# Thomasin McKenzie

Thomasin Katherin Helen Harcourt McKenzie is a New Zealand actress. After a minor role in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014), she rose to critical prominence for playing a young girl living in isolation in Debra Granik's drama film Leave No Trace (2018), winning the National Board of Review Award for Breakthrough Performance.
McKenzie continued gaining recognition in 2019 with supporting roles in the period films The King and True History of the Kelly Gang, as well as for her role as the Jewish girl Elsa Korr in the satirical film Jojo Rabbit. In 2021, she starred in M. Night Shyamalan's thriller Old and Edgar Wright's psychological horror film Last Night in Soho, and featured in Jane Campion's western film The Power of the Dog. She has since played the title role in the thriller Eileen (2023) and embryologist Jean Purdy in the biographical drama Joy (2024).

## Early life

McKenzie was born 26 July 2000 in Wellington, New Zealand, and attended Samuel Marsden Collegiate School in Wellington's Karori suburb, graduating in 2018. Her parents are actress and acting coach Dame Miranda Harcourt, and director Stuart McKenzie. She is the granddaughter of actress Dame Kate Harcourt and Peter Harcourt, whose family founded the real estate company Harcourts International in Wellington.
She has an elder brother and a younger sister.

## Career

After appearing with her brother in the film Existence (2012), McKenzie portrayed teenager Louise Nicholas in the television film Consent: The Louise Nicholas Story (2014). In 2015, she played Pixie Hannah in the soap opera Shortland Street. The following year, she played the titular character in the children's comedy web series Lucy Lewis Can't Lose.
She gained recognition for her portrayal as a daughter of a war veteran in Debra Granik's Leave No Trace (2018) opposite Ben Foster. Her performance received critical acclaim and won her the National Board of Review Award for Breakthrough Performance. In 2019, McKenzie joined the ensemble cast of Netflix's The King as Queen Philippa of Denmark, starring alongside Timothée Chalamet, Joel Edgerton and Robert Pattinson. She next played the role of a young Jewish girl who hides in the home of the title character in Taika Waititi's satirical comedy-drama Jojo Rabbit (2019) which she obtained a nomination at the Critics' Choice Movie Award as Best Young Actress.
In August 2018, McKenzie was cast in Top Gun: Maverick, but dropped out of the film after signing onto Lost Girls (2020). In 2021, she starred in the M. Night Shyamalan's thriller Old, and played the lead character in Edgar Wright's psychological horror film Last Night in Soho, opposite Anya Taylor-Joy. In the same year, she joined John Crowley's televised adaptation of Kate Atkinson's novel Life After Life for BBC Two, which premiered in 2022.
In 2023, McKenzie joined the main cast of the second season of Pantheon, a science fiction drama adaptation of the series of short stories by Ken Liu, voicing MIST, the first C.I. (computational intelligence) born of U.I. (uploaded intelligence). In the same year, she played the lead character in the William Oldroyd's psychological thriller Eileen, opposite Anne Hathaway. For her performance, she received positive reviews, with David Fear of Rolling Stone describing her as "such an adept performer at sketching out people that are somehow both sheltered and jaded that you have a clear picture of her even before her dark twin shows up."
McKenzie portrayed British embryologist Jean Purdy in the 2024 film Joy, based on the true story of the world's first in vitro fertilisation baby. In September 2023, McKenzie joined Jim O'Hanlon's upcoming British period comedy Fackham Hall, written by comedian Jimmy Carr. In December 2024, McKenzie will star opposite Amanda Seyfried in an upcoming historical drama musical film Ann Lee directed by Mona Fastvold.

## Personal life

In March 2017, McKenzie was living in Wellington, New Zealand. McKenzie moved to Islington, United Kingdom, in June 2023.

## Filmography

Key :
| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |

### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2012 | Existence | Scraps | |
| 2014 | The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies | Astrid | |
| 2017 | The Changeover | Rose Keaton | |
| 2018 | Leave No Trace | Tom | |
| 2019 | The King | Queen Philippa of Denmark | |
| 2019 | Jojo Rabbit | Elsa Korr | |
| 2019 | True History of the Kelly Gang | Mary | |
| 2020 | Lost Girls | Sherre Gilbert | |
| 2021 | The Justice of Bunny King | Tonyah | |
| 2021 | Old | Maddox Cappa (aged 16) | |
| 2021 | Last Night in Soho | Eloise "Ellie" Turner | |
| 2021 | The Power of the Dog | Lola | |
| 2023 | Eileen | Eileen Dunlop | |
| 2024 | Joy | Jean Purdy | |
| 2025 | Fackham Hall † | Rose Davenport | Post-production |
| 2025 | Ann Lee † | | Post-production |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2014 | Consent: The Louise Nicholas Story | Young Louise | Television film |
| 2015–2020 | Shortland Street | Pixie Hannah | Recurring role |
| 2015 | End of Term | Annabel | 1 episode |
| 2016 | Bright Summer Night | Petra Quince | 4 episodes |
| 2016 | Jean | Young Jean | Television film |
| 2017 | The Cul De Sac | Willa | 3 episodes |
| 2016 | Lucy Lewis Can't Lose | Lucy Lewis | Lead role |
| 2022 | Life After Life | Ursula Todd | Miniseries |
| 2023 | Totally Completely Fine | Vivian Cunningham | Lead role |
| 2023 | Pantheon | MIST (voice) | Main role; season 2 |
| TBA | Gossamer † | TBA | Post-production; voice role |

