Danielle Macdonald

Danielle Macdonald was born in Sydney, Australia, in 1991. She developed an interest in performing arts during her schooling, taking improv and screen classes by grade 10. At 17, acting classes in Los Angeles encouraged her to pursue a career in the United States. Macdonald moved to Hollywood at 18 to actively pursue acting. Her initial attempt to secure a role as Becca Huffstatter in the ABC series “Huge” was hindered by visa issues, but she quickly transitioned to film. Her feature film debut came in 2013 with “The East,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

Macdonald gained early recognition for her role as Alice Manning in the 2014 crime film “Every Secret Thing,” where she starred alongside notable actors like Dakota Fanning and Elizabeth Banks. Her performance was acknowledged by critics, with the New York Daily News noting her effectiveness in the role. A turning point in her career arrived with her breakout role as Patti in Fox Searchlight’s “Patti Cake$” in 2017, a performance that earned her significant industry attention and led to her signing with her first Hollywood agency. She further expanded her filmography with a supporting role in Greta Gerwig’s “Lady Bird” in the same year.

Her career progressed steadily as she took on significant roles in various projects. In 2018, she starred opposite Jennifer Aniston in the Netflix film “Dumplin'” and appeared in the popular Netflix hit “Bird Box” with Sandra Bullock. She also featured in the Oscar-winning short film “Skin” and its feature-length adaptation. Macdonald’s role as Amber Stevenson in the critically acclaimed Netflix mini-series “Unbelievable” (2019) garnered a Golden Globe nomination for the series. In 2019, she received the Rising Star Award at the Savannah Film Festival. Her subsequent work includes portraying Lillian Roxon in the 2019 film “I Am Woman” and starring in “Falling For Figaro” (2020). From 2022 to 2024, Macdonald played a main role as Helen Chambers in “The Tourist” TV series, for which she won an Edinburgh International Television Festival Breakthrough Award, and is scheduled for the upcoming Foxtel series “The Last Anniversary” in 2025.