Carlson Young is an American actress and director. She is known for directing ''

The Blazing World ''The Description of a New World, Called The Blazing-World'', better known as ''The Blazing World'', is a 1666 work of prose fiction by the English writer Margaret Cavendish, the Duchess of Newcastle. Feminist critic Dale Spender calls it a f ...

'' and '' Upgraded'', and for her acting roles in the American version of

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

's ''

As the Bell Rings ''As the Bell Rings'' is a Disney Channel short franchise, based on the original Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney ...

'', the film ''

Premature Premature may refer to: * ''Premature'' (2014 film), an American comedy film * ''Premature'' (2019 film), an American romantic drama film * '' PREMature'', a 2015 British television drama miniseries See also * Premature aging, of an organism * ...

'',

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

's ''

Key & Peele ''Key & Peele'' (abbreviated to ''K&P'') is an American sketch comedy television series that ran from 2012 to 2015. It was created by Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele for Comedy Central; each had previously worked on ''Mad TV.'' Each episod ...

'', and as Brooke Maddox in the first two seasons of the

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

television series ''

Scream Scream may refer to: *Screaming, a loud vocalization Amusement rides * Scream (Heide Park), a gyro drop tower in Soltau, Germany * Scream (Six Flags drop tower), at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags New England * Scream (roller coaster), at ...

''.

Career

Young made her directorial debut in 2018 with ''The Blazing World'', a short film inspired by Young's own dreams and the titular work by

Margaret Cavendish Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (; 1623 er exact birth date is unknown– 16 December 1673) was an English philosopher, poet, scientist, fiction writer, and playwright. She was a prolific writer, publishing over 12 original ...

. In 2020 it was announced that the concept would be turned into a

feature-length film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation ...

, directed by and starring Young, and soundtracked by Isom Innis. In 2021, ''The Blazing World'' premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in the NEXT category. Young is set to continue the ''Saturn Returns'' trilogy with two subsequent films. In September 2020, Young directed the music video for "Catch & Release" by Peel (the project of Innis and Sean Cimino). Young's second film, the rom-com ''Upgraded'', was completed in 2023 and stars

Camila Mendes Camila Carraro Mendes (; ; born June 29, 1994) is an American actress. She made her acting debut portraying Veronica Lodge on The CW teen drama series '' Riverdale'' (2017–2023), for which she won a Teen Choice Award in 2017. Mendes transition ...

Marisa Tomei Marisa Tomei ( , ; born December 4, 1964) is an American actress. She gained prominence for her comedic performance in '' My Cousin Vinny'' (1992), which earned her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She received further nominations ...

, and

Lena Olin Lena Maria Jonna Olin (; born 22 March 1955) is a Swedish actress. She has received nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. Mentored by filmmaker Ingmar Bergman, she made her screen d ...

. Her next project is the middle school-set

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

''Femina Nox'', of which she has written the script and which she may direct.

Personal life

Young is originally from Fort Worth, Texas. She moved to Los Angeles and attended the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, where she studied creative writing and enjoyed writing poetry. In January 2016, Young became engaged to

Foster the People Foster the People is an American indie pop band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 2009. Its members include founder and frontman Mark Foster (musician), Mark Foster and keyboardist Isom Innis. Foster founded the band in 2009 after spending ...

member and producer Isom Innis. Innis proposed after he and Young were rescued from a mountain in Iceland. They married in Fort Worth on April 29, 2017, at Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church, which Young attended as a child. On 14 May 2025, Young announced via

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

that they are expecting their first child, a girl.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Carlson Living people 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Fort Worth, Texas American film actresses American television actresses American women film directors Film directors from Texas Year of birth missing (living people)