2012–2017: Early roles and breakthrough Grace made her acting debut in
Disney XD's
Crash & Bernstein, recurring as Jasmine Bernstein. She reprised her role in the show's second season, playing the role until 2014. During this time, she made a guest appearance on the
Fox sitcom
The Goodwin Games. In 2013, she made her film debut in
Goodbye World, a comedy-drama that disappointed critics. Between 2013 and 2015, she had a recurring role as
Faith Newman on the soap opera
The Young and the Restless. In 2015, Grace portrayed young
Caroline Forbes in
The Vampire Diaries.
TVLine included her appearance in a list of the best flashback castings on television: "It's one thing to look like the younger version of a character, but Grace even cried like Caroline". Grace appeared in three films released in 2016—
Mr. Church,
The Angry Birds Movie, and
Independence Day: Resurgence '' in 2017 In September 2015, Grace joined the cast of the drama film
Gifted (2017), which tells the story of Mary Adler (Grace), an
intellectually gifted seven-year-old. She was selected for her "childlike charm yet old-soul maturity" and chemistry with co-star
Chris Evans. She prepared for her role by watching several films about child prodigies, including
I Am Sam (2001) and
In America (2002). Grace used songwriting to help remember the complex mathematical problems that Mary solves in the film. It became her breakthrough role.
Richard Roeper of the
Chicago Sun-Times found her to be "an irresistible force", praising her scenes with Evans as "sensational". For her performance, Grace received a nomination for the
Critics' Choice Movie Award for
Best Young Performer. She said it was the most difficult role she had ever undertaken physically due to having to learn to ice skate. As Harding was a skilled jumper from a young age, Grace had a
double who performed the spins, jump combinations, and double
lutz in the film.
I, Tonya was well received by reviewers, with particular praise for its cast's performances. Writing for
RogerEbert.com, the film critic
Christy Lemire complimented Grace's portrayal of Harding's angst and heartache.
2018–2020: Horror roles and further recognition Grace appeared in the 2018 horror drama
The Bad Seed, a remake of
the 1956 film of the same name, itself an adaptation of
William March's
1954 novel. She portrays Emma Grossman, a girl who murders anyone who crosses her. Grace, who had longed to play a horror villain, was excited by the opportunity. In preparation for the role, she watched the 1956 film and focused on emulating the mannerisms of
Rhoda Penmark (that film's version of Emma), including her gait and facials; Grace also consulted
Patty McCormack, who played Rhoda in the 1956 film. Upon
The Bad Seed September 2018 premiere on
Lifetime, critics commended her performance. According to
The Hollywood Reporter, Grace's ability to be "unnerving, sweet and occasionally funny" is key to the success or failure of
The Bad Seed, and "she nails every beat"; similarly,
The A.V. Club lauded her portrayal of "the calculatedness of Emma's demeanor while giving a giggly edge to lines". In 2018, Grace starred in
Netflix's horror series
The Haunting of Hill House.
Now opined that she played the role with "wisdom way beyond her years". In the same year, she made a guest appearance on the
supernatural horror show
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina holiday special entitled "A Midwinter's Tale". Grace played a younger version of
the titular character, who is portrayed by
Kiernan Shipka as a teenager. According to the series creator,
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Shipka immediately suggested Grace for the role after hearing a pre-teen Sabrina would appear on the show. During this time, she began recurring on the
CBS sitcom
Young Sheldon as
Paige Swanson, a child prodigy and rival to
the titular character. Grace appeared in three films released in 2019. The first of these was a comedy-drama titled
Troop Zero, which features Grace as a misfit girl who wants to send messages to space and enters a nationwide competition alongside a group of Birdie Scouts. For
Troop Zero, she cut her hair asymmetrically, with one side near her shoulder and the other by her chin. Grace also tried not to wash her hair or maintain herself too well since she wanted to appear crazy like her character.
Variety described her as a "magnetic young performer", while
The A.V. Club found her approach to her character "refreshingly non-intuitive", noting her portrayal of the feelings of loss through excitement rather than misery. Grace next portrayed a 13-year-old version of
the eponymous character in the superhero film
Captain Marvel. The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing over $1.1 billion and ranking among the
highest-grossing films of all time. Grace's final release of 2019 was the supernatural horror film
Annabelle Comes Home, which became the seventh installment in
The Conjuring Universe. She starred as Judy Warren, daughter of the paranormal investigators
Ed and Lorraine Warren. The director
Gary Dauberman stated he was "very, very fortunate and very, very happy" to cast Grace, citing her professionalism and talent. Upon release,
Annabelle Comes Home grossed over $231 million and received mixed reviews; Grace's performance was praised, however. According to
The New York Observer, the "terrific" Grace had her own unique interpretation of the "horror movie kid" cliché that suits the "twisted age in which we find ourselves". She also voiced the younger
Daphne Blake in 2020's
Scoob!. She was set to reprise the role in the follow-up
Scoob! Holiday Haunt, which was canceled in August 2022.
2021–present: Mainstream success In 2021, Grace began recurring on the
Hulu dystopian series ''The Handmaid's Tale'', an adaptation of
the 1985 novel of the same name, as Esther Keyes, an intelligent and rebellious 14-year-old who has been abused,
raped, and
married off to an older Commander. She was selected for her ability to portray scariness and awfulness. Grace said that it was vital for someone the same age as the character play the part since all the abuse Esther endured was experienced by many 14-year-olds on a daily basis: "If it makes people upset or uncomfortable that an actual 14-year-old is having to talk about how she was raped and it's
acting, then maybe that will make you want to do something for actual girls who are going through this." The
show's fourth season premiered on April 27, 2021, to positive reviews.
