Danielle Panabaker | |
|---|---|
 Panabaker in 2025 | |
| Born | Danielle Nicole Panabaker (1987-09-19)September 19, 1987 (age 38) Augusta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Kay Panabaker (sister) |
| Signature | |
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Danielle Nicole Panabaker (born September 19, 1987)[1] is an American actress. She began acting as a teenager and came to prominence for her roles in theDisney filmsStuck in the Suburbs (2004),Sky High (2005) andRead It and Weep (2006), and in theHBO miniseriesEmpire Falls (2005). She won threeYoung Artist Awards: for guest-starring in an episode of the legal drama television seriesThe Guardian (2004), for her lead role in the TV filmSearching for David's Heart (2005) and for her ensemble performance in the family comedy filmYours, Mine & Ours (2005).
Panabaker came to wider attention as a cast member in theCBS legal drama seriesShark (2006–2008) and is also noted as ascream queen, having starred in the psychological thrillerMr. Brooks (2007) and the horror filmsFriday the 13th (2009),The Crazies (2010),John Carpenter'sThe Ward (2010) andPiranha 3DD (2012).
After starring in recurring roles onNecessary Roughness (2011–2013),Bones (2012–2013) andJustified (2014), Panabaker guest-starred asCaitlin Snow onThe CW television seriesArrow in April 2014. The actress was then included as Snow in the main cast of the spin-off seriesThe Flash, which premiered that October. Starting with the series'second season, Panabaker began playing the character's alter egoKiller Frost in different capacities, in conjunction with her role as Snow, leading to subsequent guest appearances onArrow,Supergirl andLegends of Tomorrow. For her role onThe Flash as Frost, Panabaker has been nominated for fiveTeen Choice Awards and won the 2019Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television.
Panabaker was born inAugusta, Georgia,[2] to Donna (née Mayock) and Harold Panabaker.[3] Her younger sister,Kay Panabaker, was also an actress and is currently working as azoologist. As her father's sales job took them across the country, the family spent time inSouth Carolina,Pennsylvania, and, for a short time around Panabaker'skindergarten year, inOrange, Texas.[4] She took a theater class at a summer camp, discovered her love of acting, and started acting incommunity theaters at the age of 12, later auditioning for commercials.
After moving toNaperville, Illinois, in 2000,[4] Panabaker went toCrone Middle School and thenNeuqua Valley High School,[4] participating in thespeech team. She graduated from high school when she was 14 years old.[4][5][6] Panabaker also took ballet andpointe classes up until she was fifteen. In 2003, feeling it was the only way to land acting roles regularly, Panabaker, her sister, and their mother relocated toLos Angeles, California, so she could pursue an acting career.[4] She attendedGlendale Community College, studying acting. In 2005, she earned herassociate degree and appeared on the nationalDean's List. In 2006, she began her senior year at theUniversity of California, Los Angeles, from which she graduated with aBachelor of Arts in June 2007, again appearing on the Dean's List.[6]
Panabaker followed her initial appearances in commercials with roles in television, including a part inThe Guardian (for which she won aYoung Artist Award), as well as othertelevision series includingMalcolm in the Middle,Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,Medium, andSummerland, and theDisney Channel Original MovieStuck in the Suburbs. She also appeared in theLifetime Television productionsSex and the Single Mom andMom at Sixteen, as well as the well-reviewedminiseriesEmpire Falls.[4] She considersEmpire Falls to be her big break, as it gave her the confidence to pursue her career.[4] In addition, Panabaker appeared in stage productions with roles inmusical theater, includingWest Side Story,Pippin,Once upon a Time, andBeauty Lou and the Country Beast. In 2004, she starred in the ABC film "Searching for David's Heart". In 2005, Panabaker co-starred in two widely released theatrical films,Sky High andYours, Mine & Ours. Her next role was in the filmHome of the Giants (2008). She also had a supporting role in the filmMr. Brooks. In theDisney Channel original movieRead It and Weep, she plays Is, an alternate version of Jamie, who was played by her real-life sister, Kay Panabaker.
