Maggie Grace | |
|---|---|
 Grace in 2018 | |
| Born | Margaret Grace Denig (1983-09-21)September 21, 1983 (age 42)[1] Worthington, Ohio, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
Margaret Grace Denig (born September 21, 1983) is an American actress. She is known for playingShannon Rutherford on theABC television seriesLost (2004–2006; 2010), Kim Mills in theTaken trilogy (2008–2014), Irina inThe Twilight Saga (2011–2012), and Althea Szewczyk-Przygocki inFear the Walking Dead (2018–2021).
Grace earned aYoung Artist Award nomination in 2002 with her portrayal of 15-year-old murder victimMartha Moxley in the television movieMurder in Greenwich. In 2004, she was cast asShannon Rutherford in the television seriesLost, on which she was a main cast member for the first two seasons, winning aScreen Actors Guild Award shared with theensemble cast. Leaving the series, Grace was keen to work more prominently in film. She appeared inThe Jane Austen Book Club (2007), and oppositeLiam Neeson as Kim Mills inTaken in 2008. She reprised the role of Kim inTaken 2 (2012) andTaken 3 (2014).
She played the lead role,Alice, inMalice in Wonderland, a modern take onLewis Carroll's novelAlice's Adventures in Wonderland. Grace reprised the role of Shannon in two more episodes ofLost, includingthe series finale. In 2013, she appeared in the sixth season ofCalifornication as Faith, a groupie and a muse to the stars, who captures the eye of Hank Moody, played byDavid Duchovny. In 2018, she joined the cast of the seriesFear the Walking Dead as journalist Althea Szewczyk-Przygocki.
Margaret Grace Denig was born inWorthington, Ohio, to Valinn (née Everett) and Fred Denig, who ran a family jewelry business.[2] She attended Worthington Christian Schools from kindergarten through ninth grade and briefly attendedThomas Worthington High School,[3] where she began acting in school plays and community theater,[4] including a 2000 Gallery Players production ofThe Crucible, at a localJewish Community Center.[5][6] As a child, Grace was a voracious reader and a self-described "Shakespeare nerd"[7] telling theLos Angeles Times that at age 13, she "was really intoJane Austen, kind of like how some kids are intoStar Trek".[7]
Grace acquired an agent within a week of relocating toLos Angeles and enrolled in acting classes.[6] She landed her first role inRachel's Room, a 2001 web-based video series about the affairs inside a teenage girl's bedroom that was created byDawson's Creek executive producerPaul Stupin.[8] Her next role was on the 2002 television seriesSeptuplets, which was cancelled before the first episode had aired.[2] Her breakout role was on 2002's television movieMurder in Greenwich, based on the true story of 15-year-oldMartha Moxley's murder. She was nominated for aYoung Artist Award for her portrayal of Moxley in the Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries or Special – Leading Young Actress category, but lost toClara Bryant forTru Confessions.[9] She went on to feature in minor roles on the television seriesCSI: Miami,The Lyon's Den,Miracles,Like Family,Cold Case andLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit, and the filmsTwelve Mile Road andCreature Unknown.
In mid-2004, Grace's agent sent her the script for thepilot episode ofLost; she was given the role ofShannon Rutherford after a successful audition.[2] She was nominated in 2005 for aTeen Choice Award for Choice TV Breakout Performance – Female for her role onLost, but lost toDesperate Housewives'Eva Longoria.[10] She lived in Hawaii during the filming of the show'sfirst season, and signed on to star oppositeTom Welling inThe Fog, a 2005 remake of the1980 horror film of the same name, as a character originally played byJamie Lee Curtis.[11] Though the filming ofLost was supposed to have ended beforeThe Fog began, the productions coincided due toLost's extendedseason finale[4] and Grace flew between the two sets, on the Hawaiian island ofOahu and onBowen Island inBritish Columbia.[12]
After ranking at #27 onMaxim's Hot 100 list of 2005,[13] she returned forLost'ssecond season. Her character was killed in the season's eighth episode, "Collision", when the series' writers began to feel that the character's "story avenues [were] limited". Executive producerCarlton Cuse said that Grace's departure from the show was "sort of a win-win" as she was eager to enter a full-time career in film.[14] After leaving the series, she nevertheless joined the other principalLostcast members of season 2 onstage at the12th Screen Actors Guild Awards whereLost won the award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.[15]
Variety reported in May 2005 that Grace was in negotiations to playX-Men characterKitty Pryde in the 2006 filmX-Men: The Last Stand,[16] but in July, auditions were reportedly being held for her replacement.[17] The role ultimately went toElliot Page,[18] and Grace later revealed that she had never been contacted about the role and was surprised to read that she was up for the part in question.[19] Grace's next role was in the 2007independent filmSuburban Girl, alongsideSarah Michelle Gellar andAlec Baldwin.[20] In 2007, she starred inThe Jane Austen Book Club, based onKaren Joy Fowler'snovel of the same name. She is a fan ofJane Austen and had read Fowler's novel when it was released in 2004. When she was given the film's script, she met with the directorRobin Swicord, with whom she says she "geeked out", and was given the role of Allegra, an openly lesbian 20-year-old.[21]
After the filming ofThe Jane Austen Book Club was completed, Grace briefly returned to Hawaii to shoot a guest spot on theLostseason 3 episode "Exposé".[21] She starred in the 2008 thriller filmTaken withLiam Neeson, who was at the top of a list of male actors Grace wished to work with that she had written just two months before she was cast.[22] She played the lead in Simon Fellows' 2009Malice in Wonderland, a modern adaptation ofLewis Carroll'sAlice's Adventures in Wonderland.[23] In 2010, Grace starred in the dramaFlying Lessons,[24] and appeared oppositeTom Cruise andCameron Diaz inJames Mangold's filmKnight and Day,[25] as well as inFaster, withDwayne Johnson.[26] Grace's busy schedule prevented her from returning as Shannon in "LA X", the season premiere forLost'ssixth and final season,[27] but she did return for the series finale "The End".[28] In September 2010, it was revealed that Grace was chosen to play Irina inThe Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 and2.[29]
In December 2012, it was announced Grace would be making her Broadway debut inPicnic. The play opened for previews on December 14, running at the American Airlines Theatre.Sebastian Stan co-stars with Grace in the Pulitzer Prize winning play.[30]
She also made her first appearance as a guest star in the Showtime SeriesCalifornication in January 2013, in which she plays a groupie andmuse to the rock and roll world as well as the personal interest of Hank Moody, starringDavid Duchovny.
