Kiernan Shipka

Early life

Shipka was born in Chicago, Illinois, to John Young Shipka, a real-estate developer, and Erin Ann Brennan. She is of mostly Irish and Slovak descent. She also has notable German, English, Scottish, and Italian heritage. Shipka started taking ballroom dancing classes at the age of five and was still attending classes as of March 2012. When she was six, her family relocated to Los Angeles to help with her acting career.

Career

2006–2017: Beginnings and ''Mad Men''

Shipka made her television debut at five months of age on the hospital drama ER. She started commercial-print modeling when she was a baby. After undertaking small television roles, her first major role was as Sally Draper, the daughter of main character Don Draper, on the 2007–2015 TV series Mad Men. She won the role after two auditions. She was a recurring guest star for the show's first three seasons, then became a series regular in season four.

As part of Mad Mens ensemble cast, she won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2008 and 2009. Shipka received praise for her performance on Mad Men. In 2010, Austin American-Statesman critic Dale Roe named her as his dream nominee for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, writing, "This 10-year-old actress was so affecting as troubled Sally Draper last season that it seems odd that she's only just been upgraded to series regular. If Shipka's upcoming Mad Men work—struggling with the broken marriage of her parents and entering preteendom in the tumultuous 1960s—remains as amazing as it was in season three, this is a ballot wish that could come true next year."

Beginning in 2012, Shipka voiced Jinora in the Nickelodeon animated series The Legend of Korra, the sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender. In 2014, Shipka was named one of "The 25 Most Influential Teens of 2014" by Time magazine. That same year, IndieWire included her in their list of "20 Actors To Watch That Are Under 20". She starred in the 2014 Lifetime movie Flowers in the Attic, based on the 1979 novel of the same name by V. C. Andrews. The following year she co-starred with Emma Roberts in the Osgood Perkins horror film The Blackcoat's Daughter, and with Timothée Chalamet in the fantasy thriller One & Two. Additionally, she voiced the title character in the English dub of Studio Ghibli's When Marnie Was There. In 2017, Shipka portrayed B.D. Hyman, daughter of Bette Davis, in the FX television series Feud: Bette and Joan.

2018–2021: ''Chilling Adventures of Sabrina''

In January 2018, Shipka was announced to be starring as Sabrina Spellman in Netflix's Chilling Adventures of Sabrina series based on the comic series of the same name. The first part was released by Netflix on October 26, 2018, and an episode that December. The show ran for three more parts, concluding on December 31, 2020, with a total of 36 episodes. Shipka reprised the role in two episodes of Riverdale, "Chapter Ninety-Nine: The Witching Hour(s)" and "Chapter One Hundred and Fourteen: The Witches of Riverdale", which aired on December 7, 2021 and July 10, 2022, respectively.

Shipka played a deaf teenager opposite Stanley Tucci in John R. Leonetti's horror film The Silence, based on the 2015 novel of the same name by Tim Lebbon. Netflix released the film on April 10, 2019. Shipka learned American Sign Language for the role and Leonetti praised her performance, saying: "She's acting alongside Stanley Tucci, and believe me, she's more than holding her own. It's been spellbinding watching her." That same year, Shipka co-starred in the Christmas romantic comedy film Let It Snow, based on the novel Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances.

2022–present: Further work

In 2022, Shipka starred alongside Diane Kruger in the psychological drama series Swimming with Sharks, inspired by the 1994 film of the same name. She also played Bea Johnson, the daughter of two intellectually disabled parents, in the drama Wildflower. The following year she appeared in the HBO political drama limited series White House Plumbers, portraying Kevan Hunt, daughter of E. Howard Hunt. In October 2023, Shipka starred alongside actress Olivia Holt in Amazon Prime Video's 1980s horror-comedy Totally Killer.

In July 2024, Shipka appeared in the horror thriller Longlegs, reuniting her with The Blackcoat's Daughter director Osgood Perkins. Later that year, she had supporting roles in the films Twisters, The Last Showgirl and Red One. In addition, she co-starred alongside Nico Hiraga in the Max romantic comedy Sweethearts.

Shipka also starred in the thriller film Stone Cold Fox, which premiered in November 2025. She appeared in the fourth season of the HBO/BBC drama Industry in 2026.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Video games