From 2006 to 2008, Panabaker starred in theCBS television dramaShark, playing Julie Stark, the daughter of the lead character.[7][8] In 2009, Panabaker playedJenna, a main character in theFriday the 13th reboot.[9] Panabaker next starred in the filmsThe Crazies andThe Ward.[10]
In 2011, Panabaker starred as Katie Lapp, the lead character in theHallmark Channel movieThe Shunning, based on the novel byBeverly Lewis. She was to reprise her role in the 2013 sequelThe Confession,[11] but a scheduling conflict forced her to drop out, and the role was recast.[12] In 2013, she starred in another Hallmark Channel movie,Nearlyweds. On May 5, 2013, Panabaker joined actors includingPhilip Baker Hall,Bill Pullman, andMaggie Siff in performing at Cedering Fox's WordTheatre, where they read aloud contemporary short fiction.[13] In 2014, Panabaker starred inBradley D. King's award-winning science-fiction filmTime Lapse,[14] for which she won the award for Best Actor/Actress at the 2014 London Independent Film Festival.[15]
In April 2014, Panabaker guest-starred asCaitlin Snow in a second-season episode of the CW seriesArrow;[16] she was later included, playing Snow, in the main cast of the spin-off seriesThe Flash.[17][18] Panabaker made her directorial debut with the eighteenth episode of the series' fifth season, entitled "Godspeed".
Panabaker volunteers for multiple organizations including the Art of Elysium,UNICEF, andYoung Storytellers Foundation.[19] In May and June 2019, Panabaker, DC Comics co-publisherJim Lee, writerTom King, and fellowCW series actressesNafessa Williams andCandice Patton toured five U.S. military bases in Kuwait with theUnited Service Organizations (USO), where they visited the approximately 12,000 U.S. military personnel stationed in that country as part of DC's 80th anniversary of Batman celebration.[20]
In July 2016, Panabaker announced that she was engaged to her longtime boyfriend, entertainment attorney Hayes Robbins,[21][22] and they married on June 24, 2017.[23] They have two children, born in 2020[21] and 2022.[24][25][26][27][28]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Sky High | Layla Williams | |
| Yours, Mine & Ours | Phoebe North | ||
| 2007 | Mr. Brooks | Jane Brooks | |
| Home of the Giants | Bridgette "Bridge" Bachman | ||
| 2009 | Friday the 13th | Jenna Montgomery | |
| 2010 | The Crazies | Becca Darling | |
| The Ward | Sarah Fray | ||
| Weakness | Danielle | Direct-to-video | |
| 2012 | Girls Against Boys | Shae Marshall | |
| Piranha 3DD | Maddy West | ||
| 2013 | Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th | Herself | Documentary |
| 2014 | Lennon or McCartney | Herself | Short documentary[29] |
| Time Lapse | Callie Snow | Direct-to-video | |
| 2015 | This Isn't Funny | Stacey |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Family Affair | Parker LeeAnn Aldays | Episode: "Ballroom Blitz" |
| 2003 | The Bernie Mac Show | Chelsea | Episode: "Raging Election" |
| Malcolm in the Middle | Kathy McCulskey | Episode: "Reese's Party" | |
| CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Girl | Episode: "Play with Fire" | |
| Sex and the Single Mom | Sara Gradwell | Television film | |
| The Guardian | Samantha Gray | Episode: "The Father-Daughter Dance" | |
| 2004 | The Division | Melissa Ringston | Episode: "As I Was Going to St. Ives..." |
| Stuck in the Suburbs | Brittany Aarons | Television film | |
| Searching for David's Heart | Darcy Deeton | Television film | |
| 2005 | Mom at Sixteen | Jacey Jeffries | Television film |
