Mckenna Grace is just being herself

She's got a new EP out and a full slate of major films on the horizon, but this superstar's biggest project rn? Planning her 17th birthday.

- KEELY WEISS

Singer-songwriter, Emmy-nominated actress, roller skater extraordinaire: Mckenna Grace is a girl of many talents. “I’ve picked up on a lot of really random things playing so many different characters,” she says, listing them off. “I learned how to do a Rubik’s cube in under 60 seconds. I can pick a lock with a bobby pin. Very handy. I love it.”

For Mckenna, getting to play characters whose lives are so different from her own is what makes acting so exciting. From strong-willed child bride Esther Keyes in The Handmaid’s Tale to Ghostbusters: Afterlife’s science-obsessed Phoebe Spengler, she’s already racked up a résumé full of more roles than many adult actors get to play in their entire careers.

And with the sci-fi flick Crater coming out May 12 on Disney+, PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie in the fall and Ghostbusters Hell’s Kitchen hitting theaters this Christmas (more on that in a minute), she’s not slowing down anytime soon.

“When I dive deep into a role, I feel like I unlock some emotions within myself that I didn’t know how to reach before,” reflects Mckenna. “I learn a lot about myself through my characters.”

Earlier this year, Mckenna shared that sense of self-awareness with the world as she stepped into her biggest role yet: popstar. Her recently released debut EP, Bittersweet 16—a collection of eight self-assured tracks—is full of major rocker-grrrl energy and unfiltered teen angst.