videos

* " Send Her to Heaven" (2019), by

The All-American Rejects The All-American Rejects (often abbreviated as AAR) are an American rock band formed in Stillwater, Oklahoma, in 1999.1998 births Living people 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Missouri American film actresses American television actresses People from Springfield, Missouri Volpi Cup for Best Actress winners