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Carrie Lynn Eldridge | Episode: "Intoxicated" | |
| Empire Falls | Christina "Tick" Roby | Television miniseries | |
| Summerland | Faith | Episodes: "Safe House", "Careful What You Wish For" | |
| 2006 | Read It and Weep | Isabella | Television film |
| 2006–2008 | Shark | Julie Stark | Main role |
| 2008 | Eli Stone | Genny Clarke | Episode: "Owner of a Lonely Heart" |
| 2009 | Grey's Anatomy | Kelsey Simmons | Episode: "Holidaze" |
| 2010 | Medium | Summer Lowry | Episode: "Psych" |
| Family Guy | Hillary (voice) | Episode: "Brian Griffin's House of Payne" | |
| Law & Order: LA | Chelsea Sennett | Episode: "Hollywood" | |
| Chase | Carina Matthews | Episode: "Crazy Love" | |
| 2011 | The Shunning | Katie Lapp | Television film |
| Memphis Beat | Sister Katherine | Episode: "Flesh and Blood" | |
| 2011–2013 | Necessary Roughness | Juliette Pittman | Recurring role (seasons 1–2) |
| 2012 | Intercept | Kat | Television film |
| Grimm | Ariel Eberhart | Episode: "Plumed Serpent" | |
| 2012; 2014 | Franklin & Bash | Bonnie Appel | Episodes: "Voir Dire", "Spirits in the Material World" |
| 2012–2013 | Bones | Olivia Sparling | Episodes: "The Gunk in the Garage", "The Shot in the Dark" |
| 2013 | Nearlyweds | Erin | Television film |
| Mad Men | Daisy McCluskey | Episode: "For Immediate Release" | |
| The Glades | Holly Harper | Episode: "Happy Trails" | |
| 2014 | Justified | Penny Cole | Recurring role (season 5) |
| Recipe for Love | Lauren Hennessey | Television film | |
| 2014–2015; 2017–2018 | Arrow | Caitlin Snow / Killer Frost | Recurring role (seasons 2–4, 6–7); 5 episodes |
| 2014–2023 | The Flash | Caitlin Snow / Killer Frost / Frost / Khione | Main role; also director (5 episodes, season 5–9) |
| 2016–2017; 2020 | Legends of Tomorrow | Caitlin Snow / Killer Frost | Episodes: "Invasion!", "Crisis on Earth-X, Part 4" & "Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part 5" |
| 2017–2018 | Supergirl | Caitlin Snow / Killer Frost | Episodes: "Crisis on Earth X, Part 1" & "Elseworld, Part 3" |
| 2018 | Christmas Joy | Joy Holbrook | Television film |
| 2025 | Second Guessing Fate | Gemma | Television film |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Fight of the Living Dead | Doctor | Episode 4 |
| 2017 | Freedom Fighters: The Ray | Caitlin Snow | Episode 5 |
| Award | Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London Independent Film Festival | 2014 | Best Actor/Actress | Time Lapse | Won | [31] |
| Saturn Awards | 2021 | Best Supporting Actress on Television | The Flash | Won | [32] |
| 2022 | Best Supporting Actress in a Network or Cable Television Series | The Flash | Nominated | [33] | |
| Teen Choice Awards | 2015 | Choice TV Actress – Fantasy/Sci-Fi | The Flash | Nominated | [34] |
| 2016 | Choice TV Actress – Fantasy/Sci-Fi | The Flash | Nominated | [35] | |
| 2017 | Choice Action TV Actress | The Flash | Nominated | [36] | |
| 2018 | Choice Action TV Actress | The Flash | Nominated | [37] | |
| 2019 | Choice Action TV Actress | The Flash | Nominated | [38] | |
| Young Artist Awards | 2004 | Best Performance in a TV Series – Guest Starring Young Actress | The Guardian | Won | [39] |
| 2005 | Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries or Special – Leading Young Actress | Searching for David's Heart | Won | [40] | |
| 2006 | Best Performance in a Feature Film – Young Ensemble Cast | Yours, Mine & Ours | Nominated | [41] |
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