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| Real Name: | Kiernan Brennan Shipka |
| Profession: | Actress |
| Nationality: | U.S. |
| Age: | 24 |
Kiernan Brennan Shipka (born November 10, 1999) is an American actress, best-known for her roles as Sally Draper in the AMC drama series Mad Men (2007–2015), and Sabrina Spellman in the Netflix fantasy series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018–2020) and the sixth season of The CW series Riverdale (2021–2022).
Shipka has also starred in several films, including Carriers (2009), Flowers in the Attic (2014), The Blackcoat’s Daughter (2015), The Silence (2019), Wildflower (2022), and Totally Killer (2023). Her other television roles include The Legend of Korra (2012–2014) and Feud: Bette and Joan (2017).
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Kiernan Brennan Shipka Biography
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|---|---|
| Born |
November 10, 1999 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
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| Occupations |
Actress
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| Nationality | U.S. |
| Years active | 2006–present |
Early life (Kiernan Brennan Shipka Biography)
Shipka was born in Chicago, Illinois, to John Young Shipka, a real estate developer, and Erin Ann Brennan. 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, California to help with her acting career.
Career (Kiernan Brennan Shipka Biography)
2006–2015: 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 Men‘s 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.”
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”. Shipka starred in the 2014 Lifetime movie Flowers in the Attic, and co-starred (with Emma Roberts) in the 2015 Oz Perkins horror film The Blackcoat’s Daughter.
2016–present: Further work and streaming projects
In 2017, she portrayed B.D. Hyman, daughter of Bette Davis, in the FX television series Feud: Bette and Joan. In January 2018, it can announced that Shipka would 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 a sixth season episode of Riverdale, “Chapter Ninety-Nine: The Witching Hour(s)”, aired on December 7, 2021.
Shipka co-starred in the 2019 Christmas romantic comedy film directed by Luke Snellin, Let It Snow, based on the novel Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances. Shooting began in February 2019.
Shipka played a deaf teenager opposite Stanley Tucci in John R. Leonetti’s horror film The Silence, based on the 2015 horror novel of the same name by Tim Lebbon. Netflix released The Silence on April 10, 2019. Shipka learned American Sign Language for the role. 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.”
In May 2021, Shipka was cast in the HBO political drama limited series White House Plumbers. She played Bea Johnson, the daughter of two intellectually disabled parents, in the 2022 drama Wildflower.
In September 2022, Shipka can cast in Red One, co-starring Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans. In May 2023, she joined the cast of Twisters. She will star in Maximum Truth, which was set to release on June 23, 2023.
In October 2023, Shipka starred alongside actress Olivia Holt in Amazon Prime Video’s 80s horror-comedy Totally Killer.
Filmography (Kiernan Brennan Shipka Biography)
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Dimension | Molly | |
| 2008 | Lower Learning | Sarah | |
| 2009 | A Rag Doll Story | Girl | Short film |
| Land of the Lost | Tar Pits Kid | Uncredited | |
| Carriers | Jodie | ||
| House Broken | Tammy Tawber | ||
| 2010 | Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore | Little Girl (unnamed) | |
| The Ryan and Randi Show | Lala La Lala | Short film | |
| Squeaky Clean | Emily | Short film | |
| 2012 | The Empty Room | Juliet | Short film |
| 2013 | Very Good Girls | Eleanor Berger | |
| 2014 | The Edge of the Woods | Alice | Short film |
| 2015 | One & Two | Eva | |
| When Marnie Was There | Marnie (voice) | English dub | |
| The Blackcoat’s Daughter | Kat | ||
| 2019 | The Silence | Ally Andrews | |
| Let It Snow | Angie | ||
| 2022 | Wildflower | Bea Johnson | |
| 2023 | Maximum Truth | Hartlynn Cassidy | |
| Totally Killer | Jamie/Collette Hughes | ||
| 2024 | Twisters | Post-production | |
| Red One | |||