## Awards and nominations

| Award | Year | Category | Work | Result |
| Alliance of Women Film Journalists | 2019 | Best Supporting Actress | Leave No Trace | Nominated |
| Alliance of Women Film Journalists | 2019 | Best Breakthrough Performance | Leave No Trace | Won |
| Chicago Film Critics Association | 2018 | Most Promising Performer | Leave No Trace | Nominated |
| Chlotrudis Awards | 2019 | Best Actress | Leave No Trace | Nominated |
| Chlotrudis Awards | 2023 | Best Supporting Actress | The Justice of Bunny King | Nominated |
| Columbus Film Critics Association | 2019 | Best Actress | Leave No Trace | Nominated |
| Critics' Choice Movie Awards | 2019 | Best Young Actor/Actress | Leave No Trace | Nominated |
| Critics' Choice Movie Awards | 2020 | Best Young Actor/Actress | Jojo Rabbit | Nominated |
| Denver Film Critics Society | 2019 | Best Supporting Actress | Leave No Trace | Nominated |
| Detroit Film Critics Society | 2018 | Best Supporting Actress | Leave No Trace | Nominated |
| Dublin Film Critics' Circle | 2018 | Best Actress | Leave No Trace | Nominated |
| Florida Film Critics Circle | 2018 | Pauline Kael Breakout Award | Leave No Trace | Runner-up |
| Georgia Film Critics Association | 2019 | Best Supporting Actress | Leave No Trace | Nominated |
| Georgia Film Critics Association | 2019 | Breakthrough Award | Leave No Trace | Nominated |
| Gotham Independent Film Awards | 2018 | Breakthrough Actor | Leave No Trace | Nominated |
| Greater Western New York Film Critics Association | 2018 | Best Debut Performance | Leave No Trace | Nominated |
| Hawaii Film Critics Society | 2022 | Best Actress | Last Night in Soho | Nominated |
| Hollywood Film Critics Association | 2020 | Best Actress 23 and Under | Jojo Rabbit | Nominated |
| Independent Spirit Awards | 2019 | Best Supporting Female | Leave No Trace | Nominated |
| Indiana Film Journalists Association | 2018 | Best Actress | Leave No Trace | Nominated |
| Indiana Film Journalists Association | 2018 | Breakout of the Year | Leave No Trace | Nominated |
| Indiana Film Journalists Association | 2019 | Best Supporting Actress | Jojo Rabbit | Nominated |
| IndieWire Critics Poll | 2018 | Best Supporting Actress | Leave No Trace | Nominated |
| Kansas City Film Critics Circle | 2018 | Best Supporting Actress | Leave No Trace | Nominated |
| Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society | 2018 | Best Actress 23 and Under | Leave No Trace | Nominated |
| Music City Film Critics Association | 2019 | Best Young Actress | Leave No Trace | Nominated |
| Music City Film Critics Association | 2020 | Best Young Actress | Jojo Rabbit | Nominated |
| National Board of Review | 2018 | Best Breakthrough Performance | Leave No Trace | Won |
| Online Association of Female Film Critics | 2018 | Best Supporting Female | Leave No Trace | Nominated |
| Online Association of Female Film Critics | 2018 | Best Breakthrough Performance | Leave No Trace | Nominated |
| Online Film and Television Association | 2019 | Best Youth Performance | Leave No Trace | Nominated |
| Online Film and Television Association | 2019 | Best Female Breakthrough | Leave No Trace | Nominated |
| Online Film Critics Society | 2018 | Best Supporting Actress | Leave No Trace | Nominated |
| Philadelphia Film Critics Circle | 2019 | Best Breakthrough Performance | Jojo Rabbit | Runner-up |
| Phoenix Critics Circle | 2019 | Best Supporting Actress | Jojo Rabbit | Won |
| San Diego Film Critics Society | 2018 | Best Supporting Actress | Leave No Trace | Nominated |
| San Diego Film Critics Society | 2018 | Best Breakthrough Artist | Leave No Trace | Won |
| San Diego Film Critics Society | 2019 | Best Supporting Actress | Jojo Rabbit | Nominated |
| San Francisco Film Critics Circle | 2018 | Best Supporting Actress | Leave No Trace | Nominated |
| Seattle Film Critics Society | 2018 | Best Youth Performance | Leave No Trace | Nominated |
| Seattle Film Critics Society | 2019 | Best Youth Performance | Jojo Rabbit | Won |
| Seattle International Film Festival | 2018 | Best Actress | Leave No Trace | Nominated |
| Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association | 2018 | Best Youth Performance | Leave No Trace | Nominated |
| Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association | 2019 | Best Youth Performance | Jojo Rabbit | Nominated |
| Women Film Critics Circle | 2018 | Best Young Actress | Leave No Trace | Nominated |
| Women's Image Network Awards | 2020 | Best Actress in a Feature Film | Jojo Rabbit | Nominated |