Audio

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. (November 11, 2019). "Jon Hamm Attends Mad Men Daughter Kiernan Shipka's 80th Birthday Bash: 'Dad Showed Up!'". People.
2. Ryan, Maureen. "'Mad Men' star Kiernan Shipka takes drama in stride".
3. Petski, Denise. (January 5, 2018). "Kiernan Shipka To Star In Netflix's Sabrina The Teenage Witch Series".
4. (December 23, 1995). "Erin Brennan, John Shipka". Chicago Tribune.
5. (November 9, 2019). "Kiernan Shipka & Isabela Merced Answer the Web's Most Searched Questions". [[Wired (magazine).
6. Chang, Bee-Shyuan. (March 23, 2012). "Growth Spurts Considered: Kiernan Shipka of 'Mad Men' — What I Wore". The New York Times.
7. (February 9, 2016). "Kiernan Shipka: wide awake in dreamland". Dazed.
8. Ryan, Maureen. (August 13, 2012). "'Mad' tween takes drama in stride". Chicago Tribune.
9. Galanes, Philip. (March 26, 2015). "Growing Up on 'Mad Men': A Conversation With Matthew Weiner and Kiernan Shipka". [[The New York Times]].
10. Rackl, Lori. (March 23, 2012). "Chicago girl goes from Kiddieland to Sterling Cooper". [[Chicago Sun Times]].
11. McCartney, Anthony. (January 24, 2010). "Stars of TV and Film Mingle at SAG Awards – ABC News". abcnews.go.com.
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14. (October 13, 2014). "The 25 Most Influential Teens of 2014".
15. The Playlist Staff. "On The Rise: 20 Actors To Watch That Are Under 20".
16. (August 15, 2013). "Mad Men actress cast in Flowers in the Attic film". [[BBC]].
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21. (January 2, 2021). "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Series Finale Recap: Enter the Void".
22. (November 30, 2021). "Kiernan Shipka on Riverdale! Sabrina Spellman Is Summoned to Rivervale by Cheryl Blossom".
23. Nemetz, Dave. (April 9, 2022). "Riverdale: Kiernan Shipka to Return as Sabrina — Plus, Season 6's Musical Episode Will Tackle American Psycho". [[TVLine]].
24. Lodderhose, Diana. (May 12, 2017). "Kiernan Shipka To Star In John Leonetti's 'The Silence' From Constantin Film & EMJAG – Cannes". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
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26. Roxborough. (November 3, 2017). "How Deafness Is Adding Extra Scares to John Leonetti's Horror Movie 'The Silence'".
27. N'Duka, Amanda. (December 17, 2018). "Kiernan Shipka, Isabela Moner, Shameik Moore, Odeya Rush & More To Star In Netflix YA Film 'Let It Snow'". Deadline Hollywood.
28. (February 10, 2020). "'Swimming With Sharks': Kiernan Shipka & Diane Kruger To Star In Quibi & Lionsgate's Drama Series Update Of 1994 Movie". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
29. Gyarkye, Lovia. (2022-09-12). "'Wildflower' Review: Kiernan Shipka Plays the Daughter of Neurodivergent Parents in an Endearing Coming-of-Age Film".
30. Melas, Chloe. (2023-03-24). "Kiernan Shipka gets candid on her coming of age film 'Wildflower,' fame and fashion".
31. Otterson, Joe. (2021-05-12). "Kiernan Shipka, Ike Barinholtz, Kim Coates Among Seven Cast in 'White House Plumbers' at HBO".
32. (October 5, 2023). "Totally Killer' Review: Kiernan Shipka in a Fun-Enough Time-Traveling '80s Slasher Flick". Hollywood Reporter.
33. (September 8, 2024). "Longlegs Star Kiernan Shipka Reacts to Seeing Nicolas Cage's 'Fearless' Performance: 'Obsessed' (Exclusive)".
34. (May 17, 2023). "''Twisters'': Maura Tierney, Sasha Lane, Kiernan Shipka & David Corenswet Among Final Additions To Lee Isaac Chung's Disaster Pic For Uni, Amblin And Warner Bros".
35. Kroll, Justin. (February 1, 2024). "Pamela Anderson, Kiernan Shipka, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dave Bautista, Brenda Song And Billie Lourd To Star In 'The Last Showgirl' From Gia Coppola".
36. (September 6, 2022). "Kiernan Shipka To Star Opposite Dwayne Johnson & Chris Evans In Jake Kasdan's Holiday Event Film ''Red One'' For Prime Video".
37. Grobar, Matt. (August 27, 2024). "Max Unveils Premiere Date, First-Look Photos For Romantic Comedy 'Sweethearts' Starring Kiernan Shipka & Nico Hiraga".
38. (May 9, 2024). "Kiernan Shipka, Kiefer Sutherland & Krysten Ritter To Star In 80's-Set Revenge Thriller ''Stone Cold Fox'', Joe Roth Aboard As Exec Producer".
39. Andreeva, Nellie. (13 March 2025). "'Industry': Kiernan Shipka & 'Ted Lasso's Toheeb Jimoh Among Four Season 4 Cast Additions".
40. Lipshutz, Jason. (May 21, 2013). "Kyler England, 'We Rise Like Smoke': Exclusive Video Premiere". [[Billboard (magazine).
41. Rearick, Lauren. (January 9, 2020). "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" Drops Music Video Featuring Kiernan Shipka Singing". [[Teen Vogue]].
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45. Maas, Jennifer. (2025-06-08). "‘Call of Duty: Black Ops 7’ to Star Milo Ventimiglia, Kiernan Shipka and Michael Rooker; New Game Follows David Mason in Year 2035 (EXCLUSIVE)".
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51. (December 12, 2012). "'Lincoln,' 'Silver Linings' top SAG film noms". [[Variety (magazine).
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