In 2018, she joined the cast ofFear the Walking Dead asAlthea, a journalist.
Grace has been on the covers of many international fashion magazines, includingSaturday Night,Femme Fatales,Vanidades,7x7 andOrganic Spa Magazine; Canada'sGlow andViva; UK'sCosmoGirl; Brazil'sCaras; France'sTélé 7 Jours; Singapore'sSolitaire and Russia'sCosmopolitan Beauty.[31]
While still working onLost, Grace andIan Somerhalder adopted a feral cat named Roo which they found "literally dying" in the jungle on the set. She said that the cat is now her "travel buddy."[32] In February 2017, Grace became engaged to Brent Bushnell, the CEO of an entertainment company.[33][34] They were married on May 28, 2017.[35] The couple's first child, a son, was born in 2020.[36]
Grace often credits her mother as her source of inspiration. When asked about her closest friend, she said that she and her mother were more like sisters and that she is "lucky to have an exceptionally cool mom."[37] She is a self-proclaimedAnglophile, having written to apen pal in theLake District from the age of eight, and admiring a number of English poets, includingWilliam Shakespeare; she first visited England when she was thirteen.[38] She calls herself very clumsy, claiming to "trip over my legs all the time,"[39] and was jokingly nicknamed "Maggie Graceless" by one of her former cast-mates.[40]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Shop Club | ||
| 2004 | Creature Unknown | Amanda | |
| 2005 | The Fog | Elizabeth Williams | |
| 2007 | The Jane Austen Book Club | Allegra | |
| Suburban Girl | Chloe | ||
| 2008 | Taken | Kim Mills | |
| 2009 | Malice in Wonderland | Alice | |
| 2010 | The Experiment | Bay | |
| Faster | Lily | ||
| Flying Lessons | Sophie Conway | ||
| Knight and Day | April Havens | ||
| 2011 | The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 | Irina | |
| 2012 | Decoding Annie Parker | Sarah | |
| Lockout | Emilie Warnock | ||
| Taken 2 | Kim Mills | ||
| The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 | Irina | ||
| 2014 | About Alex | Siri | |
| Taken 3 | Kim Mills | ||
| We'll Never Have Paris | Kelsey | ||
| 2015 | Unity | Narrator | Documentary |
| 2016 | The Choice | Stephanie Parker | |
| Showing Roots | Violet | ||
| 2017 | Aftermath | Christina | |
| The Scent of Rain and Lightning | Laurie | ||
| 2018 | The Hurricane Heist | Casey Corbyn | |
| Supercon | Allison | ||
| 2020 | Love, Weddings & Other Disasters | Jessie | |
| 2023 | The Secret Art of Human Flight | Wendy | |
| 2024 | Blackwater Lane | Rachel | |
| TBA | The Girl in the River | Filming[41] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Murder in Greenwich | Martha Moxley | Television film |
| Septuplets | Hope Wilde | Unknown episodes | |
| 2003 | CSI: Miami | Amy Gorman | Episode: "Spring Break" |
| The Lyon's Den | Haley Dugan | Episode: "Beach House" | |
| Miracles | Hannah Cottrell | Episode: "Mother's Daughter" | |
| Twelve Mile Road | Dulcie Landis | Television film | |
| 2004 | Cold Case | Renee | Episode: "Volunteers" |
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Jessie Dawning | Episode: "Obscene" | |
| Like Family | Mary | Episode: "My Two Moms" | |
| Oliver Beene | Elke | Recurring | |
| 2004–2006; 2010 | Lost | Shannon Rutherford | Main role (seasons 1–2); special guest (seasons 3, 6) |
| 2013 | Californication | Faith | Recurring role (season 6) |
| The Following | Sarah Fuller | Episode: "Pilot" | |
| Susanna | Susanna | Main role (season 1) | |
| When Calls the Heart | Aunt Elizabeth | Television film[42] | |
| 2015 | Masters of Sex | Christine Wesh | Episode: "Three's a Crowd" |
| 2018–2021 | Fear the Walking Dead | Althea Szewczyk-Przygocki | Main role (seasons 4–6); guest (season 7) |
| 2019 | The Althea Tapes | Althea Szewczyk-Przygocki | Main role |
| 2025 | Suits LA | Amanda Stevens | Recurring role |