Entertainment Weekly commented that Grace had "a memorable turn as a tyrannical child bride", and
Den of Geek commended her "remarkable self-possession". At the
73rd Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, Grace received a nomination for
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, making her the tenth youngest actor nominated at the Emmys and the first child recognized for a guest acting award. In 2021, Grace voiced a silly and energetic horserider in the
DreamWorks animated film
Spirit Untamed and played the young version of
Annabelle Wallis's character in the horror film
Malignant. Grace had a leading role as Phoebe Spengler in the supernatural comedy
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021), the sequel to
Ghostbusters (1984) and
Ghostbusters II (1989). For the role, she cut and dyed her hair. and became a moderate commercial success, grossing over $204 million on a budget of $75 million. Critics were generally ambivalent towards the film, though they commended Grace's performance.
Mark Feeney of
The Boston Globe asserted that "[
Ghostbusters: Afterlife] has its moments, most of them owing to a quite-phenomenal Mckenna Grace", and
Gizmodo considered her performance "instantly unforgettable[,] ... truly revelatory, [and] star-making". Grace was nominated for the
Critics' Choice Super Award for Best Actress in a Science Fiction/Fantasy Movie. At the start of the
COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, filming for ''The Handmaid's Tale
halted. Grace and her father decided to write a follow-up to The Bad Seed'', knowing that Lifetime wanted to air a sequel. He wrote the general structure of the film while she gave feedback, primarily on the dialogue. According to Lifetime's executive vice president Tanya Lopez, the network was "blown away" by Grace's concept for the sequel. It was the first project produced by Grace's company, Beautiful Ghosts Productions, with her also serving as executive producer. In the same month, Grace reprised her role as Esther in the fifth season of ''The Handmaid's Tale
. Den of Geek'' favorably compared her screams in the season's sixth episode to those of
Linda Blair in
The Exorcist (1973), stating they "distilled seasons of
The Handmaid’s Tale protest [against misogyny] into one primal outburst". In March 2022, Grace joined the cast of
Peacock's
true crime miniseries
A Friend of the Family as
Jan Broberg—who was kidnapped twice and sexually abused by a family friend as a child—sharing the role with
Hendrix Yancey. While filming, Grace tried to spend as much time with Yancey as she could and copied her mannerisms and smile. Grace also worked alongside Broberg, who produced the show; the two discussed subtle gestures to show stress, such as nail biting. Grace described the role as "really emotionally and sometimes physically exhausting"; she had to push herself to new limits, and blend three versions of Broberg (her own, Yancey's, and the real-life Broberg).
A Friend of the Family premiered on October 6, 2022, to positive critical reviews;
Common Sense Media argued that "Grace does a terrific job conveying the mixture of vulnerability and growing dread her character is experiencing". The following year, Grace starred in the
science fiction adventure film
Crater, playing Addison, the daughter of a respected scientist from Earth. Grace decided to sign onto the film after the screenplay made her cry. She described it as "really special", admiring its ending, heart, dialogue, and the relationships between the characters.
Crater was released on
Disney+ on May 12, 2023, to generally positive reviews. Articles in
Entertainment.ie and
Variety considered Grace to be the film's finest performer. Later that year, she led
PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie, which is based on the
titular television series, as the voice of Skye. Grace reprised her role as Phoebe in
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, which was released in March 2024. In preparation, Grace analyzed
Harold Ramis's performance as Egon Spengler, which she described as her "biggest inspiration".
The New York Observer critic Emily Zemler wrote that she "is very compelling and should have been allowed to properly lead the film".
Frank Scheck of
The Hollywood Reporter said
Frozen Empire indicates that she could become "the [
Ghostbusters] franchise's MVP". In 2025, Grace starred in the drama film
What We Hide, Amy Wang's
satirical drama
Slanted, and the
thriller film Anniversary. Her most commercially successful releases were the
romantic drama Regretting You, based on
Colleen Hoover's novel, and the supernatural horror ''
Five Nights at Freddy's 2; both were panned by critics, though they praised the performances of Grace and co-star Mason Thames in the former. A review in Slant Magazine'' identified her as the "lone bright spot" of the film and commended her "recognizably real" portrayal of her character's vulnerability and naivety. Her first film of 2026 was the
slasher Scream 7, in which she played a supporting role. It received negative reviews and
/Film believed she was "tragically wasted", but yielded commercial success. She originally auditioned for the role of Sidney's daughter, Tatum. She also stated in an interview that she lost her voice because of the screaming she did for the film, followed by an audition she had for an upcoming musicial.
Upcoming projects When she had learned that she secured a role in
Scream 7, Grace was filming for another horror film called
Kiss of Death, which will be released by
Blumhouse Productions. It was revealed in February 2025 that Grace will star alongside
Kiernan Shipka in the upcoming film
The Nowhere Game, marking the first time since 2018's
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina that they will share a feature together. In April 2025, Grace was revealed to be cast as Maysilee Donner in
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping (2026), based on the
book of the same name. Grace will play Daphne Blake in Netflix’s upcoming live-action
Scooby-Doo: Origins series. ==Music career==