| TBA | Sweethearts | TBA | Post-production |
| The Last Showgirl | TBA | Post-production |
Television (Kiernan Brennan Shipka Biography)
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Monk | Little Girl | Episode: “Mr. Monk Gets a New Shrink” |
| The Angriest Man in Suburbia | Lola | TV movie | |
| 2007 | Cory in the House | Sophie’s Classmate | Episode: “Mall of Confusion” |
| Mad TV | Upset Child | Episode: “Madtv Ruined My Life” | |
| Heroes | Little Girl in Fire | Episode: “Four Months Ago…” | |
| 2007–2009 | Jimmy Kimmel Live! | Various | 6 episodes |
| 2007–2015 | Mad Men | Sally Draper | Recurring in seasons 1–3 Main role in seasons 4–7 |
| 2011 | Smooch | Zoe Cole | TV movie |
| 2012 | Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23 | Herself | Episode: “Parent Trap…” |
| 2012–2014 | The Legend of Korra | Jinora (voice) | Main role; 25 episodes |
| 2013–2018 | Sofia the First | Oona (voice) | Recurring role; 3 episodes |
| 2014 | Flowers in the Attic | Cathy Dollanganger | TV movie |
| 2015 | Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt | Kymmi | Episode: “Kimmy Has A Birthday!” |
| Fan Girl | Telulah “Lu” Farrow | TV movie | |
| 2017 | Feud: Bette and Joan | B. D. Hyman | Recurring role; 5 episodes |
| American Dad! | Student (voice) | Episode: “The Witches of Langley” | |
| Family Guy | Meg’s Bully #3 / Singing Cheerleader (voice) | Episode: “The Peter Principal” | |
| Neo Yokio | Helenist (voice) | Episode: “O, the Helenists” | |
| 2018–2020 | Chilling Adventures of Sabrina | Sabrina Spellman and Sabrina Morningstar | Main role, 36 episodes |
| 2021–2022 | Riverdale | Special guest; 2 episodes | |
| 2022 | Swimming with Sharks | Lou Simms | Main role; 6 episodes |
| 2023 | The Other Two | Herself | Episode: “Cary & Brooke Go to an AIDS Play” |
| White House Plumbers | Kevan Hunt | 3 episodes |
Music videos (Kiernan Brennan Shipka Biography)
| Year | Title | Artist(s) | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | “We Rise Like Smoke” | Kyler England | Young Kyler |
| 2020 | “Straight to Hell“ | Kiernan Shipka & LVCRAFT | Sabrina Spellman |
Video games
| Year | Title | Voice role |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | The Legend of Korra | Jinora |
| 2016 | Marvel Avengers Academy | Jessica Drew / Spider-Woman |
Awards and nominations (Kiernan Brennan Shipka Biography)
| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Satellite Awards | Best Cast – Television Series | Mad Men | Won |
| 2009 | Screen Actors Guild | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Won | |
| Young Artist Awards | Best Performance in a TV Series – Recurring Young Actress | Nominated | ||
| 2010 | Screen Actors Guild | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Won | |
| Young Artist Awards | Best Performance in a Short Film – Young Actress | Squeaky Clean | Nominated | |
| Young Artist Awards | Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young Actress | Carriers | Nominated | |
| 2011 | Screen Actors Guild | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Mad Men | Nominated |
| Young Artist Awards | Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actress Ten and Under | Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore | Nominated | |
| Young Artist Awards | Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) – Supporting Young Actress | Mad Men | Nominated | |
| 2012 | Young Hollywood Awards | Scene Stealer Female | Won | |
| Young Artist Awards | Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries or Special – Leading Young Actress | Smooch | Nominated | |
| 2013 | Screen Actors Guild | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Mad Men | Nominated |
| Young Artist Awards | Best Performance in a Voice-Over Role (Television) – Young Actress | The Legend of Korra | Nominated | |
| Young Artist Awards | Best Performance in a TV Series – Recurring Young Actress | Mad Men | Won | |
| Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards | Lucy Award | Won | ||
| 2014 | Young Hollywood Awards | You’re So Fancy | Nominated | |
| 2019 | 2019 MTV Movie & TV Awards | Best Performance in a Show | Chilling Adventures of Sabrina | |
| Saturn Awards | Best Actress in a Streaming Presentation | Nominated | ||
| Teen Choice Awards | Choice Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actress | Nominated | ||
